Sometimes hoarders decide too, or need to move to get a fresh start, or for safety issues on their property. For a hoarder moving may be a way to start fresh in a new home. To progress quickly in the move, it is important to have an intervention with the hoarder, to develop trust. Please consider using a therapist to help conduct the intervention, but for your own knowledge we have made an outline of what to expect from a hoarding intervention, outlined a cleaning method to use for self-hoarding cleanup, and we establish how to communicate with hoarders and why communication is so important during a hoarding cleanup and moving.
Conducting a Hoarding Intervention:
- Connect with the Hoarder: Let them know that you think they are making the right decision by moving.
- Develop Trust: Promise to keep their best interest at heart and follow through. Privacy is key to development, prioritize the privacy of the hoarder.
- Establish a Plan of Action: Come up with a plan on how the hoarder’s home will be cleaned, and their things moved. Discus the moving process with all parties involved. Watch out for behavior that avoids cleaning and organizing for the move. Decide between cleaning yourself or hiring a professional hoarding cleanup company.
- Endorse: All parties involved should endorse the plan of action and be patient with slow progress from the hoarder and do not express frustration.
Before you establish a plan of action you will have to decide between cleaning yourself or hiring a professional hoarding cleanup company. For many, doing a self-hoarding cleanup is too overwhelming but for a basic self-hoarding cleanup method based on our own hoarding cleanup method, read below.
Self-Hoarding Cleanup Use A System (The 3 Container Method):
To clean with the 3 container method; you take 3 containers, they could be plastic bins, trash bags, laundry baskets, or just make 3 clean areas on the floor for piles.
The 3 Containers Are:
- Trash
- Donations
- Keepsakes
Take an object from the area you are cleaning and place it into one of the bins based on what you would like to do with that item. To break the project up you can perform this task once a day one item at a time.
How to Communicate with a Hoarder:
You can read our article for in depth tips on how to communicate with a hoarder, but we have briefly listed them below, in this article as well for your convenience.
Do’s
- Connect with the Individual
- Seek Professional Help
- Continue to Talk with the Hoarder About the Situation
- Talk About Safety
- Agree That the Items Are Important
- Talk About Keeping Everything Confidential
- Ask the Question Why - In a Respectful Tone
- Promote Donation
- Be Patient
- Hire a Professional Hoarding Cleanup & Organization Service
Don’ts
- Make Fun of the Hoarder’s Situation
- Say Let’s Get Rid of All This “Stuff”
- Get Angry
- Try to Reason with the Hoarder Right Away
- Touch the Hoarder’s Items in the Beginning
- Treat the Hoarder Like a Child
- Treat Hoarders Like Criminals
- Make a List of All of the Tasks to do At Once for the Hoarder
- Ask Why They Hoard – In a Disrespectful Tone
- Let this Hoarding Situation Stress You Out
Please consider our company Address Our Mess for professional hoarding cleanup service. Call 410-589-2747, email info@addressourmess.com, or use our contact us page for more information. We are here to help!