One current estimate is that 2-5% of the population has issues with clutter/hoarding, but this is hard to estimate as there is so much shame for someone admitting they have a clutter or hoarding issue that has reached problematic levels. Even at 5% this may be a modest estimate, translating into 125,000 people in Scotland with hoarding issues - and that doesn’t include others in the household affected or family and community members outside the home.
Did you know it can also affect children - not just because they live in the home of someone who hoards but because they might hoard too? This can often start in adolescence from what we know although it's more often in middle-life or later that it usually comes to light with services.
Hoarding habits can start small, in well intentioned ways, or become an issue because of the loss of physical abilities. We all have a level of sentimental attachment to things, for those with clutter/hoarding habits this can be heightened and make clearing out really really difficult. Hoarding behaviour is about acquisition and trouble in getting rid of things or letting them go! The clutter rating scale can show exactly where on a scale someone is. This scale, combined with tools to assess risk - like the HEATH tool - and person-centred approaches to build trust and relationships over time with a person are helpful for professionals. That said, we recognise the need to support earlier intervention, with joined up multi-disciplinary approaches and funding attached along with shared frameworks and training as where we need to go next!
But what are the effects of this on people who hoard- either because they have hoarding disorder (a World Health Organisation recognised mental health condition- with prevalence increasing 20% with every 5 years of age) or chronic disorganisation? The latter can be described as a persistent state of being unable to manage your belongings, time, space or energy with feelings of overwhelm that are often linked to long term stress, diagnoses of ADHD and/or autism or menopause (to name just a few).
How it affects people with too much stuff
Colleagues in Clutter Chat - Scotland’s only peer support group as far as we know - shared some of their insights with us that they want others to understand.
Clutter Chat deliberately use the term clutter rather than hoarding to be as inclusive as possible, and recognise that many (if not all) are uncomfortable with ‘hoarding’ as a label and /or do not regard it as applicable to them.
- Depression – living in a mess is never uplifting
- Isolation – For those who have clutter/hoarding issues the isolation may also affect resident family members, one of my son’s friends was told that he should not visit our house after his parents visited and saw our clutter.
- Low self esteem – self questioning as to why they never developed a way of living that was better.
- Poor self-care – may be due to lack of access to bathroom/kitchen
- Increased risk of death in fire (not increased risk of fire itself) because fire spreads faster in a hoarded house, and there is difficulty accessing the house for firefighters
- Increased trips, slips and falls risk – passageways to be navigated through clutter and risks from unstable piles of stuff that might fall
- Delayed maintenance tasks, due to shame/lack of access – including lack of ability to take up home insulation offers/home improvement eg new heating systems offered by Housing Association
- Delayed discharge from hospital – home not considered fit for occupation or safe for visiting staff to work in.
- Infestations – insects/rodents etc.
- Cases of people who take on too many animals – hygiene issues for humans and animals involved.
- Mass clearouts that can be deeply traumatic for people - especially if they are ‘done to’ and have little or no control over this and what happens to their treasured possessions. They also don’t work and are likely to be repeated as people reaccumulate clutter to problematic levels if ongoing support or ways to form and manage new habits aren’t supported. They can also be very costly- for the state or housing providers, or for individuals if they need to self-fund.
- Loss of tenancy or fear of this and eviction – and tensions with neighbours and Environmental Health and impact of litigation
- Anxiety over what the involvement of social work services may or may not bring
Issues for relatives
- Children growing up in a hoarded home have no home example of how to keep a house clean and tidy.
- Lack of personal space for children as the clutter expands to fill all the space available.
- Inheriting the home/contents of parents – many Housing providers ask for the keys back a week after the funeral!
- Clearing the home can create conflict among relatives.
- Many are unable to make decisions on what to do with the inherited stuff close to a bereavement and postpone any action by putting the stuff in their attic(s), where it remains! The time to make difficult decisions may be perpetually postponed.
Issues for friends/relatives of those who hoard
- The person themselves may not recognise that they have an issue
- The friends and relatives “clear up” and throw things out without clear permission, damaging their relationship with the person with hoarding behaviours
- Lack of coordination between family/friends network
- Lack of recognition of the approach/skills needed to assist the person with hoarding behaviours
- The friends or relatives may not understand hoarding behaviour, but even if they do, they may feel there is no practical or emotional help out there for them
Stories to share…
Examples can always be illuminating though it's important to remember that everyone is unique and different. That said, the following anonymous stories should help provide some insight…
Being left on your own
A woman whose daughter and partner lived with her, then left to get their own place, led to her getting into a habit of buying stuff on Marketplace in lockdown to fill her emotional needs. Her house eventually became too full and unliveable. The accumulated stuff meant that she wasn’t able to get the boiler serviced, so there was no hot water and heating, no washing machine, and a cracked bath and toilet.
She used to work, but after developing sciatica, she is now on benefits. After the house became unliveable she slept in her car for a while then went to stay with her mother, but the relationship broke down, and she’s now in a hostel. The house now has damp issues, and she thinks there are mice. She also experienced childhood trauma, which continues to affect her relationships.
This case demonstrates the need for a holistic approach. There are mental and physical health issues that underlie the client’s accumulation of stuff, and current inability to clear it out. With her reduced income getting the house back into a habitable state will be an issue.
It has been suggested that she approaches her GP for help, and asks for an appointment with the Community Links Practitioner (CLP) and a referral to GAMH and other support services in Glasgow, and come along to Clutter Chat meetings.
Having to go into hospital and looking ahead
This story is about someone waiting for an operation who is concerned that their home is fit for return from hospital. They have physical and mental health issues relating to a hip replacement, stroke, and repeated UTIs due to catheterisation.
They have been accessing support through the Community Links Practitioner and some good friends. This led to an initial clear out of stuff and clean of the home in preparation for a regular cleaner coming in. Now that the regular service has started they are developing new habits to work with the cleaner. CLP also helped complete applications for sheltered housing for the future. The need to downsize belongings in anticipation of a future offer that will need to be accepted quickly is another incentive to make progress with a clear out.
Where to next?
The Hoarding Taskforce in Scotland was formed in 2024 to bring together a range of representatives that include social work, health and mental health, housing, fire and rescue, the police, and three Health and Social Care Partnerships to help us understand the issue in real life context. It also contains the subject expertise that Clutter Chat can bring as experts by experience and the Hoarding Academy led by Linda Fay. Scottish Government colleagues and the National Adult Support and Protection Coordinator are also represented on the group, with Iriss in the lead coordinating role.
In Year 1 the Taskforce members have been exploring the issue in context. This work has highlighted the need for general awareness raising, along with earlier intervention, and joined up multi-disciplinary, person-centred and trauma-informed approaches with funding attached. Many would like to see this supported by shared frameworks and training as where we need to go next, with an appetite to learn from innovators across the UK who have shown that other and better ways to approach this are possible!
Further information
Discover more related resources from other organisations:
- Hoarding Academy – for specialist training and resources
- Hoarding Support – for more information about hoarding
- Clutter Chat – a peer support community
If you are looking for support with decluttering there is also the Association of Professional Declutterers. However, we recommend that you do your own research and seek personal recommendations where possible as this is an unregulated profession.
If you’d like to find out more about the work of the Hoarding Taskforce you can contact the Hoarding Taskforce lead, Kerry Musselbrook, by emailing: kerry.musselbrook@iriss.org.uk or her colleague louise.bowen@iriss.org.uk
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