What should you do when a family member or someone else in your life begins to hoard? Maybe years and years of clutter have built up and it’s time to organize? It can be intimidating to bring this up or discuss it. So what should you do? We have created this Hoarding Clean Up Checklist to help you get organized!
Hoarding Clean Up Checklist
The first thing to remember when first discussing the possibility of cleaning for someone who hoards is that hoarding is a mental disease. To the hoarder, removing any items at all, whether it’s trash, valuables, or other items, is difficult. Empathy can help to break down the barrier needed to create growth, allowing the home space to be cleared out and cleaned!
After an agreement is made, what’s next? What are some of the keys to success?
Steps to Successful Hoarding Clean Up:
Tools for the job:
When preparing to clean up, it is important to have the correct tools ahead of time. Some of the essential items include:
- Heavy duty trash bags: These can be contractor bags and can be found at a hardware store.
- Shovel: A snowshovel should do the trick. This will help when lots of trash and debris or other items are on the ground, allowing you to move and dispose more efficiently.
- Self-Protection: Preparing to encounter fleas, mold, or other animals is part of getting ready to clean a hoarding situation. Personal-Protective equipment like masks, gloves, and Tyvek suits can be purchased at hardware and home improvement stores.
- Hand Tools: Tools are often necessary to take apart certain items that may be blocking an area or a doorway. The tools required will vary depending on the job as well
- All Purpose cleaner: Cleaners that contain bleach are a must. For areas where you can’t use bleach based cleaners, disinfecting wipes (like clorox wipes) will help each room that gets finished to be sparkling clean and sanitized.
Estimate and make a game plan:
Try to do your best to examine every room of the house. Are there any potential trouble areas? How much time will each room take? Will any items need to be located and saved instead of thrown away? Logistically planning your job out ahead of time will create long term success
Often a hoarder house is overwhelming. The mountains of accumulated items creates a need for additional help? What’s that extra step to make sure this job is completed right, on time, and affordably?
Hire the right team:
At Fire Dawgs, we make it easy, affordable, and quick to take care of the problem. We will begin by sending out our operations manager to take a professional look at the job. He will give you a firm, free, no obligation estimate and time frame for the job. Once we get started, we will send out our crews in our mini dump trucks to clean out each room. With all of the clutter out of the way, the living space will be open to clean, allowing for a complete transformation of the space.
Ready to hire the Dawg Pack to tackle that hoarding clean out? You can always give us a call at 317-291-3294 to get a firm, free, no obligation estimate. You can also Contact Us online, and send us pictures!