According to the National Alliance on Mental Wellness (NAMI) 5% of the world’s population displays symptoms of clinical-diagnosable hoarding behaviors. Hoarding Disorder is exemplified by the inability to discard or part with possessions due to an inherent need to keep them – despite worth, value or cleanliness. Person(s) with hoarding disorder typically experience some distress with the idea of parting with these possessions. Hoarding plays a significant role in one’s mental state (feeling of self-worth), overall health and wellbeing, strained relationships with friends and loved ones and can lead to poorly maintained or unsafe living conditions.

 

Hoarding or having severe clutter in your home can be embarrassing and paralyze your every move. Since 1995 Steri-Clean Indiana has been at the forefront helping hoarders clean up in Indiana. We do not exist to simply remove everything from someone’s home. Rather, we understand there is a home underneath all those layers and we are here to listen and help you achieve your goal. We pride ourselves on discretion, compassion, and professionalism.

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Pathways to Hoarding

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There are numerous controllable and uncontrollable factors leading someone to hoarding behaviors and or hoarding disorder. The most common pathways are listed below.

• Genetics: 50-84% of hoarders have a direct relative who hoards. Geneticists have discovered there are 4 chromosomes with markers on them which can predispose a person to hoarding behavior. In other words, hoarding may not be your fault. You are not a horrible person. But predisposition does not mean there isn’t anything you can do about it. 

• High co-morbidity factors: Hoarding Disorder can be a symptom of an existing mental health condition and or physical condition – Bipolar, OCD, ADHD, Depression, Social anxiety… It is important to note that getting treatment for these co-morbidities will not necessarily clear up hoarding behaviors. Treatment may, however, aid in one’s outlook and clarity to make more appropriate decisions regarding clutter.

• Sensitive or significant loss (empty nest), trauma, death or mental crisis: One becomes vulnerable or can lock themselves away from the world for an extended period of time and may happen on several occasions for a variety of reasons where the individual feels a real loss of control. This is something everyone is susceptible to at one point or another in their lives. 

• Compulsive shopping is so often the thrill of acquiring something new, but that sense of excitement quickly fades once the item is brought home. Hoarding begins when this happens to a person in a very vulnerable state and when that sense of euphoria is gone the shopping begins again and again. Compulsive shopping becomes more about having and less about using.     

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Steri-Clean Indiana specializes in assisting hoarders and their family take on the daunting task of cleaning out their homes. The Steri-Clean team is trained in the psychology of hoarding to make the most progress possible. Compassion and understanding are the driving force behind a hoarding cleanup.

• Free estimate and on-site evaluation

• Pack rat/trash/clutter cleanouts – complete or modified to fit individual needs

• Animal feces/urine cleanup

• Search & recovery of paperwork, collectibles, electronics and valuables

• Packaging and storage of personal belongings

• Deep Cleaning after the home is decluttered

• Contact us for more information on hoarding 

 

Help for Hoarders
 

If you are a loved one or friend of a hoarder and worried about how you might approach the topic or maybe you’ve tried, and your efforts made matters worse. Perhaps, your efforts have created an unintended strained relationship. There is helpful information for families of hoarders available that may assist your efforts. Never stop trying to connect and always provide love, compassion, and support. Hoarders need this from those closest to them more than you know. 

 

What Dangers Lay in a Hoarded Situation?
 

While Hoarding Disorder can have a dramatic effect on one’s psychological condition, there are several risks that lay in hoarded conditions potentially impacting health and wellbeing, as well as the life safety of those living in these conditions and the community, in general. 

 

• Inability to perform needed maintenance on the home due to clutter and not being able to access appliances, furnace, electrical boxes, water heater… This can be a real fire hazard.

• Trip and fall concerns. Piles of loose contents call fall trapping an occupant. Many hoarders lead a rather solitary lifestyle and may be trapped for a long time.

• Blocked egress. It can be very difficult to perform a self-rescue in the case of a fire if an escape window is blocked. Conversely, first responders will have to decide whether to perform a rescue if they discover too much clutter blocking their way.

• All those contents in a hoarded home become a fuel load for fires which presents a significant risk to the community as they are very difficult to extinguish and can easily spread to adjacent homes.

• Poor air quality. The inability to clean creates a lot of dust, grease, and grime. In addition, decaying organic materials create breeding grounds for rodents and insects. Both factors lead to a very poor living environment To learn more about the dangers and decontamination of rodents and insects.

• Hoards create layers upon layers for rodents to proliferate without being seen and we often find mold conditions as well. Consideration should be taken to protect yourself when doing a hoarding cleanup as air quality quickly diminishes when contents are moved and sorted.

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What is it About all this Clutter that Stops Me in My Tracks?

 

For many who want to climb out from all their clutter, this is a very common query. Heck, it may be the million-dollar question. Unfortunately, there are no real answers to this question, but we find it helps tremendously to learn from others.

 

Below are summaries from a few posts followed by commentary that may provide you some beneficial insight:

 

Post #1

“My problem with decluttering has to do with an environmentally friendly trait as well as a procrastination trait. When I see so many things in a room, I get lazier and demotivated to clean as compared to a room with less clutter.”

 

Post #2

“All these boxes for sorting piles placing things as gifts, donate, recycle, trash and lastly, sell. The time/cost of selling is too great compared to the other options. This is how I got into this mess in the first place. I just never had the time to do what I set out to do which was sell all this stuff. Now, there’s no room and I can’t even think.”

 

Commentary:

In both posts they speak of the true nature of having too much stuff and what it can do to you. It is human nature that you are in a battle with. Clutter clouds the mind and adds so much weight on your shoulders such that it is just easier to just do nothing. 

 

When clutter grows from a stack to a mountain and you really want to make a change but feel paralyzed to do anything about it, we are here to lend an understanding hand or two or four. Whatever it takes to help you break through the barriers so you can see real progress and regain control of your life. Steri-Clean Indiana has been providing hoarding cleanup services in Indiana since 1995. 

 

We Help Realtors and Homeowners Declutter to Prep for Resale

We understand “life happens” and after years of living in one place you are ready for a new beginning; however, life’s many little events have culminated into a house full of clutter that may be a little too much for you to handle. We prep cluttered homes to make them more spacious and inviting, helping your real estate agent market for maximum value. With over 20-years of experience, we help people with their clutter cleanup needs. From deep cleaning to massive hoarding cleanups we understand the

right approach is half the battle. Estimates are free, call today.

 

How the Process Works:

• We arrive in discreet vehicles to protect privacy.

• Identify areas that need to be decluttered and work with you to determine which of those items you desire to keep.

• Relocate keep items to a discreet storage location – creating a spacious floorplan for perspective buyers

• Optional deep cleaning and sanitizing services available

 

What We Do

• Hoarding Cleanup

• Declutter

• Deep Clean

• Odor Removal

• Animal Waste Cleanup & Decontamination

 

Contact Steri-Clean Indiana today to learn how we can help you get a positive return on your investment and sell your home for what it should sell for.

 

What can I Expect from Steri-Clean Indiana?
 

No matter how difficult the work conditions, our clients consistently feel listened to, respected, and valued. It is this sense of humanity and compassion all our employees must bring to the job every day.

 

We are great listeners and more than willing to discuss your situation on the phone. We want you to feel comfortable and ask as many questions until you feel like this is a company I can trust. We typically would like to meet with you onsite for a free assessment so we can better understand your goals and what the process might look like. From there, we will provide an estimate for your consideration. 

 

Once the declutter project is complete, we are here to assist you with a variety of services your home may need now that the surfaces are exposed.

• Deep cleaning to wipe away any grease and grime buildup

• Floor covering removal and any demolition of interior components to prep the home for repairs or renovation

• Rodent/pest cleanup. We want to help make your home safe again and will decontaminate evidence these critters leave behind

• Bed Bug prep. We can assist prepping your home should it be affected with bed bugs

• Animal waste cleanup. Sometimes our pets can get the best of us and overrun the home. We can help remediate the damage they may have created.

• Odor removal. As cleanup progresses, odors typically decrease. On occasion, however, they remain, requiring the use of proprietary technologies to further reduce or eliminate odors.
   

Contact Steri-Clean Indiana for a consultation

 

If you suffer from a hoarding disorder or have a loved one who does, completing a hoarding cleanup can be overwhelming. Trying to clear away hoarded materials can be a big job, and it can also pose risks to your health. The professionals at Steri-Clean can help you clean up the debris in a safe and sanitary manner. To learn more about how we might be able to help you with our hoarding cleanup services contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation by calling 1-888-577-7206.

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