THE ANXIETY YOU FEEL IS PART OF THIS DISORDER. SEEK HELP! AREN'T YOU SICK, TIRED, AND DEPRESSED LIVING LIKE THIS?

You can go to www. oprah.com and read all about the show. It was beyond words to see all the clutter.

Sherry

Does anyone know what they did with all the stuff they took out of the hoarders house? They said they were going to have a yard sale.

1. What kind of adult children bring their parents' failings on TV for the whole world to see? At what price fame (rather, SHAME!) (Contrast the shocked, shamed mother running to hide when the film crew first arrived in her home, versus her resignation of being on Oprah, where the feeling is - No matter what you've done, if you're on the OPRAH show, your status is automatically polished and elevated.

2. If they wanted to help their parents, and knew about Oprah's hoarding "experts", why not just contact the experts (or their referrals) or buy their books, and the WHOLE FAMILY pitch in to help their parents clean up their house, without publicly shaming their parents?

3. The experts said, "You can't clean up a person's clutter without their involvement - they must be there and be involved in decision-making." What is the difference between cleaning up someone's clutter WITHOUT their presence and involvement, versus demanding decisions on belongings be made in "20 minutes" or "X" amount of containers ("X" being the preference of the "helpers".) These unrealistic, unfair time constraints put tremendous stress, anxiety, and tears upon the "hoarder". THE HOARDER IS NOT A CRIMINAL OR A CHILD!

4. To EVERYONE: Go home and do this: Remove all your belongings from shelves, closets, tables, cabinets, bins, boxes, bags, and clothes racks, and PILE your things up on top of each other, first against the walls, and when wall space is filled, move inward into the room. YOUR piled-up things will have YOU looking like a hoarder. POINT BEING: What is really missing in "hoarders" homes are sufficient shelves, closets, cabinets, tables, bins, boxes, and clothes racks, all vertical structures which serve to ORGANIZE and SAVE SPACE. AND make belongings visible and accounted for.

5. What if "hoarders" aren't so much sick or greedy or confused or troubled as LACKING in patience, focus, and are poor decorators, designers, organizers? When belongings aren't organized, things get lost, forgotten (out of sight-out of mind), unretrievable, and thus replicated with NEW items of the same. I.E. if you don't remember or know where your Xmas ornaments are, and how many you already have, you are destined to go purchase more when you need them at hand.

6. I.E. What if instead of taking hoarding experts to the house, who feel so very proud having led the crusade to get rid of the hoarder's "garbage", "junk", "clutter" (how condescending), bring in NATE and his kind to offer his DESIGN AND ORGANIZING skills to set in place the vital "containing" structures which will always thereafter be intact for the "hoarder" to manage his possessions/interests.

7. Doesn't it say MOUNTAINS when Oprah said "My shoes are ORGANIZED", instead of her automatically saying "I know when I've had enough shoes" or "I know when to stop buying." The truth is, the very act of ORGANIZING, where shoes are SEEN and then most likely USED (and not buried, hidden, lost and then duplicated), provides the very means for Oprah NOT to buy shoes in excess or be wasteful of money, time and space. PREDICTION: Without a system of ORGANIZING (shelves, clothes racks, cabinets, closets, bins, tables), the condition of clutter will return, and the "hoarder" will have a constant, stressful battle trying to prevent a repeat, which is doomed to happen.

8. The show's finale: HOW IRONIC! The couple and the public is lectured on prioritizing self, family and relationships versus "things", that "things" don't define us. Yet at commercial, we're urged to watch Oprah's next show, "Oprah's Favorite Things." Guess what: Things DO define us, for this is a material world, and we express our creativity through the material. But what's needed are the designing SKILLS of MANAGING our material.

9. I'm angry the mother was made out to be a misfit THE WHOLE SHOW, who committed an act of shame. Then at the end of the show, we're told not to judge her!

10. The daughter claimed that Peter Walsh is the "only one" who could've fixed the cluttered home. Then ANYONE with a cluttered home is DOOMED unless they can get on the Oprah show to get Peter Walsh to rescue them. Thank God the DOCTOR at the end clarified that one doesn't need a team of experts to come in clean up. (The 3 adult children didn't figure that out. No wonder the Mother felt abandoned.

11. At the end of the show, the father said he first resented the cameras invading their privacy, but later was grateful for the change. How grateful will he and his wife feel that now, whenever they step out in public - for the rest of their lives - STRANGERS will recognize them as "The Hoarders on Oprah!" Don't tell me this couple, especially the wife, won't have scars from this public humiliation.

12. The mother's messup was put under the microscope. What I saw in her loot in the warehouse (which only brought in $13,000?) was evidence of what a LOVING, GENEROUS PERSON SHE IS, especially all the toys. I'm not sure her adult children deserve her! Furthermore, those bedrooms are no longer theirs. Those 3 rooms now belong to the parents!

People: Think outside the box. Just because some "expert" tells you someone is "sick", examine the issue from ALL perspectives.

I agree that this woman was undeservedly rewarded with a home makeover, but not because she has a large home or might have money. And, no doubt about it, I like Oprah and her show. However, I think that labeling this lady as a hoarder or a shopaholic was inaccurate. The show was a potentially great concept with the wrong recipient. I say this because it was obvious from the video of the kitchen that there were not only clothes or new items strewn about, but there were also DIRTY dishes and things on the countertops--piled high! That means she didn't clean! That has nothing to do with over-shopping! Remember, rotting food was found in rooms other than the kitchen, too. Why would she put food in those areas? What, would the food get cooked in the basement or on the floors? Filthy and laziness best described that situation and person. Didn't she notice the rats running around? And, the house had to smell. I also noticed that the interior was not the only neglected area. The exterior also showed signs of neglect. The exterior looked like it hadn't been painted in years, the lawn was brown, spotty and unkept and the driveway was covered with oil stains. What's the excuse for not taking care of the outside of the house? I feel that the show tried to hide or ignore the real issue, the fact that she just stopped cleaning and maintaining her home! She shouldn't have been rewarded for that. And yes, I dare say, her cries seemed overly dramatic and insincere. This is not to say that people don't have problems with hoarding--some people do and it is obviously a serious problem. But, hoarding is different than UNCLEANLINESS! The husband said she kept a dirty room in her parents' home when he met her! Finally, the things removed from that squalor should have been thrown away instead of being sold to other people because they had been exposed to mold and rat urine and feces--especially the stuffed animals/toys and clothing.

Speaking of Thank You, I never heard Sharyn say it once to anyone who helped her clean out this mess. Am I wrong?

Read through all of the messages on the subject. I am not the only one who was disgusted by the show. You are living in a fantasy if you think the couple "just blew through his retirement"! They have been living like this for years and years!

I'm glad - or hope that I'm neither related to you or come into your presence. You obviously have beenn protected in life from witnessing the mental anquish of this issue.

Somebody HELP! I just saw the last part of the "Hoarders" part 2 on t.v. I did not get a chance to see part 1. This is my family...and they need to see this entire show to save their lives. Oprah.com does not offer to sell a copy of the show in a dvd format. Can someone out there show my family Part 1 and 2 of Hoarders? They need to SEE it with their own eyes. I know many people record, tivo, etc...sadly I do not have the ability to tivo. Example of someone on this message board...VONTRESA of ALBANY, GEORGIA stated they recorded the shows...that is great...and will be able to help others. No matter how much a family member or friend tries to help someone...they will never listen to you when your too close to the situation. HOWEVER, watching OPRAH and "another family" going through the situation allows the reality to set in...without being put on the spot by a family member. One example---there is so much stuff in the bedroom...there is only a small area carved out on the bed in order to lay down...the rest is floor to ceiling. Please help me to find a way for them to see Part 1 and 2 of this show. They do not have a computer and a written transcript would just end up in one of the numerous piles of stuff...and never read. Thank you for reading and possibly a way to help.

I'm glad someone is understanding of the public exposure element of this 2 day episode. I cannot imagine the depth of emotional energy - positive and negative - this woman and family dealt with over the course of 2 full months - with the neighbors watching - the warehouse sale then 20+ million on TV witnessing and then condemning and judging it all. We may have only shown 2 hours worth - imagine what 2 months of video cameras watching every move did. Somehow getting the 'reward' of a house full of new furniture seems insignificant. I'm also sure Lowe's CEO & the others has no idea who got their 'stuff' - they just wanted free advertising to 20+ million people. Several times - as I'm sure this will be a repeated show.

Certainly a comprehensive thread - with an understanding of the mental health side of this issue - and I agree with you on the shallowness or insanity of "my favorite things" show as well - but then again - without retail our economy would fall apart and even more would be complaining. This Christmas season should be interesting as more people are forced into 'downshifting' due to the variable rate debacle - along with the outrageous price of oil and gas. I bet January and February will be a season of GET REAL or GET HELP.

I am thoroughly disguested by your reaction to this couple. What you did was reward them for their behaviour. A brand new house with new furnishing, appliances, etc. for what? Being out of control spenders, hoarders? This woman was not mentally ill, but your sanity is in question. Think about who could have used those 300 pairs of shoes. And you rewarded her - I am very disappointed in you.

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Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3. Will this message get through?