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September 20, 2008, 11:17 am
Flag as Inappropriate lilymom24  

I have grandparents who will not throw much away. They live in a big old house with rooms full of boxes and the boxes are full of old papers, broken toys....just junk. My grandmother is very attatched to this stuff...each item has personal meaning to her so thinking about throwing it out or giving it away causes her great anxiety.

Does anyone know of any treatments for those who hoard excessively?

Thank you.

There are treatments and people you can bring in to talk to them, but you might also try to help on your own first.

Your grandparents grew up in a different time, where no one threw away anything and everyone used things up until there wasn't anything left and only then did they throw it away.

I can understand why they don't want to get rid of things that have some meaning to them too. But you might be able to get them to start to get some control over their hoarding if you volunteer to help them store their important things so that they can be safe and not be ruined.

By getting them to let you go through stuff and show them how well the important things can be stored, you can start to cut down on what they have.

If they like how the things are nicely put away, then who knows, you might get them to clean up more of their things!

All those papers are a fire hazard too. Maybe if you tell them that they will try to get rid of some stuff. They have a TV show that some people go in and help out with this kind of thing. I don`t know if there is any kind of local thing though.

well.. those newspapers depending on how far back they go are of value. Look at the headlines. My parenst saved amny a news apper with important information in it. I knwo of people who kept the newspapers ofrm teh 1800s and some even still ahd copies of when the titanic sunk! Go through that stuff with your grandma. and make a scrap book of items. Conatct teh local historical associatin, they need thsoe old newspapers and historic level documents. Often locla historic muceusm pay good for toys and items from teh past. She will egta aplaque for teh doantion and her posterity will live on and let others enjoy.

Items of sentimental value can be removed, cleaned up and turne dinto shadow boxes. Especially make collage sof copied images of your parents with these items.

What we think of as clutter is their history. A house in MAss achustes i htink it was was fileld with teh same. Archaology and anthro students paind a visit and dicovered that what teh family thought of as junk was some pricess treasures.

Museums snatched some of teh items up. some were duplicated and returned. Just because it looks like junk it may not be.

And going through thsoe boxes will be an oral history for you as well.

enjoy the treasure hunt.,

julie

They're not saving newspapers....I'm talking about school papers that used to be mine when I was in kindergarten(my brothers, my fathers etc.,,), old christmas and birthday cards, books, broken toys, scraps of paper, empty containers, empty boxes, letters, moth eaten cloth, drawers full of rubber bands, an old used paintbrush, costume jewelry(not worth anything....not antiques), etc..... Anything that comes into the house....doesn't go out.

My mother is the same way. Clothes from the 1950's and so on. She say's she may need these things in the future.

My parents are the same way and the reasons skatss described definitely holds true for them. Some of the junkiest stuff has sentimental value. My dad still has the ashtray I made for him out of a milk carton when I was in 1st grade!! :-)

One day, I decided to take the time to go through some stuff with them and was able to convince them to pry some things loose. Not an easy task, but it can be done.