How to clean a hoarders house

[FleabagIsGreat]

I went to see a new client yesterday- she called me looking for a cleaner.
There is stuff literally everywhere.
You couldn’t see a kitchen work surface.
Every table/windowsill around the house was crammed with ornaments.
The beds were unmade & piled with clothes- God only knows how they sleep.
Piles & piles of paperwork everywhere.

To be fair the house wasn’t filthy & she was a lovely lady.
She was so excited at the prospect of having a clean house but I spent last night just thinking about where to start !
I suggested just tackling 1 room at a time but the whole house will take at least 10 weeks (at 1 3-4 visit a week) just to do an initial clean .

I’m going to go slightly against the grain here and say I’d do it. She seems open to having a frank and open discussion about this so I would go in and re-talk with her about her aims and expectations and with ground rules.

Firstly I would get payment up front for your time, in case mid-clean she decides she’d had enough and wants you out; at east that way you aren’t out of pocket. You have no emotional connection with this lady so don’t see your aim as getting her to de-clutter - you’re working for a set period of time with clear objectives. If you’re the type of person to get disheartened that the place is back to the same state as before then don’t do it. If you can look at it that it doesn’t matter that you’re cleaning/clearing the same workspace ten weeks in a row then it might work. As a previous poster says, I wouldn’t throw anything without her having clearly stipulated that she’s happy for it to go and would itemise it as above, preferably via email.

Tbh, it sounds like she’s taken a massive step forward and if doesn’t work out, you could find clients to fill your time again. It’s very different if its a friend/relative who you are emotionally invested in.

Wow @EatingTheElephantInChunks is an incredible human being.
My lady is definitely not as bad.
This is piles of clothes on beds (all beds) & drawers but clean washing, ornaments on every available surface, all kitchen work surfaces full of bottles etc., 2/3 foot high of papers & books.
As I said it wasn’t filthy just lots & lots of dust & dog hair

Lots of dog hair is filthy in my book

I would start on the kitchen and bathroom as these are the most important rooms for hygiene and also most likely that she won't be so emotionally attached to any rubbish so you will be able to throw some stuff out. Also do a hoover round the junk piles each time to slowly reduce the dust and dog hair.
After that just folding up the clean clothes and putting in storage containers to free the beds.
Another thing that might help her is if you could get her to sort out a bag of things for the charity shop each time you go and you take it there for her. A small bag at a time is manageable for her to sort out and might start to build a habit.

I would walk away. Run actually. You wouldn't be taking on a cleaning job so much as getting dragged into a mental health crisis

This ^^ I have a dear friend who's a cleaner, and she took on a job like this, right down to the lady having approached several people "before she could bring herself to do it"

It ended with police involvement, when the client's original appreciation turned into irritation at her things being moved, then into accusations of actual theft

ok as a temporary measure (experience here with someone close) storage units/rooms can be life savers. persuade her to invest in plastic storage boxes &help her sort stuff into unit than she can choose & circulate -it isn't a cure but at least cleaning becomes easier - & by the way getting psychiatric help for hoarders is almost impossible - ignore those who discourage you please - if you are prepared to work with her & she with you - you may be able to help even if its temporary (& bless you for considering it :) )

mumwon - agree there is no psychiatric help, its tricky enough to get psych help for the critical things (when suicidal), as I explained above they did intervene but no emotional support so things repeated, now I have support in place things are a lot better and its via a charity who I was passed onto by a SW

I want to echo pp who have advised running away. You are a cleaner, not a psychologist, and not a declutterer. I’m willing to bet you’re not going to charge her more than your usual rate, so don’t get sucked into this feeling you’re doing her a good turn. You cannot do a decent cleaning job for a hoarder and I’m willing to bet she has a completely unreasonable fantasy about what the place will look like once her cleaner has started on it. Let’s face it, she must already have an unrealistic view of her home if she actually thinks you can clean it despite the hoard.