Cleaning out a hoarder house: any helpful tips?

[EmmaDonovan]

My friend inherited a hoarder house located about 20 minutes from where I live. She asked if I would help her clean it out, she's overwhelmed, I said sure.

There aren't piles of trash or animal feces or anything like that. The utilities are on and working. It's just packed with stuff like a storage unit, to the ceiling in some places. It's similar to this.

The owner had been sleeping on a folding cot in the entry way. There are two little foot paths from there: one to the kitchen and one to the hall bathroom. Those areas are somewhat useable but they're extremely cluttered.

We started on the hall bathroom, figuring we need a useable bathroom while we're there. It took us four days. We tossed out old toiletries, scrubbed the entire room from floor to ceiling, replaced the shower curtain and rugs and added a lighting fixture (there wasn't one). It needs updating but it's clean and organized now, enough to use comfortably.

I'm a super clean minimalist so all this is wild to me. A few years ago I helped another friend clean out her house and get ready to move after her husband passed away but it was nothing like this.

Has anyone else cleaned out a hoarder house? Want to share your experiences or any tips?

 

[cavemanrich]

If none of the items have any value to you or your friend,,,, Just stack items out front, and you would be surprised by how many peeps would come and help themselves to things. Stuff left there after a week, would be considered undesired. (so trash)
There is a saying. One mans' garbage, is another mans' treasure.
I am not a hoarder, but during my time, I did accumulate many things. Many items were related to work, or equipment.
I try to clear out items I will no longer need. (regularly) I do place out front during trash days pickup. Many of the items are picked up. Many maybe just for the metal recycling .

 

[nuthatched]

What type of stuff is it mostly? Household goods?
If you're willing to go through things, go through them with gloves and dust masks.
Rent a dumpster if possible for garbage, any personal papers can be shredded with a service or burned and anything nice can be donated.(imo not goodwilll)

If it's too much, Lions Club might be able to assist.

Cleaned out hoarder/estate home often before covid, worst was a blind lady with a book hoarding issue.
It was a decently sized 3 bedroom home with a narrow passage going through stacks of books taller than me. Hardest part was she wanted to be there to make sure we weren't getting rid of anything she wanted. It was presented as a 4 weekend job, turned into a 3 month, 4 days a week job.

She was moving down into a 1 bedroom senior living apartment, we couldn't get her to admit that she couldn't have all the books she wanted.

 

[Sally PB]

To do it as quickly as possible: Get a 20 yard (or larger) dumpster delivered, and put everything you can't immediately see as valuable to you or your friend in it.

Wear gloves, wear a mask. There could be all kinds of mold in the piles of stuff.

If you can't steel yourself to just throwing everything (or nearly everything) out, this will be a much longer task. Yes, there could be treasure in a box somewhere, but it could take days/weeks/months to find it if you have to go through everything.

Good luck.

 

[WingItRanch]

I'm about to do this exact thing. I purchased a property for the land but it came with a house. There's some cosmetic stuff needed but overall livable. There is a lot of STUFF, though. A lifetime of collection and none of the family of the man who lived there wants it.

I'm going pack up any personal papers or photos I find and give it to the daughter. Everything else will go in a rented dumpster or donated to Habitat for Humanity. Depending on your location, they'll even come pick it up.

Your best bet is to stay organized and make decisions fast. 3 piles: keep, donate, trash. Don't think too hard about which pile the items belongs.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

These ideas are great, thank you so much!
A dumpster and a paper shredder would be very useful, I'll pass that along.

It's mostly household stuff but we don't know what all is in there. The owner was a relative of hers so we're keeping an eye out for family photos, heirlooms, etc.

We are using the three categories (keep, trash, donate). Some items are still new in their packages. We saw several unopened Amazon delivery boxes.

Everything is covered in epic levels of desert dust. We're using gloves, N95 masks, and HEPA air cleaners.

We found an unopened gift tin of posh soaps (La Chatelaine) in the bathroom. We were excited but when we unwrapped them they smelled awful! We went from to . I don't know what would make soap bars smell like that. We tossed them.

I'm guessing the clean out will take us a few months, we're going there in shifts when we have time. We put on a classic rock station or some interesting podcast and have fun. We're archeologists on a dig, haha. It is rather like uncovering hidden layers of some ancient civilization.

 

[WingItRanch]

These ideas are great, thank you so much!
A dumpster and a paper shredder would be very useful, I'll pass that along.

It's mostly household stuff but we don't know what all is in there. The owner was a relative of hers so we're keeping an eye out for family photos, heirlooms, etc.

We are using the three categories (keep, trash, donate). Some items are still new in their packages. We saw several unopened Amazon delivery boxes.

Everything is covered in epic levels of desert dust. We're using gloves, N95 masks, and HEPA air cleaners.

We found an unopened gift tin of posh soaps (La Chatelaine) in the bathroom. We were excited but when we unwrapped them they smelled awful! We went from to . I don't know what would make soap bars smell like that. We tossed them.

I'm guessing the clean out will take us a few months, we're going there in shifts when we have time. We put on a classic rock station or some interesting podcast and have fun. We're archeologists on a dig, haha. It is rather like uncovering hidden layers of some ancient civilization.

You should update this thread with interesting finds! You can make anything fun with good music and good company.