Chicken lady:

Thank you for sharing that. I am certain it takes courage to share that. I am also certain it takes more courage to power into this recovery. More power to you!

As I mentioned, my parents are both compulsive hoarders. Neither of them will admit it. During the summer of 2013 my sister and I went back home (about 2.5 hours away from Columbus, OH where we both live). Our intention was to clean out a room or two in my parents' house. My dad had reached a tipping point where he could not keep up with the clutter or the maintenance. His health had gone downhill bad.

My dad was largely cooperative; he just went out into the yard with my brother-in-law so my BIL could chainsaw some fallen trees. This way he would not see what was taken out for trash or donation. But my mom was like a watchful hawk guarding the stacks of possessions, knick-knacks, mountains of old mail, etc.

This was the day I realized hoarding was a real mental illness. Before that I thought my parents were just lazy or something like that. As soon as my sister and I started putting things that were clearly trash into a trash bag my mom just went BERSERK! She started crying hysterically, yelling, and rooting through the trash bag we had started filling. Keep in mind that we also had bags for Goodwill and for stuff my sister and I were supposed to keep (though she and I decided ahead of time we'd donate any good stuff mom gave us to the needy).

My mom spent all day crying, yelling, saying the most mean and spiteful things to us I ever heard her say to anyone.

At the end of the day we got one carload of donation stuff and a few bags of trash. But the damage was done. My mom would not ever agree to let us help with cleaning again. My sister basically put the blinders on and was like: "I guess we'll deal with this when they die." And for me, I have just been trying to emotionally divest from the situation.

I am an "extreme" minimalist in many people's eyes. This is obviously in part due to my parents. My sister is an obsessive cleaner. When I catch fish with my BIL I'll filet the fish in their kitchen sometimes. And I know how to clean up! The health department and OSHA would probably give me an award! haha. But my poor sis, she'll maniacally go back and re-clean it all. She has even said to me: "I know it is already clean. But I have to do it again...because of mom."