When you’re dealing with a hoarding situation, it’s normal to feel discouraged, overwhelmed, and emotionally drained. You may not know where to start or how to convince the hoarder that it would be in his or her best interest to clean up the home. You may not know if you should hire a trauma cleanup company or simply try to deal with it all on your own. But you don’t have to go through such a situation blind and simply work through tasks as they come. You don’t have to feel that the situation is impossible or nearly hopeless. We hope the following tips will provide you with the help you need. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration at (610) 524-8003.
Try to Sympathize and Understand the Situation
Before you do anything else, you need to have the proper mindset. You can’t go into the hoarding situation angry and frustrated. And you can’t go in expecting to throw out anything and everything without a care. This mindset will only create problems and trauma for both you and the hoarder. Try to think like hoarders do, try to work out how the situation got to this point. Was it caused by the hoarder’s depression? Loneliness? Loss of a family member? Does the hoarder feel that throwing away their possessions is like throwing away pieces of themselves? Once you help a hoarder understand that you only want to help him or her lead a better life, you will have some weight taken off your shoulders.
Work Out a Plan
If you don’t have a plan, you will quickly lose momentum. Decide which room has the most clutter or which area might need water damage restoration performed once you’ve move everything out? Perhaps there is an area that requires help from a trauma cleanup company because there are bodily fluids on the wall, for example.
Dress Protectively
Don’t start cleaning unless you’re wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Gloves are also important, along with a head covering. You need such protective clothing to guard you against jagged edges or harmful substances hiding in the hoarder’s piles of paper, food wrappers, and so on.
Contact ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration of Exton, PA, for professional trauma cleanup help. We can be reached online or call us on the phone at (610) 524-8003.