did anyone see the oprah show on hoarding today?

[crunchymum]

and yesterday, actually... very eye opening. :yes2

[Punkie]

Yeah, that was crazy. I felt so bad for that family :bheart I hope they are able to keep up with the house now and turn their hoarding ways around.

[righteous mama]

I'm about to watch the second half. I watched the first half last night and it was so sad. I felt so bad for that mama and wanted to console her...but I know it's part of the process. Without the grieving there can't be healing.

It also made me go through some boxes and get some stuff done in my living room. :-) I'm not a hoarder, but I live with two. Dh is, although he swears he isn't, and dd1 is. I kind of wonder if that tendency isn't passed down. My mil is horrible and half the stuff we have is from her. I buy very little. We have given away brand new things because she gives us tons of stuff.

We have been talking to M about this problem. She is starting to see it. MIL thinks we're mean, but I think I'd rather deal with it now then when she has a family and feels sad/frustrated, etc, because she can't keep it together. KWIM?

[AdrienneQW]

I am so, so, SO glad I saw a preview for this while watching something else (Private Practice maybe?) I set the DVR immediately, and I was so interested to see it that I watched it after the kids went down last night - again, good thing, otherwise I wouldn't have known to record today also. I haven't seen today's yet, but will watch it tonight.

I saw *so much* of myself in that woman. It frightened me. :( I've been fighting clutter for years and very recently decided to make a major life change and tackle it once and for all. Otherwise, I can absolutely see myself heading down that woman's path. As it is I'm embarrassed when unannounced guests drop by - it's not much of a jump to not allowing people in at all. :blush It's slow going, but I'm determined and I think I'm doing really well so far. Next step happens Monday, when I have my initial consultation with the professional organizer I hired (thanks to Jen! :hug)

This was *exactly* what I needed to see right now. I share so many habits with that woman it's downright frightening... buying gifts that never see the light of day, buying multiples of items because I can't find the one(s) I know I have, even draping sheets over piles of clutter thinking it hides or camouflages them. :blush It was like looking in a mirror. I was horrified - not by her and what her house had become (I have nothing but compassion there) but by the very real thought that my home could someday look like that if I don't get myself in check.

[2sunshines]

I never watch Oprah but I'm bummed that I missed this. My mom struggles with some issues of hoarding and clutter.

Can you watch it anywhere online?

[Lady TS]

:popcorn

[crunchymum]

wow, adrienne, that's powerful... :hug2 i'm so excited about your time with steph - she's the best. i couldn't believe how much we accomplished, and the mental breakthroughs that happened while she was working with me. :yes



We have been talking to M about this problem. She is starting to see it. MIL thinks we're mean, but I think I'd rather deal with it now then when she has a family and feels sad/frustrated, etc, because she can't keep it together. KWIM?


i SO agree... :yes2 (and empathize with you, marcella... most of the "incoming" stuff is from MIL or my mom... and i fight the hoarding tendencies, too).

the scariest thing for me was that this woman/family didn't always live like that - it was stuff that accumulated over the last several years. :/ very scary how it can happen so gradually that you don't even notice it's happening until you're drowning, kwim?

[crunchymum]

I never watch Oprah but I'm bummed that I missed this. My mom struggles with some issues of hoarding and clutter.

Can you watch it anywhere online?

:think you might be able to after the last airing? :scratch i'm thinking it may pop up on youtube at some point...

[J3K]

Can you watch it anywhere online?
I don't know the answer to that question BUT.....I found these sites
http://www.hoarders.org/

http://www.childrenofhoarders.com/bindex.php

I'll bet the Oprah website has some info too.

[Lantern Light Mama]

Is Oprah a hoarder? Im just curious.

[crunchymum]

i don't know... i don't think so. everything she has it seems like is very purposeful and organized. :shrug i guess there's no way of knowing what she would be like if she wasn't rich and famous, though... ;)


i found the trailer for the show on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFoys2NAcjs

[blessedwithboys]

Is this a new one? I know she's done a hoarding show before...

[righteous mama]

This is new. And very powerful. I had M watch part of it. She said it looked like Grandma's room...her room isn't that bad, but if she didn't live with her mother I think it would be just like that.

[Punkie]

There is also a trailer on the Oprah homepage.

[jamilyian]

I'm proud of you Adrienne for addressing your problem!!!

My mother is a hoarder. Very similar to the woman on the show. She has piles and piles and piles of stuff in her home and it is definitley a health hazard with all of the animal droppings and hair she has in there.

I honestly have no clue how to help her.

She is a great person though. I'm glad they picked someone for the show who you can see is such a good loving person. People with messy homes aren't bad people. It is very similar to someone who is very overweight. They just have an out-of-control problem.

My mother has to decide on her own if she wants help.

[ArmsOfLove]

I wish I had seen the shows :(

This was *exactly* what I needed to see right now. I share so many habits with that woman it's downright frightening... buying gifts that never see the light of day, buying multiples of items because I can't find the one(s) I know I have, even draping sheets over piles of clutter thinking it hides or camouflages them. embarassed It was like looking in a mirror. I was horrified - not by her and what her house had become (I have nothing but compassion there) but by the very real thought that my home could someday look like that if I don't get myself in check.(((((Adrienne)))))) :hugheart I think it's awesome that you are addressing this!

I was very moved by the book, "Too Much Stuff: Decluttering Your Heart and Home" that goes into a lot of this. It starts with how and why her mother died so young and it was directly related to hoarding :cry And then goes into her journey of realizing she was in the early stages of a death just like her mothers and what she did to change things. It addresses the myths about stuff--and I was :jawdrop when I realized I was TAUGHT all but one of them!!! :doh Changing my thinking about stuff has helped me SO much! Especially the truth she learned from her organized friends who taught her, 'You cant keep everything and keep everything clean' Well DUH why didn't I *KNOW* that???