Where are you located? You have keen insight into the hoarding aspect and I am convinced you (with lots of hard work and insight) you will succeed. With three generations of hoarders, and your insight, your mothers willingness to change and bring momentum, you can make great strides! If you tell me where you are I will see what I can do regarding resources if you need some beyond what they offer here. I am a nurse and a trained, professional organizer in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you're ouside of there, I'm sorry, my resources are limited to here. There is a new diagnostic code for Hoarders now and therapy should be covered on medical insurance. However, organizers are not. However, in order to make excellent, visible progress, you really need both. Good Luck to you and stay positive! Margaret.

Hello there, first time poster here.

I'm familiar with hoarding as a disorder, and know that there are much deeper roots to hoarding than not being a tidy person. As with most mental illnesses, I've come to realize that the hoarding has been an issue through at least three generations (myself, my mother and my grandmother), and it affects every member of the bloodline that I'm aware of.

I've struggled with my issues with hoarding since I was very young, and have been fortunate enough to find a significant other who has been very active in helping me with my OCD tendencies. Is our living space sparkly and clean? No, but it is more than livable, and I appreciate having someone who can tell me point blank when I'm struggling when I'm not ready to come to terms with it.

My grandmother recently passed away, and now we are faced with the issue of my grandfather living in the house on his own, with the entire basement and two bedrooms full of clutter (my grandmother was very conscious about keeping "common areas" tidy).

As this issue is now something that the family is being forced to deal with, my mother has asked for my help in working on cleaning up her home. This is a fantastic revelation as it shows she is making progress in coming to terms with her hoarding, but I'm worried as my father and brother have always been passive participants in the hoarding, and I'm not sure that she is going to be able to maintain any progress that we make without their full support. The entire house is affected, and I just don't know how plausible tackling this on our own is going to be. She doesn't want to hire a cleaning crew, and she doesn't want to get a dumpster for fear of drawing attention to the house.

I'm feeling so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start. Any and all suggestions are welcome.