Types Of Hoarding

Types Of Hoarding in Michigan

Hoarding affects all types of people, young, old, male and female. The type of hoarding or clutter that is found within a household often times reflect the interests, hobbies or career of the individual. Either way, the fact of the matter is that the hoarding is affecting the individual’s life, and those surrounding them as well. In the end, the hoarder’s lifestyle may be dramatically altered, ranging from a limited social life to being cut off from family and friends as a direct or indirect result of hoarding. This ultimately leads to the hoarder becoming more and more attached to the clutter that surrounds them, relying on their “stuff” for social interaction and comfort.

ANIMAL HOARDING

BIBLIOMANIA (HOARDING OF BOOKS) / INFORMATION HOARDER

Also referred to as an information hoarder or a knowledge hoarder, this category of hoarding typically involves individuals with an extremely high intelligence. These hoarders may hold careers that require a large amount of research or the obtaining of career related materials (i.e. teachers, engineers, scientists, accountants, lawyers, etc.). The information hoarder justifies the accumulation of clutter through their never-ending quest for knowledge. We have seen information hoarding cases vary in degree and type, from a home that contained tens of thousands of books, to a home where the homeowner, a retired CPA, had rooms overflowing with work files, financial paperwork, and career related materials that dated 40 plus years old. In all of these cases, the collection of information is vital to the day-to-day process of the hoarder, no matter how unlikely the use is for all of this information. It is as if letting go of the books, magazines, and information that has accumulated to overwhelming levels will be like letting go of a part of themselves.

SYLLOGOMANIA (HOARDING OF TRASH/GARBAGE)

Syllogomania is defined as the hoarding of pure trash. Although pure syllogomania hoarding cases – where there are no items of value, sentiment, or functional use – are rarely seen, they do exist. When we encounter these types of hoarding cases, generally the overall conditions of the home are despondent. Extremes have usually been met, such as utilities being completely shut off, and the home being contaminated with a combination of insects, rodents, and gross filth conditions. These individuals in general tend to have more severe symptoms of mental disorder than the average hoarder. These symptoms require specialized treatment from not only a mental health standpoint, but also in addressing the conditions of the home. Only a company that values the human element like Select Restoration, Inc. can be trusted to compassionately tend to the remediation needs of these individuals.

LARDER HOARDING (HOARDING OF FOOD)

Larder hoarding, or more commonly known as food hoarding, is mainly contributed to the fear of losing everything. This fear drives the individual to stockpile items that may assist in a perceived “survival mode,” where they are forced to live off of their stockpile. Although everyone should have some kind of reserve in case of emergency situations, such as a natural disaster or losing a job, these individuals take this ideal to an extreme by turning their home into a storage unit for their excessive stockpile of food and other items. The large majority of the items in these scenarios go remain untouched and unused. Food hoarders are difficult to reason with, taking as example the fact that many of them do not see any validity behind expiration dates for food items.

A recycler is usually a hoarder that has large piles of plastics, glass, and aluminum cans throughout their home that far exceeds the normal amount that an average household may contain. These individuals will retain the intention in their minds that they will recycle all of the contents of their home which will bring them large amounts of cash. However, the piles continue to increase in size and scope to the point where entire rooms are filled with potential cash as the intention of recycling never materializes. Additionally, the amount of recyclables that fill the home becomes so extensive that it would literally take dozens upon dozens of trips to the recycling center to remove all of the items for recycling. Select Restoration, Inc. has worked with numerous clients that have needed our help in recycling. In these cases, we will transport all recyclables to a local recycling center for the homeowner and provide the cash and receipts as requested. Also, our vehicles are large enough so that we can cut the dozens of trips to the recycling center down to a handful, and ultimately fulfill that original intention of recycling that the homeowner had.