Helping Britain's Most Extreme Hoarders Marathon | Absolute Documentaries

I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription required download vele now [Music] I'm Jasmine Harman and my mum's been a compulsive hoarder all my life this room is shameful when I was growing up I felt that she loved her stuff more than she loved me do you want small bags last year I tried to help clear The Horde from mum's house I'm telling you you're not keeping all of these eggs I'm trying to control myself thank you and I'm telling you I'm keeping those if that isn't with your agreement then we have to fall out I discovered little is known about why people hoard just looking for answers and there aren't any Outlet yeah there are people up and down the country living in appalling conditions amongst piles of clutter that they can't bear to part with [Music] why do I have to get rid of all my towels whilst helping my own mum get to grips with her situation I've heard from some of Britain's biggest Hoarders now I want to help them as well I had all kept my way very carefully what's in there that's our living room after years of living with Audi which something normal I just want to be the same as everybody else because you're not I want to find out if there are ways to help hoarders overcome this debilitating condition April last year it must be oh God earlier I've been frightened of death for the first time in my life [Music] experts believe hoarding should be recognized as a distinct psychological disorder but it's not families like mine are living with shame and secrecy and we're not alone behind closed doors up to three million people are suffering and there are a few places they can turn for help [Music] instant Albans Marion and Alan have lived with Alan's hoarding for over 30 years absolutely fabulous Pretty Woman [Music] I don't want to remove too many because if this look slides the whole lot will go down at the moment there's not one room that we can use properly since they're in the kitchen they completely fill the dining room I haven't been in the living room for maybe two years since you blocked the doorway up in their three-bedroom semi there's only one place that Marion can actually sit down Allen's horde has reached Epic Proportions it's taken over the entire backyard and the front garden too emotionally I do value those things I feel comfortable with them they're not in the way Allen's hoarding has taken its toll on the couple's 41-year marriage and on Family Life they have three adult children who all grew up in the house I felt it took a lot from took a lot with my children really he did because he took care of this stuff and he didn't necessarily take care of us I had to do that I don't want to be here like [Music] this although I've lived with it for a long time with my mum I've never been to another hoarded house before so I don't really know what to expect hello hello come hello Jasmine really nice to meet you lovely to meet you thank you for having me it's not very easy to get in don't worry what's in there that's our living room it's not in the moment those are all these uh old vhs's they're all Alan's well the trouble is we can't get into the room where the video might be so these are the two bedrooms next door in the store and then there's a small one here which you can't even see the door is there you can't even see the door so you both sleep in that much better yeah I'm afraid so it's not much as it is probably a half at the bathroom that's the bathroom what about getting showered and things like that not at the moment you can't go to my dad or a friend so when's the last time you were able to use the shower a year ago really on my own shower yeah where does he get stuff from just walking around and finding things skips Are Good Charity shops anything anybody's thrown out would come back here has he been like this ever since you've known him it wasn't really showing itself until it got two redundancies right one following on another I think that's the trigger it's like his possessions took the place of his family and his friends and it makes you anxious which part of it make you anxious the embarrassment of it I suppose you understand I know you do you do I know that you would and that is just that's amazing because for years you think you're the only one that it's happening to you think nobody else lives like this nobody else has to live like this you'd be amazed how many people do despite their piles of possessions many hoarders remain in denial hello Jasmine nice to meet you Alan do you think that you have a problem with hoarding possessions holding it well I know it looks equally pickledy at the moment but tidied up and put in its place see nothing is in its right place it's just laying about so you think it's just because there's not adequate storage exactly yeah so with the books do you have any idea how many you've got oh I look at these books as friends everyone's a friend Alan is emotionally where my mum was about three years ago um still very much in denial so it would be amazing if Alan could start along that same road to acknowledging what's going on bloody hell so I've also got an electrical problem [Applause] 64 year old Richard lives in this four-story townhouse in North London over the last 40 years he's filled every inch with clutter but unlike Alan Richard seems Keen to get rid of some of his horde that is an almost in-date mushroom risotto which I should have cooked by now [Music] there is an incredible amount of rubbish it's total mass it's filthy dirty all this clutter means that I can't carry on life in a normal way three of Richard's 12 rooms are completely inaccessible and he can only just squeeze into his living room bedroom kitchen and bathroom oh God moving around the house has become a hazard as the floors are completely covered in layers of packaged food plastic bags and general rubbish house isn't helping Richard's already poor health his just spent nine days in hospital with a respiratory infection it has overwhelmed me as my health has deteriorated over the last few years I'm sort of getting near to the bottom right now I have actually gone into my doctor and said I've been frightened of death for the first time in my life I have got a rat bugger foreign ERS won't come and help and family connections are very very limited it's one of these things where the family didn't work very well the world that I'm stepping into Richard hasn't let anybody in the house for a long time so I'm guessing it's going to be quite bad foreign follow me and fight your way back through this chaos and clutter having all this plastic and paper on the stairs I'm surprised you haven't tripped or slipped down to be honest I have to keep my way very carefully so we've finally got to my bedroom which is in utter chaos there's no proper Heating in it but it must be freezing with a broken window it's very uncomfortable because you get so cold it's not good enough for my health picking my way through this last mountain of clutter gets me to our chaotic kitchen Richard's asked me to find someone to help him clear his floors but having met him I think he'll need more than physical help how do you think it's got to this stage just being unable to cope and with the back and leg injuries that are historic I can't bend down and pick up off the floor for too long a period but how do the things get on the floor in the first place they fall right gravity and when I say how has it got to this stage I suppose I mean not things falling off but how has it got to the stage that everything has to be balancing on top of things so that they do fall off partly because of the problems of the design of the house it was designed 30 odd years ago a modern house has far more places to put things [Music] this is an awful awful way for anybody to live I know Richard's got health problems and back problems but he's also a little bit in denial and I think there's probably a lot more to it than Richard is letting on at the moment and he may not even realize what's really going on under the surface hopefully having someone here with him will make a real difference foreign [Music] Ty home sweet home last year we managed to clear a few rooms in my mum's house which was a huge step forward but a real struggle and most of the house remained unusable since then mums continued to have therapy for her hoarding and now seems to be in a much better place emotionally if I can see that there is a problem therefore I want to deal with it and I feel like I can deal with it but I just can't deal with it on my own my mum's won a very very few hoarders who have a high level of awareness about what they're doing and about the problem and how it affects their life and she also really wants to change and this stuff decided to take a radical step and Tackle mum's entire called [Music] I don't know where to start like do I do I actually take all the food stuff with me or just put all the pictures together love everyone's everywhere and I'm kind of a bit panicky but um haven't started crying yet the plan is to remove everything from the house to a big Warehouse then Mom can come and actually see what she's got and to get rid of things everything out we have a fresh canvas that would make me happy the first time in 25 years mum's house is completely clear [Music] I'm quite upset actually I just feel bereft I do it's quite difficult and and I know I'm putting on a brave face but actually her in to have let go of everything to the warehouse that's a great one thank you the pile in the middle is getting smaller isn't it yeah we've taken all of mum's horde to a local Warehouse mum's asked for everything to be spread out and sorted into categories to make it easier for her to decide what to discard but I'm concerned that seeing the contents of the whole house displayed like this might overwhelm her hi Mom no you're right [Music] what do you think it's all rather lumped up isn't it it's not like even this is the only thing that's spread out I know but I mean I don't know I could choose the shoes now and then get rid of the rest yeah go on them [Music] foreign just having a hard time sorry everything he's all your stuff it's in the warehouse and choose what you're gonna take don't take too much and let go all right so I'm having trouble now I knew it would be difficult I just didn't know when the difficulty would arise and it's a reason now all right it's still very very difficult for her because it's a very emotional process and so that's why we have to go at her Pace we have to do it in a way that she's comfortable with [Music] for the last nine months mum's been opening up about her childhood in Cyprus with psychologist Felix economakis so vasula would it be okay today to do a little bit of work on the the loss of your father the loss of any parent is is obviously a significant thing it's a big deal and because there is a theme of loss implicated with hoarding then this is really an area that we need to look at when Mom was four years old her father my grandfather was murdered during a period of political unrest in Cyprus my mum and the rest of her family were forced to emigrate leaving their whole lives behind even though it's a long time ago it's still possible that there are unprocessed feelings about it so when you think of the loss of your father what comes up for you it's a lack of security lack of comfort deprivation of love it's a lack of anything everything you know we carry a father and mother and everybody else inside of us is the part we go inside we internalize them Felix asks mum to imagine her father is in one hand able to have a conversation with herself in the other what would father save that part that would be a nice thing to sort of to say and to know if for example I was talking to my daughter I would say I'm incredibly proud of you you're a lovely woman I think I'll keep it in my head okay how does that part feel to hear that and take that on board it was nice it feels nice yeah [Music] that's right a little bit of releasing first is natural [Music] the reason she likes to surround herself with a lot of possessions is because she's trying to feel a void I just hate that she's ready to move on from the feeling of comfort and security that she gets from having all the belongings around her I don't want this process of clearing up a house to end up being another loss thank you oh you crunched all that wood now good oh do it to annoy you no smashed all that down instant Albans Allen's horde no longer fits into his house and his back and front Gardens are piled high with clutter the garden's such an eyesore that four months ago the local Council took legal action requiring Marion and Alan to clear the Garden or risk prosecution they now have two weeks until their deadline I'm feeling anxious because when you don't know what's going to happen it's you know you worry and if Alan doesn't cooperate where do we go he's got to change something because it's got to be done today I've asked Alan to try and make us start clearing his garden I want to see whether everything means something to him or whether he can let some things go I know that from working with my mum and working through her possessions initially it's very very difficult you have to take it slowly I think that the key to working with Alan is going to be letting him make the decisions should we have a look through them you want to keep them all yeah can we throw the wet books but you need to look at the books first right okay you want these yeah for moving a fridge remove anything oh anything logically when are we going to be moving anything oh God's sake no don't go don't go I'll put I'll find somewhere for them inside if you really want to have them put them under the bed thing right I thought you already had lots of paper paper's here there's papers there foreign stuff you've said can go yeah I can see that uh most of that we don't really want anymore no no if I'd have had more time I might have decided differently after a full day's work Allen's only managed to clear a tiny area of the garden [Music] having seen how difficult it is for Alan to part with any of his horde I'm worried that at this rate they won't get it cleared on time my big worry Alan is that I don't know how you're going to be able to prioritize pleasing the council and keeping the stuff that you want to keep see I've never looked on it as a problem it's other people's problem I was always taught you don't interfere with other people so but there's the risk of getting prosecuted or you know the risk of relying I mean are you worried at all about well there's no good worrying there's no good worrying about it Alan may not be worried but I know that Marion is how easy do you find it to talk to Ellen about this problem not very easy at all the trouble is that I I've spent a lot of time doing not doing anything not trying to change it because I know it's going to make Alan angry what is it then that pushes his buttons or gets him angry anybody taking moving um or even even sort of threatening to move things how are you feeling about the Council situation I try not to let myself think about it because I don't know how to cope with it if I allow myself really to think how enormous it is I fall apart and I'm no good to anybody falling apart no you're not I'm not foreign [Music] it's possible to get through to him that what he's doing is hurting himself and hurting Marion [Music] at Richards there's also a huge horde to tackle so often chaos comes before order he's told me he wants his cluttered floors cleared but like Alan I think he's going to find it very hard to part with any of his possessions so I'm treading carefully with all the things like the plastic bottles and the food packaging and stuff like that is that rubbish or is that something that you need vast majority of this stuff that's now down on the floor is rubbish okay I've yet to work out what's really going on for Richard but making his house safer to move around seems like a good place to start I've asked Heather matawatso a professional declutterer with extensive experience working with hoarders to help me hi hi you must be Heather I am yes greetings nice to see you there's an awful lot that I need to get out of here it's impossible to know how Richard will react when the actual clearing starts and I think that's what stays all about to be able to gauge a little bit on what he says compared to what he's actually ready to do I know you're quite used to working in this kind of environment is this daunting for you or no not really it's a big house and there's a lot a lot of stuff but I think the main thing is to find out what he really wants to keep and it's really important that they feel as though they're in charge because it's their stuff and it's their house and it's their decisions there's so much food everywhere what is this April last year it must be it's awful it's what makes it smell so bad in here these it's really dangerous because there's a lot of out of date food and paper and there's plastic bags all up and down the stairs it's a wonder that he hasn't fallen down these stairs and broken his neck Heather and I start to make progress but we soon hit a problem what's happened is that I found one or two things which they've thrown out but when you actually check it out you find there are one or two important things I've brought a few things up that you wanted to keep but I'd just like to ask you why you wanted to keep the stuff if you can let me just so for example the stuff that's a bit moldy like this always I I just say it saves the jars right okay and this is just in dates but still really and there's another tin that really is I think I think they're dangerous Richard I know you like kidney beans I mean this tin of kidney bees looks grotty but in actual fact the bottom of the can is perfectly all right they look dangerous that's my point that's why I threw them away but I think that's got to be my decision as to whether I'm going to throw away money that I've spent on food obviously if it's deteriorated inside then out it goes but you can't see botulism or smell it or detect it and that's what you get from Rusty tins I once at my late mother's house opened a can of steak that was 20 years old and it was perfect I I threw them away because I just thought they sorry I feel this this particular point of the discussion is absolutely relevant and I don't want to be discussing tins of beans Heather's agreed to help me with Richard for the next 10 days but he's made it clear things have to be done on his terms I think that my greatest concern is I've got to be able to say yay or no to what goes out of the door is having a pair of hands who can help me not a pair of hands that wants to do what it wants to do [Music] he's really at odds with himself on one side he's desperate to not live like this and on the other side he can't help himself he cannot just say fine get rid of it all he has to check everything and that's not his fault that is part of this illness [Music] Marion and Alan have just one week left to clear the horde in their garden and they're at a standstill they're unable to even discuss the situation but today I want them to try because they have no room in their own home we're meeting at their daughter Lucy's house [Music] what I'm hoping is that they will all have an opportunity to share how they're feeling in a way that's constructive that's not judgmental [Music] and maybe in seeing how much Marion is hurting it might have some impact on how quickly Alan can progress with the garden foreign I think my dad finds it really hard to see how difficult he's made it for the rest of the family I've got two young boys one's nearly eight and one's five but I can't take them over to mum and Dad's house because there's just no space for them that makes me feel quite sad really we've never as a family been able to sit down and talk objectively about the problem any attempts have been um just met with anger and you know or silence we know that it's you know this isn't about criticism or blame or I've asked psychologist Dr Caroline Wells who's trained in treating hoarders and family therapy to facilitate the meeting also to perhaps I don't know leave any you know defensiveness at the door as well they want to clear I want to retain it because I've got a use for it maybe Marion if you could tell us a little bit about your experience we can't live the way we've been living and the things I want I'm not unreasonable things I would really like my grandsons to come over him and be able to play in the garden because if you leave it too long there'll be teenagers who won't be interested they don't know what a great credit you'd be if you could let you let your show Lucy would like the boys to know you better as well I just worry that my mum's gonna trip over down the really narrow path that she has to step over and she's got a phone and she's gonna break her leg you know I worry about them in this house and in this Garden that is dangerous and it's not going to get any better unless we you know it's just gonna get worse after years of living with Hardy you just want more something ordinary I just want to be the same as everyone but you're not what's it like listening to Marion saying she just wants a bit of normality oh no oh no how does that make you feel [Music] selfish I suppose would you say having the grandchildren over would be an advantage well it'd be nice to have them come over and play but listening to how much it would mean to Marion to have this yes yeah so I know she would enjoy them coming over uh well we'll work towards that goal when it comes to things and family some difficult to draw a line somewhere but uh I can't say that I feel more about objects than I do about the children or my wife attention is that he will be able to clear some stuff he'll be able to avoid prosecution whether that can actually materialize or not we don't know the proof is in the pudding isn't it at Richard's house we've now taken nearly 30 bags of rotting food plastic bags packaging and paper off his floors but Richard has to painstakingly inspect every bag before letting us throw anything away I'm deciding what is definitely rubbish God that's a pencil oh Richard is still very much at the stage of needing to check everything this is his first time tackling the problem and I do think that that's to be expected really and that's quite normal oh can you pass me back that tray so I can get rid of these papers here off the floor rubbing into that size bag I wouldn't have thought yeah he's finding it very hard to let go of things but I think Richard and I know each other well enough now that I can set him a challenge which is to ask him if he can let go of some newspapers and not have to check them because once he knows what it feels like and it doesn't hurt or it's not frightening then he'll be able to do that and work a lot quicker okay we've got a little box of newspapers for us too look through just as an experiment I would really like to see if you can take all those papers and put them in the bag without looking through them how would that make you feel um describe your sort of emotions just a little bit concerned I just want to flick through it it is time consuming but the thing is it works for me I'm worried about time and given your health as well I feel that this house could without sounding overly dramatic be the death of you I definitely want to check them because I want to see what's going out of the door just suspend that thought for a minute no I've made I'm not going to suspend that it's more important to you to check everything yeah at the moment it is then it's more important to check everything the risk losing a little thing your health is not as important even if it shortens my life for my peace of mind I would rather go through it [Music] right now he is backed into a corner his health is suffering he can't function properly at all and he doesn't know what to do but he doesn't really want to clear out at the moment and he needs to have other people to help him [Music] I've asked Professor Paul sarkovskis one of Britain's few hoarding experts to talk to Richard hello pleased to meet you from my own experience with my mum the first step towards getting better is actually admitting that you've got a problem so how do you see your problem the house is a problem because I haven't got the physical strength to actually get on and sort it out okay but it was that what's missing from that is how you feel about this lot I'd like to get it sorted and the rubbish I'd like to get thrown out all right and still not quite get how you feel about it how do you mean I mean we're sitting here in an icy cold house surrounded by a lot of stuff yeah most of which is not accessible to you and I'm Keen to understand what it's really like to be you I'm also Keen to understand a bit more about how you feel about yourself and about the situation you're in I'm sorry I'm I'm finding it very difficult to see where you're coming from one of the possibilities I'm thinking about is that you really try and avoid thinking too much about how you feel which would bring us fairly neatly onto what has happened to you right okay difficult childhood um slightly dysfunctional family there was quite a lot of domestic upheaval I would say when Richard was 13 his father left the family and Richard's Whole Life was turned upside down overnight it put a lot of stresses on me because I became the man of the house and you know it wasn't a good scene and relationships with my father deteriorated quite seriously so pretty horrible all round not the most Pleasant of times was money a bit tight at that time yes it was extremely tight my mother got heavily into that inevitably so at least some of your ideas about the value of things come from that time yes it does probably does um because I had to be conscious and aware of what things cost but in my child's heard my parents divorce and things like that you've got to move on you can't live in another thing I know but I actually think a lot of this is coming from turmoil that you've gone through and you're sinking into the quicksand of this stuff to the point the quality of your life is so poor um well you're asking me with my life worth living I might ask you that I'm asking you whether you might consider ending this phase of your life in order to enter one that is not dominated by these huge Pilots maybe they are just things but they have been a part of my life and I'm not the sad to have somebody come in from outside of my life do you see this as part of a problem because nobody would be taking part in life where your life these things have taken your life away that you know until the way around and I think it's appropriate that you have some further help in both areas which I would be quite happy to do so okay so how did it go with Richard I would be pretty happy with that as a first session he drew some clear links between some of the pretty awful life experiences he's had and his attachment to possessions then he's not going to be able to make major changes until he's dealt with some of the issues that we've pulled out today and have you worked with people in the past who have overcome this kind of level of clutter problem yes yeah no no no I I wouldn't I wouldn't write him off I think we made some progress I think he tended to be a little bit too oriented on what my past life was but the work that I'm doing with Heather is probably a lot more practical and useful but I think there is scope for some more discussion to help me Richard will need ongoing treatments if he's to really get to the root of his Hoarding in the meantime we're going to continue trying to clear his floors and stairs in Saint Albans Alan and Marion have just one day left before the council deadline runs out and their Garden could be inspected do we want all those hangers [Music] I don't want to have to go and buy anything when I've already got it for the first time friends to go through his things in an effort to meet the deadline [Music] I feel really terrible actually if we can't get the garden finished today it's really difficult because the more people there are the less control Alan would feel like he's got and that just might send him a little bit over the edge I mean how many thoughts about the China I don't know yet because it was happening so fast you know there's a day with everybody here [Music] how are you dressed eyebrows just you can't what without 10 people you know I can't see what they're all doing is this definitely for keeping because there's a lot of paper can I check those stick them in there all right I'll let you know [Music] just for today what I need you today this is your new life Alan yeah under Alan's supervision newspapers web books and broken Bricker Brack are all going in the skip is that books or yeah it looks like books for a long time Alan wouldn't let anybody else help because he didn't see us helping at all so it's amazing that Alan has allowed all these people to come in and he's doing it not only for necessity but he's doing it for his family as well plastic can go the plastic can go but you want the wire one is that right you want the wire ones right okay what about this old video the video well done yep yep okay right look that we nearly made it through to this table that's fantastic by the end of the day three skips have been filled the backyard's still full but for the first time in five years Marion and Alan have a clear front garden [Music] how does it make you feel having all that space now wow it's magic wow you've done so well Alan and Marion just made a vast difference and thanks to everybody you're welcome I'm grateful for what we've done and what help we've given that it does sort of hurt to see things get thrown away in the skip Alan and Marion have cleared enough to avoid prosecution for now their house is still stuffed with Alan's things and most rooms are unusable but Marion's optimistic something really good has it's been a long time coming and if Alan thinks it's magical then maybe we can work some more Magic I'm just delighted I really didn't think this could happen foreign [Music] unlike Alan mum's had the benefit of years of therapy but we're now halfway through her time in the warehouse and she's still struggling to let go of her horde I'm on the verge of a meltdown to be honest because I can't see how it's going to work everything here had to go back to the house I would feel totally gutted if there was no emotion involved involved you know it wouldn't hurt me to walk away from here and say I don't need anything thought I can't handle that at the moment I can't be like that remind me again why do I have to get rid of all my towels the same reason why you have to get rid of voices everything because you've got too much stuff you can't live properly remember I was kind of agreeing to let these go even though inside I didn't want to and and that's okay you don't and yeah and I don't know what to do foreign [Music] warehouse and spread it all out and display it all nicely and mum will be able to just go around just take that one and that one and that one and the rest can go [Music] I just feel really stupid but that I could have even perceived that this would all be done [Music] over at Richard's house progress is just as slow in the last 10 days we've bagged a vast amount of rubbish and you can now see some of the stairs and Floors but Richard's still refusing to let anything be binned until he's gone through it [Music] so what have you got there then this time last week we found this I set you a challenge would we get rid of a box of newspapers without looking at them and I turned around and I said well no I think I would rather actually glance and I make the decision I want you to learn what it feels like to let go without checking because the checking is what's got you here take that leap of faith try it I really don't know I don't know how my brain is ticking just that bag no simple as that [Music] I feel it coming come on come on give us a yes I can take one sample one out in the middle of it okay [Music] look at the light the power of life or death caused by excess newspapers [Music] ah well done that's fantastic wow are you and actually you know what Richard you won't even think about those you were over again you won't you know that's amazing well done [Music] come on Superstar yay there it goes bye bye history well done where's my lid [Music] should be really really proud of yourself now I've taken a big step so how do you feel now after after that first move that you've made I feel invigorated because there's a lot of progress has been made do you know what makes me the happiest is the fact that you enjoyed doing that because you'll get that feeling again going through this experience has been very useful for me it's quite revealing it's good to know that there's a possibility that they can be helped for me to sort out my life and my home to get something done whereas until now I felt there was little hope at all there's still a really really long way to go for Richard but I think the last couple of weeks has been transformational inside him because he's been throwing stuff out he's seen a psychologist and I hope that this house won't be the death of him [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's our final day in the warehouse and at last mum's managed to push through the pain of having to decide what to keep and what to let go that can go and that goes with that and that could go to mums made quick decisions on hundreds of items she's also let go of scores of boxes without even checking the contents it's just unprecedented and so it's great it's absolutely just out of this world amazing maybe she's deciding you know what time is more valuable my space at home is more valuable and it doesn't mean that much to me anyway so just let it go there's still some work to do but my God we've made a massive dent in all the stuff so I couldn't ask for more really I would never ever have believed that Mom would get to that stage never [Music] bye bye goodbye I'm trying to be brave trying to be brave I don't feel as if I've got rid of enough but you know never give up hope they're off say bye to your stuff mum dump you [Music] I've probably parted with about 50 of my belongings strangely enough I don't miss the things that have gone so it's quite odd the problem is I'm still a hoarder and in order to stay in control of it I I still need help most of what mum's kept is upstairs but the ground floor is clear enough for her to have the family around for dinner for the first time in eight years it's hard to believe that this is the same house thank you hello it looks so great isn't it the White House the future for this house will be more laughter and happiness hopefully that's what I'd like it's really nice to have you all here and we've all worked so hard really grateful you're really lovely thank you thank you for doing it mum well done [Music] it's a nice feeling to feel like home really exists that's really nice that's the best part of this actually thank you Jasmine oh thanks Mama thanks everyone [Laughter] Richard has now employed someone to help him clear his house and plans to continue psychological treatment Alan has allowed Marion and her friends to carry on working on their back Garden [Music] and I've learned that hoarding is not a lost cause but it does need to be recognized as a specific condition that people need help with there is light at the end of the tunnel even for some of the biggest Hoarders [Music] foreign [Music] Harmon and I've lived with my mother's compulsive hoarding all my life I'm telling you I'm keeping those if that isn't with your agreement then we have to fall out with help my mum's made huge improvements and now I want to help other hoarders around the country who are living in terrible conditions I'm feeling desperate because I can't cope with it this isn't me this isn't me living like this I am shocked it's literally a wall of stuff these are people who have lost their homes and lives to hoarding it's going to feel like you can't make it and that's totally normal oh yeah do you want to spend the rest of your years with this hanging over you sorry I can't do it I want hoarders up and down the country to realize they aren't alone get rid you can't use them so that's a good decision you've made I'm really proud of you oh and that with the right help their lives can improve too really good to have my space back look what I have found the things that I've found that I never actually knew that I had I've got something wrong with me which lots of other people have got and it can be cured foreign this year hoarding disorder has been recognized as a distinct psychological condition despite the official recognition families like mine are still living with the shame and secrecy of hoarding up to three million people are suffering and there are a few places they can turn for help 87 year old Olive has lived in this three-bedroom semi-detached Council house in Brighton since 1933. her home is so full that she's forced to spend most of her day outside I'll be able to throw away anything that can be recycled I might see it lying about on the road and pick it up and bring it back if I wanted to pray and I saw a decent pram you know yeah bring it back I don't hold I keep stuff that will be used again the inside of Olive's house is full to the brim with thousands of plastic bags old furniture and clothes that's all aluminum can go there she can't cook or use the bathroom at home so gets her meals from the community center where she also washes I want it sorted out to be able to live in it I mean it's not uh a place that you can invite anybody in because you can't get in there Toby where's your ball oh somebody's taking that taking it and recycled it that's where you expect [Music] I'd come across Olive in newspaper articles about the various battles she's had over her recycling they mentioned that the interior of the house was also badly hoarded she's agreed to meet me but I don't know how she'll receive me hello you're doing all your recycling yes so well it smells such a muddle from the wind last night and then oh this was normally in a proper order Olive has never married or had children so has no family to support her she has only limited sight and is registered blind do you spend a lot of time here at home no not now I'm out most of the time I have to be out I've got no music cooking hot water have you got hot water no oh it's all cut off it's all turned off how would you feel about showing me around inside a little bit well you couldn't you couldn't you couldn't go in there because I don't know what it's like what do you mean well I've not been able to go in since all this was piled up but you you sleep inside of course I do I've got a bedroom I'll sleep upstairs yeah Olive believes a move into temporary accommodation 13 years ago lies at the heart of her problems she feels that when she was moved back home the council failed to put her possessions back properly and this ultimately created the current chaos the Mets nothing to do with recycling no that's the council although Olive is reluctant to let anyone see inside her house she agrees to let me have a look behind the door to see the scale of the problem oh hello who's that who is it who is it not one minute not inside say again no I don't want you to go in there no I was just seeing if I could have a look no no no don't want you to go in there no almost immediately I find out just how sensitive Olive is about strangers seeing inside her house hello I'll tell you the devil that was kind of you might be a minute that's right I don't know how she gets in now in there it's literally a wall of stuff I'm actually hey I'm shocked I'm the first it's definitely worse than my mom's house ever was can I ask you Olive you know would getting into your house more easily oh be important to you I don't like living in that um it's like a muddle really okay couldn't be happy could you hi why you couldn't be happy uh I mean poor cat has to you know never mind poor cat yeah but what about poor you 87 years old climbing climbing up a mountain well it keeps me fit Olive has lived in this house virtually all of her life but now she's unable to access most of the rooms due to her hoarding each night she literally climbs over a wall of clutter to get to bed the only way to access her home will be to somehow get the hallway emptied and sorted into a separate space I was thinking if you take some stuff out if we could create a space outside where things could be kept dry we could do some sorting outside maybe I don't want to get it clear there I want to get it cleared yeah it's been really nice to meet you thank you for letting me have a peek inside I will see you soon you want me to come up no it's all right bye Toby say bye bye bye bye [Music] I just cannot get my head around it it's more hoarded if that makes sense than any other house that I've seen it seems like I'm on the back foot with it before I've even started she's deep down very ashamed of the inside of the house and scared because she hasn't been into the kitchen or the back room or even the front room for years she doesn't know what's there the only one that's been through there is the cat so God knows what's through there I've been contacted by someone whose experience of hoarding reminds me very much of my own [Music] in South London Vicky and her brother have lived with their mum Janet's hoarding since they were small in here's my mom's room in their three-bedroom Maisonette the family squeezed through Janet's piles of possessions trying to live a normal life Vicky is a full-time student who looks after the household finances and works 12 hours a week in a part-time job even if I had a friend to say oh um we would like to come around to your house I would actually like tell them oh my mom's busy like she doesn't want anyone in the house or try and make up lies like who would want to bring someone here it's embarrassing it's so embarrassing I used to be too ashamed to invite people to my haunted house when I was growing up so I decide to meet Vicky at a cafe have you ever tried to clear things out before with your mum um not really even me if I wanted to clear up my clothes I'm not allowed to she says I need to have a permission to clear up my own clothes that is exactly so the same as when I was living at home I was not even allowed to clear out my own possession yeah and if I threw something out in the bin if I had a you know she will take it back out and it was soon back inside the house but it was frustrated but all you could do is laugh and if you don't laugh you just cry yeah what to do that you don't want to do that I mean what kind of thing do you think would be helpful for your mum support in what kind of support in terms of like counseling that's the main thing so she can realize just help and support in terms of that Vicky's mum Janet arrived in England from Nigeria almost 25 years ago she has limited English and is being treated for depression like many hoarders she's become very used to living in chaos hello hi foreign here not really where do you spend your time in when you're indoors sit your own bedroom in your bedroom outside so far from deep pressure are you all right with having me here yes I'm fine what do you think do you think there's anything that could help you feel better oh yes yes because I need help oh well hopefully we can help okay hopefully we can help Janet's house has hundreds of suitcases full of clothes and materials from Nigeria she also Hoards blankets duvets and childhood toys so this is your mom's room is it Yep this is her room so she just has a little bit of a bed to sleep on wow she used to have more space than that this is kind of similar to my mum's bedroom when she you know she used to just have a little bit of the bed that was available all the rest of everything around was piled up and then it went up into the corner but right up to the ceiling and then it spread and spread this is my room okay not all of it is my stuff okay so you add the tables and it was so much clearer before but I was like I can't be asked to talk anymore this is an area I mean if we're going to try and do some stuff in the house maybe we could do your room that's what I thought at first so she can set example look at this room maybe my room could be like that do you know when you live with something you stop seeing you stop noticing and I think that is very true of hoarding so you live with it all around you and you stop seeing it foreign [Music] is causing massive pressure in the family home the way Janet's house is right now is the way my mom's house was when I lived at home and after I left home it got a lot worse than that could happen in exactly the same way with this family as it did with my family if it's left unchecked a couple of weeks after first meeting her I'm going to see Olive in Brighton again to see if she really is ready to change Olive has agreed to let us put up a large tent outside where the stuff from her hallway can be sorted I've asked Andy honey who has worked with extreme hoarders before to help are you okay me just temporarily moving he's just gonna pop him here for a second just oh yeah yeah I don't care where you put me then we can put the markers straight down the edge of the wall here oh you're gonna do it on this side yeah yeah so do you want me to I'll be getting a few bits ready yeah yeah yeah uh you know at allegedly pace this bit I can do let's let's move him making me hit me hits him I'll push it down here oh there we go we're in we're in so well Olive appears to be really motivated to get things moving and much happier allowing me to go inside but what confronts me is even more daunting than last time there's some there do you know what I live yeah it's even higher than it was before oh yeah because I see through to the kitchen before I've got food stuff in there oh all that stuff yeah before I could see that through to the kitchen no I can't see unless I'm shrunk no all I can say is that um I could have thrown stuff up there with the scale of the task even bigger than I thought I'm Keen to get olive clearing so did you want to start getting some stuff out while it's nice and dry and sunny and not really not really first off I've got to leave some recycling out tonight and and so I must do that what have you got to do make sure there's no tin oh yeah long process why not really Olive has recycled since the war and has been in conflict with the authorities about it for decades My worry is that her constant recycling is distracting her from clearing yeah this routine of the recycling is what Olive does day in day out but it is definitely partially avoidance it's what she's got at home so the rest of that is all tin is it all tin yeah yeah it's all tin all dripping yeah it's a bit rank it's getting a bit slightly anxious about the fact that it's going to get dark and we won't have been able to get much done for in the hallway oh yes we will like that long yeah it won't take long Olive has a vast amount of recycling to sort through it's mostly tins and packaging she picks up from the street how are you feeling about getting started in the hall oh it's going to get started actually good let's do it right food I don't know I think so let me check um I've got to have this yes of course I can't add that out in the tent that is um partly food and partly something else so you can take out the food just leave it because I know I know what's there yeah you know I know I'll leave it with your other bag that's got to stay as it is yeah leave that as it is once Olive finally gets around to some clearing it's at a very leisurely pace a family breakfast cereal oh good I've been looking for that for a week oh yeah but if you want me to go in I can see probably in there no I mean instead of you no no that's why I would do it because I know I mean I know our stacked stuff okay so I'll get some more paperwork okay uh if you want we're nearing the end of getting this stuff out here because it's all falling down I think that if if she would let you or me go in and move stuff out yeah obviously we could do it in a day and I can leg it backwards and forwards I bought a sack barrel down on me as well yeah so because she's got loads of boxes in that front room because it's just the hallway that we've only got a tackle hello toe are you fed up huh are you fed up babe hi all right come over look at the temp for it it's too dark okay that's your paperwork there so far paper right there doesn't look so much now does it we came by I'm going in I'm not stopping out here it's cold well that's what I was worried about that's what I thought it'd be better to do it indoors um one day in and olives hallway looks largely unchanged cool yeah oh [Music] it would have been easier when the stuff was held to have done this I leave her climbing the mountain of rubbish to get to bed clear there it's just I'm back in South London to see Janet and I immediately sensed the tension upstairs [Music] how are you getting on with Victoria Victoria starts screaming shouting on my head today this morning she starts shouting again have you been arguing since I've been gone away no I've been getting all right until today until today she's starting Vicky has been to the council to sort out Janet's rent narrowly avoiding eviction for the family and missing her University course in the process sometimes you say things that you don't mean In the Heat of the Moment yeah that's okay I've asked Dr Caroline Wells a clinical psychologist specializing in hoarding and family issues who I've worked with before to come and talk to them I want to see if she can help the family build some bridges Vicky what about you what's it like for you it's been very frustrating like living here but then you want to move out then you want to stay because you're worried that if you move out things will be worse or that's that's how I feel I'm already living here because I don't want things to go worse and I'm trying to help you but you don't even see that I'm helping you like I had to miss uni today just to sort out that's the only reason why I was shouting because you don't listen to what I was saying maybe at first I don't shout at first but then when you carry on not listening that's when my temper goes higher if you want to move but you can't move right she wants to move to a bigger house that's what she said she says she wants to live in a bigger house because there's no space in here but then at the same time this house is really big so you sort of think even if you had a bigger house your mum would fill it anyway yeah I'm wondering if there is something or a way that you would like to be helped either by Vicki or by someone else or you know no one is a damn I have to help me exactly that's the point I'm trying to say if I leave who is going to help you if I leave who's going to help pay the stuff or even support you in trying to sort out your house and stuff that's what I always say to you that's why I'm still here [Music] being amongst the tension which hoarding brings to any household really takes me back to my own childhood and the stress I felt with my mum I mean I don't know how you keep a brave face on throughout the whole stuff before I used to think that back over the years I used to think my Mom hated me I used to think she left her love to me like because she's never like hugged real good she's always saying negative stuff but over the years when I started to understand and research I've like realized that I mean I remember the days when I was living at home I'd get so frustrated with my mum and we'd have screaming matches you know we'd have massive brows she would blame me I would blame her but it's still my mum she's still your mum [Music] oh it's just so frustrating and [Music] um you can see how frustrating it is for Vicky this is hurting her and oh gosh the whole thing today like the round that they had Vicky was trying to prevent them from being evicted she is the parent in this situation and those kind of things used to happen all the time to me Vicki's strained home life brings back so many memories of my own upbringing my mum filled our five-bedroom house to the brim with her possessions throughout my childhood but with a lot of help she's made amazing progress and this year is the first time in a decade we can celebrate Christmas with her in her home the fact that we can all go there we can sit around a table and have Christmas dinner as a family there I couldn't have even imagined that you know if you had said to me three years ago or four years ago that we'd be doing this I'd have laughed my mom's been working really hard to get things ready for us all to go around there and you know this is something special I really want mum to understand just how proud I am of the journey she's made to this point and for her to enjoy the day with her family [Music] hi Mom hello Merry Christmas even though you know it's not perfect at least it's better than having in your old bedroom yeah I do think that you've done amazingly well when I look at this house compared to what it was like I mean can you remember what it was like a year and a half ago or two years ago we wouldn't even been able to stand here have you missed any of that stuff that's gone have you a few things that I remember and I think oh I want to look at that now have you been bringing more stuff in to the house oh yeah but not so much stuff and I have got rid of some are you able to deal with it better then sometimes but not raw cooking classes three course dinner master class that's lovely thank you very much at least that won't take up space exactly enjoying Christmas with mum like this really gives me hope that Vicki and Janet and Olive might be able to do the same in their homes one day now I'd say this is almost normal almost yeah almost almost normal but who wants to be known almost clear let's put it that way yeah [Music] as the winter begins to bite in Brighton Olive is still working with me and Andy at her own pace to move her horde from the hallway so she can access her living room and kitchen as ever she wants to make sure she checks every single item in there there was another newspaper yeah but I'd probably put it in there for a reason oh okay okay but that bag was falling apart so I'll put it in another bag for you it's obviously all right okay okay it's a bit wet though although Olive is vetting everything that leaves the hall the fact that she's open to letting me in shows how much progress she's made which one's going in one at a time I'll go because she was a bit more than one no well no exactly well I'm gonna fill it up that's a bag of clothes there we go Chuck is another bag after many weeks of working with her I realized how huge this whole process is for her we've made a little bit of Headway now and we're trying to get through that way I've managed to get quite a lot off the top and get through there but it looks to be honest let me see if I can reach it looks no I can't quite reach pretty full back there as well my big worry is that I don't think Olive's going to be able to let much go I mean maybe she'll come around but right now she still wants to keep everything it's a lot to do a lot to do given any opportunity Olive will always return to her first love of recycling her biggest Thrill is when she can exchange her tin for money which she gives to charity so when Andy offers to take a load of cans for the recycling plant she jumps at the chance oh thank God I'm gonna get rid of those kinds to make it easier Olive started her recycling when she was in the Navy during the war when make do and mend was a way of life you had 165 kilos what 165 kilos good Graces how much 29 pound fish oh good and yeah I'm buying this um thing for the Saint John's ambulance for the homeless yeah thank you very much so all day's hard work has been rewarded because they've now been recycled raising money from her recycling is what keeps Olive out in freezing temperatures in the garden painstakingly categorizing her cans whilst inside her house gets overrun me long be good and don't let anyone come in will you I'm not loopy I'm not loopy he's just someone to talk to I wanted to remind her just how much she's helping the causes she donates to and to really find out what that means to her she's been commended for her efforts at one local charity but she's never seen the plaque they've put up in her honor thank you Mike and we come and this is where we look do we oh let's have a look there you are Brighton pdsa pet Aid Hospital expresses sincere gratitude to Olive Taylor who funded their Pharmaceuticals throughout 2001. wow that must make you feel incredibly proud and amazing yeah I can't believe that I am actually on there [Music] the more time I spend with olive the more I realize just what an extraordinary life she lives uh I've got a new moment I've got to climb up some shorthos there we are although she's never been married Olive has told me she lost her fiance in the war if Roland hadn't got killed in the war I would have been married when I was 21. we wanted seven children and because I was an only child and there were a big family of Romans seven and we didn't know anything about sex you didn't even know it happened you see that was what uh 70 years ago see wasn't it 70 years ago [Music] so after Roland died you never met anybody I didn't want to know men you know Roman had died and there's nobody like him you know as well when you're young and you get engaged that's what it's like isn't it you know [Music] bye Olive bye-bye see you tomorrow uh come on top right twice cold cold wind coming here wow we're just really enjoyed hanging out with olive today she's had such a fascinating life and you just kind of think how Earth of you managed to get into this Dreadful situation but then also when she was when she was talking about her fiance who died but she never found anyone quite like him and what's going through my mind when she's saying that is my God that is a massive hole in your life that you're trying to fill with all this stuff [Music] [Music] in South London Vicky is managing to keep her mum's hoarding out of her bedroom while Dr Caroline Wells is working more practically with Janet in the rest of the house Janet are you gonna Are You Gonna Keep that or can we make space By by giving that to a charity shop and the charity shop yeah okay well done Fantastic look at all that space you've just made how does it feel it's nice it's not good yeah it's not right it's a big deal it's really good despite some progress as the sessions continue the same old wounds are quickly opened between mother and daughter how do you feel that we've progressed along that goal do you feel you've got a bit more space to to dance around if you want in my room yes what's it like seeing uh seeing Vicky's room like this it's nice yeah are you happy for her to have to have this room or does it make you feel a bit uneasy you're just going like this yeah now I understand that in order for her to to be able to um party or get rid of some of this stuff is to do it together so Vicky will help you clear stuff if you want I'll be Caroline so you can be Caroline why are you giving me some day look and she can help me you know if you want to do it by yourself that's fine or if you want to do it by yourself he doesn't want me to do it then I see your face already so you don't want to do it I just find it really difficult sorry I've gone through it [Music] what do you think about listening to I don't know no no he sort of saying that she you know wants to communicate with you and have a relationship and It's Tricky isn't it I'm gonna go and see if she's okay okay well usually okay It's tricky to talk about her yeah that's why it's so hard it's very complicated because [Music] I don't want to I don't want to turn out like this I don't want to be living like this [Music] plastic yeah no keep brittle look it's snapping oh is it oh wow get rid of it at olives two months in and despite checking everything she's making good progress well it's been slow and uh but steady so it's doing the Olive's way because she's not happy she'll tell you where to go anyway and clear off so but we are getting there it's just taking we've lost a tin of tuna we've lost a tin of tuna oh yeah that's marmalade there that can be July 1998. that's all right that's not all right cool 18 years out of date guys sugar hi Olive hello when I arrive I'm amazed at what's been achieved inside we haven't got as much stuff behind the door as you had before you couldn't even open the door last time I was here uh currently no this is amazing the fact that we're both stood here three of us in your hall yeah yeah it's a it's a miracle it is actually and how do you think sorry it was up to here yeah and all the wallpaper was on the top of it so you can get to the light switches and oh yeah you can actually see the stairs even though it's real progress when I go to the tent it becomes clear where everything has gone so this is all in here just come out of your little hallway yeah I think it would be quite a good idea to do a bit of taking stuff out and a bit of taking stuff out of here as well like sorting it letting it go on to where it's got to go because otherwise you're going to run out of space in here and then you won't be able to do any organizing because it'll be too full do you see what I mean no we don't have to if you don't feel like it today well I can't be bothered today you can't remember not to die no not really not today do you think there'll be a day that you can before well I would rather clear the stairs so it's a clear space then start going through stuff here the thing is while whilst it's like this you've actually got room haven't you to work in here or to work once we get through to the back room to work yeah in there and do the Sorting well no I don't think you can sort it inside you've got to bring it out um go and see if you can think of another excuse to get out of it wow it's not good of sorting stuff here if we don't know where where it's got to go I'm worried Olive is merely moving her horde from one place to another like many hoarders she's being a perfectionist about clearing when in reality it will be better just to sort stuff to go and stuff to stay back inside the house she lets me see upstairs for the first time and it's a whole other world of hoarding where are you I'm up here how far on the landing oh you're on the land you need to squeeze through that's where so you see your bathroom there that's where I used to feed Toby upstairs is every bit as bad as the hallway of the four rooms up here three are inaccessible including the bathroom every space is packed with clothes plastic bags and old furniture although you can just squeeze into Olive's room only a tiny sliver of bed is left free and that's where you sleep is it I sleep it's a double bed but I use it as a single bed it's only about that long the bit that you've got to lie on no you put your legs up I can put my feet right down it's hard to imagine that Olive grew up in this house and that these rooms were once her childhood bedroom and her parents room my dad he was lovely he really was I mean he when I had homework he would make me sit there until I'd done it then he'd check it for me if there was something he thought wasn't you know good grammar or something he'd say now my girl just sit there read your thing through and see what mistakes you've made so you were and I used to say oh Dad you are all for whatever I do you find I've made a mistake well he said I'm never perfect you know and he said you're not perfect he said you've got to learn by your mistakes I can remember he used to make me sit at that table in the back room that was here in this house oh yeah but what would it what would he think oh my God what's that how's happened with this house ah call it this we'll sort this out what would what advice would your dad give to you now about changing things around the house if that's what you wanted to do well I just would want to do what Heath wants to clear everything out and put it back in the right place and anything we didn't want you know find a source to give it to thank you for letting me come and have a look upstairs or Lou well it's nothing much to say no but it's interesting to see I mean all paper falling off everywhere the cobwebs I'm the first person Olive has let's see upstairs in her house in decades I know from my own experience with my mum's hoarding how difficult that first step is and you needn't be ashamed and you shouldn't be ashamed I am because uh my parents wouldn't you know would be disgusted to think that I was living like that foreign it's probably quite painful to think that your parents would be disgusted with you you know you you wouldn't want to think about it so it's much easier to you know do the normal day-to-day stuff I do feel bad for Olive because today she told me that she was ashamed of her house and I don't think she should be ashamed and she is now accepting help which is a massive step forward and I think in the future she'll be able to access other help as well [Music] [Music] four months since starting work with Janet in South London Caroline and I are making one further push to get things moving out of the house you will never need all these duvets I've I've put up already about six duvets into the absolutely Caroline works on Janet's attachment to the hundreds of items of clothing and bedding she hoards and I work with Vicky on getting rid of her unwanted clothes it's good that your mom's doing something yeah right that's a big breakthrough already so let's not forget that laughs I feel that we're just sort of moving stuff from one side of the room to the other yeah she does a lot of moving stuff all the time yeah it's like it's a job even that night for no reason well Vicki and I get on with clearing clothes from her room Janet responds by having a dramatically different reaction to Caroline's therapy do you want to get rid of those shoes yes yeah hey that's the first pair of shoes you've thrown away what's that like is that you said you said it's fine all this can go yeah like sporty Dancy type stuff in the leggings jeans pattern leggings Sonny said that all the luggage and everything's in them in the living room can go that's what she said for the first time Janet seems genuinely motivated to clear some of her huge horde from the house hope she meant it I call the Island's hot [Music] damn it amazing yeah how are you impressed I'm good how are you I'm fine you're doing really well so am I right did I hear right that the luggage and everything in them can go to the charity shop it's fine it's fun that's brilliant what's in here all the suitcase now you're talking so this stuff yeah it's not your clothes can I take this in the car to the charity okay yeah yes yeah thank you [Laughter] we're getting rid of this whole suitcase John it's being amazing and realizing that actually it's weak it's broken it can go yeah with everything in it yes [Music] I'll take the other side to you today to you yeah yeah good for you that one yeah another suitcase down we finished finish yeah we can put this whole bag to the charity yeah gosh Victoria how happy do you think Victoria's going to be she is happy you've made her happy [Music] I was short at the same time but I've always believed that it would happen my mom is being amazing yes mum amazing you know that did you know that over the course of the day we cleared dozens of bags and suitcases from Janet's I think she may be saw you and and she was motivated by you and inspired by you from me clearing out my stuff you know we left her to her own devices a little bit and I think once she started clearing she then got into a real role of it and started to feel that space like she said it feels less heavy and that's just I think that was great I can't even describe what a big thing this is it's like somebody turned on the light suddenly realized that it was easy to let go of stuff and there's huge progress in Brighton too Olive has made it to the back room and kitchen for the first time in over 16 years 15 Denny airtights because they're old hi I don't see that being there beautiful dress look her mums ha ha ha ha ha look what I have found my wedding hat is that really but you didn't get married no it's a my hat I wear at a wedding I see it looks like oh I've come to see for myself how the house has changed and to find out how much of the horde she's actually getting rid of oh wow we've broken through to the back oh my word but we're in the back room yeah this is a lovely sunny room isn't it Olive oh yeah when's the last time that you were able to just walk through the hall and come and use this room 1996. what did it feel like the first time you were able to just walk into this room after all those years well I couldn't believe it I thought um where's all this stuff come from where you know how has always got anything so was this a bit of a shock yeah it was oh yeah because um I've no idea no idea what it all is no oh well it's obviously mine I suppose okay so the plan is then to get rid of the stuff that you don't want once you've gone through everything but there's the vast majority of everything that came out of that Hall is now in the tent isn't it in the back Garden three quarters yeah three quarters and a quarter is recycled yeah I mean I think it's quite fair to say apart from recycling all we've really done is move stuff from here to the tent isn't it we haven't started sorting yet and you haven't been in this room for so many years it sort of begs the question do you actually need any of the stuff that's in here of course I do you haven't needed it over those last seven years my mother's stuff I've lived in this house since I was eight and a half years old and um there's a lot of memories in it and so there's stuff in here that you really treasure oh yeah photographs but whether they're still here or a little don't they with the Marquee outside slowly filling up and a house full of treasures that's captivating olive inside I'm worried about how she'll ever start reducing her horde Janet and Vicky are progressing well at home but I want to bring them away from the house to see if it's easier for them to bond Vicky's passion is singing but she's never sung in front of her mum I want Janet to see her daughter in a different light foreign [Music] [Music] you must be very proud [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I'm happy [Music] do you know what it was it was amazing like I I never thought I would have the courage to actually sing in front of her and I think we need to like have a bit more of a bond when we go out together we rarely do that but obviously it's time I know Rome is not built in one day but there's potential we can definitely build this relationship and bond again [Music] we slow progress of course it's you know it's not a quick fix it's not something that Janet can change overnight but I think with Vicky's support and understanding and ongoing therapy Janet can make some big changes and instead of always being preoccupied with everything that's going on in the house hopefully she can start to enjoy her children and feel proud of them and appreciate what they are doing for her as well and be a mum to them [Music] I've come to Brighton for one last visit hi Olive Andy and I are continuing to help Olive reacquaint herself with the house she lost to her horde you've got about 5 000 tea bags in there oh Thai food tea bags yeah we'll keep them in there when do we want to actually start frying some things out Olive I told you I'm not throwing anything out till I've gone through them they'll go out in the tent that's one thing I know you've always got plenty of olive is bags what I want is for her to participate in doing it herself I want her to be able to make the decisions and I want her to be able to maintain the progress that she's made and keep moving forward otherwise the whole thing's pointless so although it's it sort of seems like we haven't got that far I think it's been huge this is huge for Olive [Music] can you read that to me yeah of course I can where's it from 31st of December 1963 Dear Mr and Mrs Taylor thank you for your letter my mother and I are so sorry oh to hear Mrs Taylor is unwell and we hope she will oh that's when she's going to show the stroke was it she had a stroke there let's have a look in here okay ready I think they are my sheets yeah I like these are my sheets when I was engaged you know everyone's that was my bottom drawer that was my bottom drawer yeah it's true it's like an Aladdin's cave yeah [Music] hello sweetheart are you coming in he's my best friend [Music] faithful friend is it coming to bed yeah to go to bed good boy that's it really good boy um hopefully she will realize that she doesn't really need that stuff and actually it's just weighing her down she can let go of it she can be free that's what I hope for for Olive [Music] there now [Music] I hope that it will be the start of something for Olive that she will carry on down this new Road and eventually get somewhere that's a lot happier place for her yeah nice and cozy ready to go to sleep after having a busy day I'm just waiting to finish downstairs and then get this lot sorted up here no no it's hope [Music] foreign [Music] Harmon and I've lived with my mother's compulsive hoarding all my life I'm telling you I'm keeping those if that isn't with your agreement then we have to fall out with help my mum's made huge improvements and now I want to help other hoarders around the country who are living in terrible conditions I'm feeling desperate because I can't cope with it this isn't me this isn't me living like this hey I'm shocked it's literally a wall of stuff these are people who have lost their homes and lives to hoarding is going to feel like you can't make it and that's totally normal oh yeah do you want to spend the rest of your years with this hanging over you sorry I can't do it I want hoarders up and down the country to realize they aren't alone get rid you can't yeah so that's a good decision you've made I'm really proud of you oh and that with the right help their lives can improve too really good to have my space back look what I have found the things that I've found that I never actually knew that I had I've got something wrong with me which lots of other people have got and uh it can be cured [Music] according to the Institute of Psychiatry as many as one in 20 people in the UK are Hoarders and many of them are suffering in secrecy [Music] Jeff lives in Plymouth if you saw him on the street you'd think he was a perfectly ordinary 79 year old but behind his front door it's a very different story [Music] the situation has certainly taken over my life to the extent that I have a sort of dual personality of the me inside the house under me outside the house where I behave as though the house is quite normal [Music] precisely like a secret life Jeff had maintained that secret life for 20 years until a few weeks ago [Music] a Ghost Driver came by and saw a lot of flies in the window he then told the police and the police thought oh how's the inmate of the house died so they came along and banged on the door and there wasn't anybody there and obviously I wasn't dead so they then told the council the council told me about Jeff's story their environmental health officer has issued Jeff with a 42-day order to clear his horde his secret is out and now he's been forced into a corner clear or be cleared I can totally understand why Jeff keeps his hoarding Secret and you know I kept my mum's hoarding with a whole family kept it a secret for years because we were totally ashamed I really hope that maybe through me telling Jeff about my experiences [Music] that he might also find the courage to open up to some of his friends or family by keeping it a secret he's taking the whole burden all the weight of all that horde on his shoulders alone [Music] yeah where's your vacuuming well yeah people do you know it's uh I know it's wonderful they've been invented about 100 years nice to meet you oh Jeff has made a stark clearing but after five weeks he's barely scraped the surface so what kind of things do you collect Jeff the things I collect tend to be things with lots of shiny knobs they've got a variety of microscopes I've got a ultraviolet microscope so I mean basically my interests are enhancement of human capabilities so do you think there are benefits to having all the stuff that you've got well it Shades of Gray it's Shades of Gray and how do you does the prospect of other people knowing about this how does that make you feel um it makes it may feel so unpleasant that I just don't think about it maybe I can reassure you a little bit because with my mum's hoarding we went to Great Lengths to hide it from the outside world because we were ashamed and people just didn't understand and eventually when we opened up with it we were incredibly heartened actually to find out how many other people were in similar situations we thought it was just us do you have any other family and friends I've got my sister your sister who I think requires the praise for putting up with me has your sister been to the house has she been to visit you here she's one of the ones who I'm trying to conceal it from Todd has spread across all three floors of his house three bedrooms a loft two large rooms downstairs all rendered useless when's the last time you were able to sit down in here well uh I don't think I ever have sat down in here having lived in this house for 25 years you have never been able to sit down and relax in your front room that's right how far does that go through I couldn't only sort of Glimpse all the way but you can't even see the size of the room obviously the Food Museum if I'm doing well it's a tuna Day dinner day keeps the Council of being oh dear oh dear what's that room that's the bathroom when were you able to use it last but about eight years Jeff you practically have to do the splits to get through here well there you well you see people pay good money to go to health clubs you're getting this for nothing what I think we should do Jeff is try and formulate some kind of plan as to how we tackle what you want to do in the house well my plan is to try to make it to the back wall of that room downstairs that will allow me to get out a variety of computer magazines which are must be 10 years old they can be flung my worry about doing it in a very small space and doing it bit by bit is that it's very slow one thing that we did with mum was a warehouse where we took a load of stuff and it gave us space to sort with what you've got to do the task is pretty monumental [Music] it makes me sad to think that he's been living like this for a long time and the fact that he's got no one think God how tragic that he's got to this stage [Music] unimaginable really [Music] basically I wouldn't have believed it I mean Jasmine knew where I was coming from foreign it appears that I've got something wrong with me which lots of other people have got I'm no longer the unique me [Music] hoarding is a condition that takes control of people's lives Jeff's horde has forced him to live a life of Shame and secrecy [Music] foreign is preventing her from even living in her East London flat she moved out of her flat and in with a friend after a health scare now Gene wants to move back in Heaven's above but she can barely get in the front door like Jeff Jean's horde has reached the attention of the local Council who are concerned that it's a fire risk once this gets cleared here hopefully be able to get through foreign 's daughter Jeanette made contact with me in the hope that I may be able to help her mum clear her horde before the council do it for her Gene wants our first meeting to be away from the flat your flat is inaccessible at the moment or you can get into the Hall I'm just kidding that's all and so does that upset you or worry you or how do you feel about it yes it does worry and upset this is like a bad dream you know my daughter lives in Scotland and um I used to travel to Scotland on my own every year now it's a bit of a daunting thought so with the flat being fill up with stuff that's all a bit disorganized what do you want to do about that well I'm going to sort it it's not rubbish it's not for the death spin jeans 69 she's had a tough life she brought up her daughter Jeanette as a single mum holding down up to four jobs at once to pay the way has anyone around here pardon when's the last time you had anyone come to your flat I can't remember I've got something that's breakable in here so I don't really want to leave back there it's somewhere safe doesn't it yeah check around here do you mind if I peek around the door no fine this is the house that Jack built this is the house that Gene mapped up I um wonder if I move this stuff out of the corner I can go into that corner and shut the door and then I can move those bags from behind the door open it what do you think oh yeah let me take that first if it didn't happen are all the rooms filled up like this so you can't get quite as bad but they're not good um oh my God I am absolutely shocked at the state I didn't think it was as bad as it is but it is the situation is bad Gene's so consumed by her horde that it's preventing her from visiting her daughter although they do talk every day on the phone when I have a word with her yeah I'd love to talk to her actually hi Jeanette the moment just talking to your mum this morning it feels to me like she hasn't really accepted that the the problem is as serious as it actually is yeah this is an idea that you could realize what's up there and I've said to her time and time again it's not possible I totally know what you've been through with this and I imagine it can't be easy at all being away many sleepless nights yeah it's a big worry I can put that in there can I good to speak to Jeanette I can relate to everything that she's been trying to do for her mum and how frustrating it is I don't think that Gene is ready to let go of anything but there's too much stuff in this flat she's in denial there's no other way of putting it [Music] [Music] [Music] with Jeff's 42-day deadline looming we need to start clearing but Jeff has become so used to living with his horde that I'm not sure how ready to clear he really is this is more or less as comfortable as comfortable can be and I I think well supposing I was an Edwardian millionaire in a stately home it wouldn't be any more comfy and certainly he wouldn't have anywhere near as good a bedside lamp Jeff has agreed to let me move the contents of the ground floor to a local Warehouse Heather matwatso a professional declutterer who works extensively with hoarders is going to help me clear on pray I'll step into here so you can come up where am I going and see so what you've got in here is the bathroom the bath is temporarily full of shoes what do you say what's full of shoes the bath I'm hoping by moving Jeff's possessions away from his home he'll feel more able to part with them that's enough um receiving aerial three element which I was intending to use for getting a French radio stations to improve my French letting go is not going to be easy but Jeff understands that something's got to give I mean basically do I want to get my place sorted out or not or am I going to run a museum for 20 year old magazines uh with a request in my will that they'd be cremated with me which would present a real a real problem to the crematorium as well as giving Jeff the chance to really sort through his possessions clearing the horde from his house should also buy him some time with the council [Music] I can see intellectually that it is a very good idea but then of course there's a thing other people are laying their germ infested sacrilegious hands on all my precious belongings [Music] I mean at some point people have to try and do it himself and do the letting go but I think he we're slightly pushing him out of his comfort zone [Music] this stuff sorted here semi-sorted semi-sorted I do want to hang on to those India Jeff's horde is unique scientific machines antique music roles and a vast collection of tins he calls his food Museum I just want you to look at the food Museum it's okay do you know how old it is have a guess have a guess about eight years more it doesn't matter I mean basically it was cheap because it was done today 16 years old yeah but you see my logical mind says there isn't anything wrong with them if there was any doubt about it first of all it would go thud thud thud when you shook it this doesn't it makes the right noise secondly that would be slightly converts it's not so there's no way I could persuade you to not really reduce your food music no oh his fridge freezer is even more disturbing [Music] it's been hidden in his horde for years and years the whole time switched on well that's it what was in that jug I don't know but it's perfect a good jug [Music] in my experience hoarders have a very different relationship with their possessions where we might see junk Jeff sees treasure was that hard for you to let that stuff go out of the house that we've put in the car yes I think certainly it is a it is a somewhat somewhat traumatic thing to see the things going out of the door it was a bit like it's having a sort of important part of my genitals taken away that sort of feeling how it feels yes you know I'm sorry that it feels painful but I think you're amazingly Brave what will be interesting to see is that whether having that extra bit of space how that balances out against losing that part of you in no way was this easy for Jeff even though he's outwardly joking about it he's got this inner turmoil that's going on but he's gonna let it go because he knows it's for the greater good the actual feelings are sort of uh being violated in a small way it's hard because it's my possessions [Music] but I think probably the real reason is much more deep in the subconscious than that Beth has done remarkably well so far but if he's going to get to the root of his problem he'll need other help [Music] I've asked Professor Paul sarkovskis one of Britain's leading hoarding experts to talk to Jeff Jeff is incredibly intelligent Charming [Music] it would be easy to look at Jeff and go he's fine he's sorted but he's not totally not there's a lot going on beneath the surface do you know what the you know the technical definition of hoarding is no it's it's actually when when your possessions when the the things you put in in space prevent the space from being used for the purpose it would normally be useful and so the problem in a sense that part of the definition of the problem is that it stops you doing really important things and stops you living in your house really important things to you yeah Jeff was born in 1933 in Nottinghamshire his mother was a secretary and his father ran a local printing Department you were only child or we have brothers and sisters I had a sister when I was seven when you were much younger so perhaps when your child was there was there a short money uh I had one up to 1939 I think I was bought a fair collection of expensive toys did you play with them a lot I think so yes but my Molly that used to Chuck him out when the paint was a bit damaged so what were you left with not very many yeah just talk about your childhood in general I was lonely so occasionally I used to go off to other kids houses I viewed these with amazement because they always looked as though I bombarded them you know the kids toys all over everywhere the houses were lived in our house uh was perfect that's right and it is logical to say well go go with go with your heart rather than your head actually I I I I'm like the logic isn't the heart's walled off I think you are very detached from your feelings you're the you're the boy who grew up in the perfect house yeah and here you are now and somewhere between the two very opposite yeah the very opposite this is almost an anti-home isn't it [Music] in 1966 he got married he was 33 years old 18 years later the marriage ended in divorce since then Jeff has lost contact with his two children around the age of 50 you lose your house you lose your wife so you so actually you lost everything your first approximation yes the number of ways in which I think you've been damaged you probably don't have to be a rocket scientist or even a chemical engineer to work out that there might possibly be a link there a link with holding you mean or a link a link with this with this with what what's around you this is a horrible way for you to live and that's what I said to you earlier on that It's upsetting It's upsetting to to see how you have to live [Music] I wish Jeff would be able to open up a little bit to himself sort it out before it's too late I can't think of anything worse than him living out the rest of his days in a semi derelict house full up with stuff on his own Jeff has gone to Great length to keep his hoarding a secret from his friends and family but not all hoarders are able to conceal it from those close to them 's daughter Jeanette is well aware of her mom's condition all right oh dear yes and she's becoming increasingly worried it's obsessing yeah um there's all sorts of emotions there's you're upset obviously for your mum um you feel guilty because you think you should have done more and yet at the same time you know you've actually tried quite hard so you know mag or a cup they're all clean but as well yeah I know I put it on they're all clean but where are they yes like me with my mum Jeanette's been trying for years to help her mother overcome her hard over thought of everything I'm looking forward to meeting Jeanette because she has been in a similar situation to me now there's the coffee quite true where's the coffee it's around I mean I know from experience with my own mum that it feels like it's never ending at times you feel like you're getting nowhere Gene visits her flat almost every day to try to sort through her horde so she can move back in hello but she's not making any Headway and with the threat of a council clearance hanging over her it's causing great anxiety I mean we're right at the beginning of this now it's not going to be an instant fix as you know it it will take a long time and it will be an ongoing process what would you hope to achieve what will be your long-term goal Gene Peace of Mind I'd like to have more of the stuff put in its right place because none of this is in the place it should be Gene dates the chaos back to when her belongings were moved by the council from one flat to another following a fire in the block thank you but Jeanette told me her mother's hoarding was just as bad in her previous flat I think we need to clear some space in the living room today yeah would that would that be a good step that would be a good step Heather has joined us to try to get things moving if we if we form a human chain up the corridor pass some of that stuff out would that be okay I prefer the stuff to go just in the doorway of the kitchen rather than in the hallway because Spaceman is it no you don't know [Music] you think then in in all that stuff there we aren't going to find repeats of things that you have no I don't think you are and this you don't feel ready to let go of anything yet not yet no Gene is resistant to Letting Go a resistance Jeanette is all too familiar with do you feel happy with how it's going today or do you think we should be doing anything slightly differently to to adapt to your mum I think you're doing really well she's very difficult I should say so herself I think kitchen kitchen have you ever like tried to help her clearing out with her being there in the past oh yeah and the past I've had to but it's never been very successful it always felt like a battle and that was probably inevitable because because it was just me I had a limited amount of time I had a huge wall of stuff to deal with and a mum that didn't want to get rid of anything does it make you feel resentful in a way that this stuff has sort of taken over or is it yeah that's not me blaming my mom no that's just not wishing that it had not happened must be a lot of weight on your shoulders haven't you know I've never shared it oh yeah she really makes me sad that one and that one could they go I don't know yet but you can take that one okay that's it okay okay it's gonna take four out of ten no no I can't why because I want to hang on to it for a while do you feel happy with those bits that you've selected going to the charity shop that's fine can we just put a few more things in here just to pad it out it's not bulging enough no that's fine as it is after six hours work we've managed to clear some space in the living room but Gene has only let five items leave the flat those bits yes okay well done Gene right that's all right so there's not more but there might be more next time well exactly yeah okay then I think today was really really hard for Gene foreign like a small step but for Gene I think it may be quite monumental because Jeanette's an only child the whole weight of it has been on her shoulders it was just her and her mum but when it's your mum who can't ever turn your back on her thank you yeah well that's amazing isn't it actually to be able to sit like this sitting here yeah there's still a lot to sort through yeah I do know that [Music] so what am I going to do take up bowls I could have a rifle range or I could do experiments you could measure the velocity and the speed of light it's taken a week to clear the downstairs of Jeff's house into a local Warehouse everything by his food Museum which he's refused to budge in the process of clearing he's come across some old Treasures there is my father's top hat and uh so it fits me he's also found some unwanted guests oh dear I can't afford a vet to do a proper autopsy but I think it's food poisoning the council's 42 -day notice has expired but as there's been visible progress he's been granted a stay of execution basically the council gobsmacked I think I'm now in the situation I can say look do you really want to carry on with this clearance notice threat despite Jeff's optimism they won't let him off the hook that easily right now his horde is being held in a local Warehouse what he can't let go will end up back home oh my gosh there's so much stuff this is actually only from two rooms in Jeff's house and it's filling this entire space maybe seeing it all laid out like this will make him realize that actually there's too much stuff even if it was all organized you know just the Pinola rolls would feel more than an entire room [Music] today will be the first time Jeff has seen his possessions since they left his house [Music] I think this is going to be quite difficult for Jeff I think he's been putting off and putting off and putting off and I think he's going to go through the same emotions that my mum went through it's like ripping off an arm or a leg that's what it feels like [Music] hi Jeff hi come in thank you considering you know come and have a look [Music] there is a lot isn't there Jeff has got some difficult decisions to make about what he keeps and what he lets go including the 1000 music roles they play on an antique self-playing piano called a pianola a device Jeff doesn't even own this is going to be the the easy place to start isn't it hmm there's a look at all those you might even hang on to that I'm not sure that's a super thing if it works oh no I need I need I definitely need that because at the present moment I'm short of them that's okay for tools you see it's it's actually though it looks a bit fly-blown it's actually perfectly good ready I remember the sewing machine I got it for two pounds does it work I think so if it doesn't work I'll mend it that's a cushion [Music] I think it's probably worth keeping uh now just a moment those those television Aerials aren't they oh I need one of them ah right there is always going to be a sort of compulsion to go back to the way that you have lived it's a habit oh is that more pianola rolls oh yes I sort of I appear to have lost control on piano rolls you've got a lot and no pianola well I had 14. when was that well late late stages of my marriage so how long ago was that 30 years so what got you started collecting these Jeff my ex-wife also like pianolas it all came unstuck because of the divorce there are always going to be certain things that push a button that he'll find it much much more difficult to decide to let go what what we'll do we'll stop because basically I'll get into the stage when I'm not quite sure whether I'm coming or going it's been a tough day for Jeff so far he's barely let go of anything I don't want to pile any more pressure on him so I'm taking him back to his house oh I've never actually even seen this room I just had no idea what it was like [Music] I hope that seeing his home clear might remind him what we're trying to achieve in the warehouse how would you feel now if the stuff that's gone just stayed gone and never came back well it would feel rather sad in that then I have to stop buying piano rolls all over again do you feel then instinctively that once the stuff that's coming back from the warehouse arrives you will go through it or do you think it will just lead to more hoarding basically if I get myself back into the hoarded up state in some ways it's a fate worse than death [Music] unlike many hoarders I've worked with Jeff can see the hole he's dug himself into question is does he have the strength to dig himself out [Music] I don't want him to take all that stuff back if he's going to take it all back then it just makes the whole exercise completely pointless today is is a big day it's crunch time really this is the first item of money to go in the uh to go box probably charity shop okay so this is your s we'll get rid get rid what do you want to do with this Jeff dish it did you yeah almost immediately it seems Jeff has had a dramatic change of heart what do you want to do with it get rid I keep that one on the other ones boo hoo that's really good Jeff actually you're right boohoo you can't use them so that's a good decision you've made I'm really proud of you oh bye bye black bits of wood your understanding that this wood as lovely as you perceive it to be is not helping you [Music] I think the ladder stabilizer can go to auction I think charity right a whole lot charity I think it's just brilliant he understands what's going on so deeply that is a big big part of the way towards recovery Jeff has turned a corner most of his scientific machines are going to auction there's a pile to go to the charity shop and some of the horde has even made it to the skip the last problem area is the 1000 pianola rolls and Jeff has had a radical rethink about them as well so this is no good no well no it's a secret no good for you pianola rolls come in two formats 65s and 88s Jeff has decided to sacrifice the 65s in favor of the superior 88s let's go is that 65 65. 700 of Jeff's pianola rolls can now go I I can't tell you how happy this is making me I think I'm weird but well I don't know I mean I'm somewhat weird myself foreign [Music] you know there's still a long way to go um but so much is going and he's just gets it and it's like such a relief [Music] do you think any of that can go no I know it can't why because that's why it's here but it's here for use okay I last saw Gene three weeks ago there's been no breakthrough since then so can that go with this please despite Heather's best efforts when everything's put in the right place do you think there will be space [Music] I'd answer that with one word and that would be hopefully it wouldn't be here otherwise so you think it's here because it's got just got to find its place it's here because I've gotten into such a muddle [Music] what about this can this go no [Music] something's gone out of sync and an exaggerated attachment has been given to something and an inability to let go Gene has an irrational attachment to her possessions that we've so far failed to break I need to try something else so I've asked Dr Victoria breem Oldfield a clinical psychologist to talk to Gene I want Victoria to try to convince her that she needs to let go you've met Jasmine now quite a few times and you know that she has your best interests at heart because of your own experiences that even today maybe being able to practice making making a little bit of progress and maybe kind of taking that deep breath and letting some things go with the goal of this actually being a lovely place to live where you can be free and be happy and do what you want to do rather than it being about this stuff on your mind all the time that is the real waste of time and a waste of your life because you're thinking about it all the time you can't do anything you enjoy you can't even go and visit your daughter because you're thinking about this stuff it has had an impact on your life and what you're able to do and there's an awful lot of things you still can do in your extremely capable but then you're going to need some help with things I don't know what I want but that's a sad situation I find myself in I don't know if I ever imagined that I would feel like with I don't know what I want so what do you think of Victoria's suggestion about letting one item go and having a bit of a leap of faith and saying okay take I don't know Jerry halliwell's yoga I left the business what about that can I take that for safe keeping and just to experiment to see how you feel letting something go no it's not that won't come into it I don't think I'm I'm not you and you're not me over the last week how many times have you sat down and watched a DVD I haven't because things get in the way right right that I think says it all that you haven't done the things you want to do things are physically in the way and also they're like emotionally mentally in the way for you because you wake up every day with all this hanging over you [Music] up until now Jean has only let a few items go that she didn't care about this time she's let me leave the flat with something she wants to keep the point of the exercise of taking something away is hopefully for Gene to realize that it's not important and in fact she doesn't want it back because it's not helping her hopefully if she can decide that about one thing she might be able to decide the same about others then we might start making some real progress it's been a week since Jeff and I began sorting in the warehouse and he's been busy working through the remainder of his horde we've got I would think at least 75 percent of it either dist or charity shop or auction letting go of three quarters of his horde is a massive achievement for Jeff now I want to turn our attention to another aspect of his hoarding the emotional side he said he's built a wall around his heart and I think he just doesn't experience feelings of pain and I think he's still punishing himself everyone has lots of emotion but uh um different people deal with them in different ways you know I haven't told my sister yet about what's been happening and I am slightly dreading telling her I still have a little bit of a difficulty in coming out with something that I'm a bit ashamed of [Music] clean about his hoarding and share his problems with his family there's more work to be done [Music] he's having another session with Professor Paul sarkovskis so I'd just like I'd like a like and I think I'm doing very very well considering really the only thing that's relevant I think is the feeling of of being uh violated and the feeling of loss so obvious is it a matching is there a matching positive feeling with this lot I don't know if it's happiness or is it um I don't think there's any such thing as happiness I think it's just absence of misery [Music] it's not bleak there's no such thing as happiness we're born we age and we die a few bits in between [Music] sometimes people say happiness doesn't exist when they fear not having it would it be all right if we were to look at yup look at the photos [Music] this is your family home that's yes [Music] the first graphs are you some of these are all have been taken by my father you see wow wow what's this so that's my father that's my mother and here's a magnificent toy yes and I had the tide removed from me because I made holes in it to ventilate it yeah this is these are really good aren't they yeah I mean why do you feel looking at this lot well this is the first time I've looked at them for about 20 years actually why is that why is that well that basically and not on the top of the head the point of those photographs I was watching you as you came through them the part of those photographs was the memories now I don't think they're entirely happy memories and and I don't think it's disconnected from this idea of of of of happiness doesn't exist but let me put it in a simpler way okay let's suppose that you have a six-year-old grandchild okay and your six-year-old grandchild comes to you and says I don't think happiest exists do you think that you would turn to him and say Well done that's just exactly what you should be thinking that is a good rule to run your life on all right though I think you've met you you've made a point there I give him I I'm just kind of I suppose the reason I'm saying is because you are that six-year-old but you were that six-year-old boy yeah [Music] it is hard to talk about that sort of thing but I am opening up a little bit [Music] [Music] it's been five months since I started working with Jean and so far it's been a real struggle to get her to let go of anything um the reality is if we can't help Gene clear her horde the local Council will clear it for her yeah um put your blindfolds in why and we're going to be stunned by loads of space frustratingly though it's not space we find the front room is more hoarded than ever filled up again no it's not um it's not been anything else but full one day there'll be a miracle happen or perhaps what would it look like if there was a miracle happened it would be clearer much clearer there's nothing here that's rubbish or for jacking out no no it's just that it's got to be sorted Gene yes do you remember you gave me something to take away the other day you were going to imagine that it was gone forever and see how you felt so how do you feel about that item now Well if I knew what it was I might be able to give you an answer I think that is your answer that's your answer it's immaterial what's important in life are the people your daughter is worried about you because you are paralyzed by this stuff I'm sad um about it it's I go to sleep when I wake up it's the first thing on my mind this might be radical but what have you said guys I know you've got my best interests at heart and you want to help me to avoid incurring costs and stress by the council taking my stuff and putting it into storage I will trust you to do the right thing with my stuff I trust you but I just don't want anyone the horrible Stark unpleasant truth is it's either us or them I think at the present time we've got to put stuff on hold really your whole life is on a whole Gene you're not able to travel you are stuck here because you can't live until it's sorted out it's not going to get sorted out do you want to spend the rest of your years with this hanging over you with every morning you wake up and it's the first thing that you think about the thing is it's about six or seven words I believe go for it I've got to do it myself why because that's me it's really hard I'm actually struggling to try and keep a lid on everything because I feel like I've let your neck down stupid really but we haven't been in the same situation as her for so many years with my mum I feel like we were last hope just so tragic [Music] I feel like we've reached stalemate [Music] [Music] in Plymouth it's a very different story [Music] look isn't it shiny it's practically new look how big it is so as I am at the present moment hey where am I going to put it be I need it considerably less than I need a hole in the head I think very much that I'm a recovering hoarder in some ways it is been as though I was in some sort of strange surreal dream I'm slowly sort of servicing a lot has changed in into life since I reckon there are only about 250 years behind the modern kitchen I got a tea towel now as well I got two of them actually [Music] Jeff is acclimatizing to a life less hoarded I want to know if he's finally had the courage to tell his family [Music] not looking too bad is this the stuff that came back from the warehouse lots of stuff that came back from the warehouse Jeff is still a hoarder but he's come a long way even his food museum has been thinned out so I've thrown out 80 tins now you've used well yeah most of them have gone down there but sir no you know I mean I'm still quite healthy have you been feeling emotionally happier yeah oh yes I mean there's no well I mean I've got all sorts of options that I can do now and have you told other people about what's going on with very great difficulty I told my sister have you and um somewhat to my surprise they did not take a judgmental attitude they haven't said you're worse than a waste of space you know and what have you done this for and all the rest of it that is absolutely wonderful that is almost the best thing to have come out of this whole process [Music] I think it's enormous for Jeff the fact that he started telling people about it it's amazing that he's told his sister what's going on and I think he was pleasantly surprised they were supportive and I think that when you've been hiding something for such a long time for fear of being judged to actually come out of the closet and to be able to talk openly oh it's liberating you feel like a massive weight has gone from your shoulders and you know I think that's that's where Jeff's getting to now laughs [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: Absolute Documentaries

Views: 611,843

Keywords: Absolute documentaries, full documentaries, full length documentaries, documentaries, documentary, britains biggest hoarders, britain's biggest hoarders, biggest hoarders, jasmine harman hoarders, home and garden, the hoarder next door, home and garden tv shows, ocd disorder, hoarder, obsessive compulsive cleaners, home and garden channel, the hoarder next door season 3, home design ideas, hoarders (tv program), jasmine harman, day in my life, hoarders full episodes

Id: x8vFuFeGymU

Length: 176min 31sec (10591 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 23 2022