2547 Children of Hoarders

There's help for you on the Internet here. Their stories will amaze you, but not if you are the Child of a Hoarder--the photos will look like your home. Children who grow up with hoarders feel that "things" and "stuff" matter more than they do. As adults they live in fear that something terrible will happen to their parent because of the trash.

Excerpts from 5 different stories:

"We've dug her out so many times, but it never made any difference. The last time I dug her out we filled 200 lawn size trash bags. It didn't make any difference."

"I think it is amazing how every hoarders house looks the SAME!!!!!"

"I remember my sister and I confronting her with the parish priest when we were teenagers she sat with a stone turtle in her hands petting it. ALL WE ASKED IS THAT SHE TRY TO HELP US CLEAN UP. The priest suggested making a pile of things to sell or donate. She pet the stone turtle and said "but these are my things, they are important to me, I can't give up my THINGS" Yet she was quite ready to loose my
sister and I. JUST DON"T TAKE MY THINGS."

"[for] Dad it was junk, so-called antiques, motorcycles in the living room (we used to put Xmas lights on them) broken power tools, bottles the list goes on & on & onnnnn. Mom's favorite was clothing. I’m talking mounds and mounds mixed with all that important paper work."

"What scares me more than the past is seeing some of my siblings becoming the same way. I see the stuff creeping into their lives and their inability to part with it. I don't want to nag them, but I do mention our parents... They don't see any resemblance (because the stuff is theirs) I am in the middle. I regularly purge
my home when I see myself getting too much. I guess I have Knee jerk reactions. I have 1 sister that lives like a monk-SPARSELY out of fear ending up like we grew up. It is sad that we have to insulate ourselves."