You may know of someone, a family member or friend who collects knickknacks, and other items of memorabilia or things that they consider to be important stuff. Not everyone who collects and accumulates large quantities of things is a hoarder. There is a very fine line between what is considered a hoarding environment and what is thought of as simple clutter. Most households experience different stages of clutter within the home. Something as simple as piles of junk mail or stacks of freshly laundered items stored in a laundry basket left on the washer, or grocery items stacked on dining room tables or kitchen counters. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a busy household that runs on a limited schedule and these particular chores get left on the “to do tomorrow list”. Hoarders however tend to struggle not just with clutter but often have an underlying mental condition.
 
Clutter and hoarding although similar do have some fundamental differences. While both situations create an environment that is messy and full of things, hoarding can range from large piles of items taking up living spaces to a monumental amount of stuff taking up an entire room. Another difference between hoarding and clutter is the sheer size of the mess. Hoards can take over an entire home and significantly threaten the quality of living for the hoarder not only in an emotion sense by also by creating structural damage within the home. While clutter and hoarding are indeed different, taking the first step to reclaiming your home is the same. Finding the right cleaning service is paramount to living a happy and healthy life. Nadia’s House Cleaning is a professional residential and commercial cleaning service with 25 years’ experience cleaning residential homes.
 
Helping a hoarder clean up their home can be a very difficult task. A great deal of planning is involved before you can begin the cleaning project. The following list of recommendations should be considered before attempting to help someone you know who suffers from hoarding.
1. Permission – Speak with the person in need about hoarding before you bring someone into the home to help clean up and divide their possessions. Remember that hoarders have an emotional attachment to each object, even those you consider to be trash.
2. Always consider safety first – Wear heavy duty gloves and boots when rummaging through unknown stacks of items. Dangers such as broken objects or other harmful items could be buried within the piles.
3. Take your time – Throwing everything away is not the answer. Decide what keepsakes can be salvaged and discuss these items with the owner, allowing them to be part of the decision making process for which things to keep and which to donate to a local charity.
4. Inspect food items carefully, hoarders often allow food to rot or expire which can cause serious illness if consumed. Make sure dishware and flatware are properly cleaned and sanitized before being used.
5. Contact the professionals – When the task at hand becomes overwhelming even for a large group of determined people contact a professional hoarding service.
6. Once the house is free of clutter and any structure issues are addressed, contact Nadia’s Cleaning Service to professionally clean and sanitize the home.
 
At Nadia’s House Cleaning we respect our customers, their homes and their time. Contact us today and speak with a customer service professional about all of your cleaning needs. Or check our comprehensive homepage for a full list of cleaning services available. We clean your home like it’s our own!