Inside a Hoarder's Home

To help get their home back in order, organizational expert Peter Walsh, author of It's All Too Much, is sent in to literally dig Sharyn and Marvin out. Peter estimates that it will take eight weeks and a team of 100 people to rescue this home. But whether you have a team of 100 or a team of one, Peter says there is one key question all hoarders must ask themselves before taking out a single bag of trash—what do you want from your home?

"Peace. Harmony. Neatness. Tidiness. A place to call home. A comfort zone I'm happy to be in," Sharyn says.

"A place that our family and friends can come visit—it's been a long time," Marvin says. So long, in fact, that Sharyn and Marvin estimate that they haven't had their friends over in 12 years.

Peter says Sharyn and Marvin must keep these things in mind as they decide what stays and what goes from their home. "So now this is the starting point, because constantly throughout the next couple of weeks, you have to keep coming back to what you want from this house," he says. "One of the biggest problems with clutter is that people focus on the stuff. And if you start there, you can never succeed. What's your vision for the life you want, the home you want, this room? You have to hold that in mind. Because without that, you're lost before you start."