What would you say of a person whose house looks like this? (Sorry, no pics)

[Bertha Venation]

This is from a friend, about her ex-husband, who got these descriptions from her son, who spent the weekend with the ex-, his father. I asked what her son, Jason, said about his dad's house - is it any worse than the last time he'd been there, many years ago?

To get into the house, there’s barely a lane from the door to the stairs. The living room and downstairs bathroom, and at least two of the bedrooms, are packed full. The garage has a car-shaped tunnel and a truck-shaped tunnel, with barely enough room to get in and out of the vehicle. The additional stuff stored in the garage, hanging from the rafters, comes to within inches of the tops of the vehicles. Somewhere in the living room, there is a couch and a piano, and I think a coffee table, that haven’t been seen in years. Jason slept in what used to be the kids’ room. There was a path from the door to the bunk beds, with all other space filled. No window access. The only place to sit in the house is the dining table, which is in the pathway from the door to the stairs, and is also piled with stuff, including the computer and video game consoles. To use the computer or play a game, he’d have to pull the particular item to the front or top or whatever. And get this… he has a 42” tv screen… I can only assume it is balanced precariously atop piles of boxes and “stuff.”

Is there some kind of psychological diagnosis here?

[Frosty1]

1. Yes

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Compulsive hoarding does have a psych diagnosis

but I'm not a shrink and don't play one on DU. I've know people like that however.

[hippywife]

13. Bingo.

Just what I was going to say. People can have clutter but when it gets to the point that you can't see the furniture and there are paths to get from one room to another through all the stuff stacked up, then you definitely have compulsive hoarding.

:hi:

[crispini]

3. Compulsive Hoarding.

Sort of an OCD thing. Google it-- it's a real diagnosis, and a real problem for people who get it. For some, it's a complication of depression and they are able to overcome -- for some it's a much more deep-seated thing. Spent some time reading about this online because I am terrified I'm going to wind up like this.... thankfully, am nowhere near there.

[Kali]

4. park on the street - lots o room in the garage still!!!11

:rofl: <<<=== sorry but I have a garage that is packed full of crap and can see how it happens - also know a few people like this.

It is some kind of disorder, but unless they are hurting somebody or themselves (debt?) what can you do?

[azmouse]

5. Sounds like my MIL.

She throws nothing away. In all the years I've known her (30 years) I was only in the livingroom of her house once. There is no place to sit and only a pathway to the bedroom and bathroom.
We always sat in the kitchen where the table was about half-cleared. The last time I saw her house was in 2004 (she lives in PA, my husband and I in AZ... thank gawd!) and there wasn't room for 3 of us to stand in the kitchen any more. You couldn't see the floor and the table was piled several feet high with stuff.
She is elderly and we have no idea what we'll do when she passes away or needs to go into a nursing home.

[Bertha Venation]

8. My grandma's house was kinda like that.

My sisters cleaned it up when she went to a nursing home. Among other things, they found over seven thousand dollars cash. !!!

[azmouse]

9. That's a bit of what we're afraid of... what might be hidden in the house.

We won't have the time to go through the mess because we live in AZ and she is in PA. I told my husband that when the time comes to get her house cleaned out, to just try to find any family mementos that are special to him and then let a clean up service take care of the rest. We'll just have to take our chances on nothing important getting trashed.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. I don't know, but I'm glad

to know someone else's house more of a disaster area than mine.

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

7. OCD

Compulsive hoarding. I feel sorry for whoever has to clean up after the hoarder dies.

[latebloomer]

10. My mother's house is really bad

It's almost impossible to help her get rid of stuff because she must examine every little piece of paper- "there might be a check in there!" "Well, if there is it's 15 years old and you can't cash it anymore."

Once we went to try to clear up her room so she could get a bed delivered, and she was freaking out as I threw away a pair of ancient falling-apart shoes, a cheap broken lamp, etc, etc.

It's such a shame because she has a beautiful old house with a pool, but no one can come over and enjoy it.

I've given up. She is so resistant, and the task so overwhelming, that I doubt it could be accomplished during her lifetime.

[undeterred]

11. Google "messies".

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. "Cluttering".

Yes, there is a 12-Step program.

[marzipanni]

14. Here is a Wikipedia entry about two brothers

with a severe version of what your friend's ex has.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers

[Bertha Venation]

17. Damn.

Just, damn.

[marzipanni]

19. The place where the Collyer Brothers' House stood was turned into Collyer Brothers' Park

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&q=http:%2F%2Fbbs.keyhole.com%2Fubb%2Fplacemarks%2F715807.kmz&ftid=372D9F2C3CE9121B&ll=40.808421,-73.941057&spn=0,359.999171&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=40.808421,-73.941057&panoid=_2rPzD-XAh-W_3U6t4rbAQ&cbp=13,357.38,,0.9120772946859903,-0.62

(wait for a second for the satellite map to convert to the street view)

[PassingFair]

18. I read the book "My Brother's Keeper" when I was in my teens.

Fictionalized take on the brothers, it has
stayed with me ever since.

[begin_within]

15. I would ask them if they are certain there are no kids lost in the clutter

[seemunkee]

16. Yes

My best friends parents lived like this. His mother was a doll collector, but also hoarded all kinds of crap. She had 2 storage spaces filled too. At one time she had a panic attack over his dad trying to through away ads for garage sales that had happened over a decade ago. Mostly his dad just kind of went along. When his mom passed away my friend and his dad went through the storage spaces and found nothing worth saving or selling. His dad made over 100K auctioning off dolls and now lives a pretty in a very spare house.