Hoarder Cleanups NJ: Top 6 Tips – Hoarding is a very real mental health issue in this country. As many as 1.4 million people in the United States are hoarders. Are you struggling with this disorder? Is a loved one? It can be very frustrating to get them help. But when you’re ready to clear away the clutter, it’s important to hire a professional that’s skilled in hoarder cleanups. They bring compassion and efficiency to the task, making the process go as smoothly as possible.
Here are some tips for hoarder cleanups.
1. Throw Away Trash
Before you have any hopes of clearing the clutter, you have to throw away all the actual trash first. Garbage can lead to health and safety issues, so get out some trash bags and start filling them with wrappers, containers, old pet food, rotten food items, and anything else that belongs in the trash.
2. Come up With a Plan
Now it’s time to create a plan of attack for the rest of the stuff. Come up with a timeline for completion, listing tasks by room. The ability to check off small items every day can go a long way toward making a hoarder cleanup more easily digestible. Emotionally, it’s easier to clear junk when you can tackle it in small baby steps.
3. Group Similar Items
Now it’s time to determine what stays and what goes. Make four piles: one for keep, one for donate, one for trash and one for sell. Grouping your items in this fashion will make it easier to categorize them and determine what to do with each.
4. Be Real About Value
Many people who suffer from hoarding tendencies believe all their belongings hold value, both sentimentally and financially. They believe their jewelry or collectibles are worth far more than they actually are, which is why they may hold onto things for years. But in reality, those items are virtually worthless in monetary value.
Be realistic about what your items are worth. If it’s a loved one that’s having a hard time letting go, do some research on each piece and show them the results on value so they can see in black and white how little they’re worth on the open market.
5. Clean as You Go
As you de-clutter one room, take the time to actually clean it as well. Using wipes, mops and cleaners, tackle the process of cleaning one room before moving onto the next.
6. Make a Vow to Consistently Declutter
It can be easy to fall back on bad habits after the initial hoarder cleanup project. Learn to declutter regularly, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help sticking to a plan. It’s important to create a new mindset about “stuff” and its importance. For many hoarders, this may involve therapy of some kind. For others, it can be a group effort within a family to ensure the hoarding doesn’t get to unsafe levels again in the future.
Heeding these tips for hoarder cleanup can give you a new lease on life so you can start living clutter-free again!
Contact Got Trash NJ For Hoarder Cleanups
Many hoarders need outside help in order to clear their home and yards of junk. That’s where we come in. Call us for a free quote today at 732-431-2788 and we will bring our compassionate and speedy team to your property.