Sorry we missed you. 🙁
Let us know if you still have this problem.

Downloaded java -- took 3 tries. Installed java -- took 3 tries. Notification that java failed to install 2 times. Went to trouble shooting pages at Oracle and ran the applet that checks java and it said java is working. Hopefully that is correct and I will "see" you Tuesday.

Missing plugin downloading and installing prob too late to get there. Drat.

Julie I am looking forward to "seeing" you tonight in chat. 😀

My partner and I are both disabled. She with macular degeneration, which is getting worse approaching blindness and diabetes. Me with COPD and depression and probably a bunch of other stuff 8^). We are both in our early 70's and living in the North Bay of the SF area (Solono County). I have a house in Alameda County that I would like to empty and rent.

I will join the chat tonight and I signed up to take the Case Western Reserve Study.

We hired a person to clean up and could only stand her around for 2-4 days a month. She was IMO abusive, manipulative, dishonest and kept raising her charges. I fired her and my partner rehired her getting me banned from the house while she was here.

My partner's children helped for awhile but now have other obligations. The children left us homework (sort through that box and decide what to keep), but my partner was not very diligent. I do as much as I can but am loosing the battle. My partner took out stuff to cook and now I can't figure out where to put them back.

I have very limited income SS only.

I find this scary but all of you sound nice.

I found this
To be an interesting thread.i used to never get rid of anything , but 15 yrs ago my late father inlaw dropped by for a visit.....SURPRISE!!!! I swore I would never be embarassed like that again. Was I wrong. In 2007, a bad back (3 surgeries ), a mom diagnosed with a terminal Heath issue, 3 kids,and my mounting disability caused a relapse. Now it isn't too bad but we need to sell th echo use so we can move, and I just don't have "good" help. The kids can only do so much with HS homework to do. I have decided to hire a local company to clean, organize and stage my home. I will let you know how it goes and the cost. I m sooooooo ready to get my home back. It's amazing how depression and real physical limitations can throw one back into messy/clutter stage

So, what can I do to help...AcornMama

So, I am a 29 yr old mom of 5 who has hoarded since childhood. I want to stop I hate all this stuff but I don't know how, it's like its cemented here or something. I'm drowning in it and I want it gone. I want my kids to grow up in a clean and organized house like I never got to. If there is any hope for me I would be grateful. thank you

John,
I'd be happy to talk to you via the internet.
my email is pfsears@aol.com

Tuesday chat is for messies and hoarders only.
This is for them alone.

Sunday chat is open to everybody.

Also, these next few weeks I'll be participating in the chatroom sessions on Tuesdays and Sundays now that I'm not overloaded with medical things.

I don't intend to stop this just when my project is due, either, so don't think that I'm just some stranger who'll just leave with the new year. 🙂

Marion--

Well, aside from asking family/neighbors, is there a 1800GOTJUNK nearby? They're great for the really bad messes that seem to have 50 layers.

John--

I don't believe I have gotten it. Try emailing me at nicolelowehenderson at gmail, my hotmail has been acting up recently.

Sorry pfsears, I didn't know you were talking to me. Would you be comfortable with discussing by email?

I would still like to help in any way I can...feel as though at this time in my life, approaching 60, that I want to lend a helping hand...

Hi Nicole

I've emailed you at that address and while it seems to have gone through ok, I haven't heard anything back yet. Did you get it?

I posted a few weeks back. I want to help hoarders. I have been helping my brother with his hoard and another friend with her garage. I live in Nspa, CA. but can travel within a reasonable distance. Can I help you?

Do yo have resources for assistance in clean-up? My husband has threatened to leave me if this house is not cleaned up. 🙁

gaby --

Hi! I have a few solutions for you, but since they are more generalized, feel free to request some more, ask for clarification for your case, or report back with success (hopefully!)!

One-- I think you should reconsider your animal population. I have three dogs and a cat of my own, so I know how easy it is to fall in love with an animal, but if you have even just one too many, it isn't good. Not just the cost of food, but the amount of cleaning you must do after them and the messes they make just being animals, like chewing things or knocking things over. Over time, especially if you have many cluttered things around your house, that can be both exhausting to deal with and dangerous.

Two-- From what I understand, your son is living with you with his children, correct? If so, perhaps all of you could delegate simple chores to each other to help clear up the clutter, such as every week taking a big storage bin through the house and throwing things away that you don't need/use/have any use for anymore. I know this is a difficult concept for most to understand since, well, all of it SEEMS like you have to have it just in case, but perhaps with your son and grandchildren there to help you, you will be able to think more clearly about the items around you.

Three-- Your bipolar disorder will definitely have contributed to your hoarding, as will have your past. I hope you're doing well, and maybe talk with your doctor about getting in touch with a therapist or organizational specialist that could help you over the years? I feel like that would be the best course of action for long-term (as well as short-term) results.

John--

I'm sorry that the email bounced back! It is still available, but here, try an alternative one: n lowe henderson @ hotmail . com (sans the spaces, of course). I would love to help you out in the best way that I can! 🙂

Whoops, my bad! I had surgery in October but I'm back now, sorry y'all! 🙂

I will respond to everyone throughout the night tonight, thanks for being patient with me.

Looks like Nicole has gone. 🙁

Nicole,
Was here Tuesday with a great bunch. All very supportive. I have a new post entitled "Epiphanies" which I pray people will respond to. I need to find the magic to help my spouse become aware of her surroundings and how it has impacted her/our lives soon.

Hi Nicole

I've just tried emailing you but the email bounced back as the address was apparently incorrect.

Are you still looking for hoarders to help with your dissertation? I think I'm a hoarder, though not in the same way as the other people on here. I'm still trying to understand it really and though that maybe talking through it with a 3rd party could be beneficial. For that reason, if you need another source then do come back to me.

John

nicole i am a good can idate fo your internship i think i am new to all of this i just recently begun to over come my hoarding for my self i refuse number one to go to another yard sale or thrifty shop. i made this my first rule my house is so full i even took one day loaded up a storage shed and then purposally let it laps figuring if i did not use any of it in a month i really did not need it. but my house is still full. i posted in an area earlier but not sure i posted in the right spot. i live in my house but it has been deemed unfit and unsafe for me to be here i am unable to move my mother and i owed this house together and it is paid for.so you know i am bi-polar as well as old and grumpy. at first there was no name for hoarding or thoughts my mom started ll this mess in the house i seemed to just carry on with it. she used to tell me that some day we might need it even if just for parts, that one day we will not be able to get things like the depression. she saved every littlething including can lids, some where in her passed they were used to ptch up holes in the wall. now i seem to collect dishes most of the time. i have 15 grand children and i am constantly replacing dishes even if they do not match or are chipped, etc. plstic containers for sure. saving left overs with these. i keep my refridge cleaned of old foods if htere more than three daysi chuck it. if not i make my own dog foods and biskets. saves me from going to shopping too much or at times at all. i will feed my animals before i get food for my self. my son is just the opposit he has now one dog and five cats in his room. as our animals will not get long not at all. my son will feed himself long before he thinks of his animals or his kids. his biggest problem i have is he brings stuff home from where ever i know these are things people have trashed and he thinks he wants them or that i might want them so for me to control me i need to get it through his head do not bring any thing home rather it followed him or not.
sory for spelling my hand and brain is not up too par all the time.
gaby

Helo Nicole, sorry about the wait. My work schedule was changed on me last minute.

Thank you,
Jessica

Ed--

I'm sorry, I had family obligations that required me to miss Sunday! Are there other days available that I could hop in on?

Nicole. Will you be onboard Sunday for chat?

Hello Jessica. I would definitely be happy to help but do you mind giving me some more details (if you are willing, naturally) about your situation?

Thanks

Nicole

Hello Nicole, I am the daughter of a serious hoarder. She refuses to see a therapist and is 'fucntional' and her living conditions are not horrible, but I was looking through here and would love to obtain help as well as helping you.

What do you suggest I do?