A House Flip
You Never Know What is on the Inside
Looking at a home from the outside can be very deceiving – just like the outside of a person often doesn’t reveal what is inside of their heart. The flaws will remain anonymous. Join me for a look at a hoarder disorder as seen through the eyes of their family.
Definition of Hoarding from Mayo Clinic:
“Hoarding disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with hoarding disorder experiences distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. Excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value, occurs.
Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Some people also collect animals, keeping dozens or hundreds of pets in unsanitary conditions because they can’t care for them properly.
Hoarding ranges from mild to severe. In some cases, hoarding may not have much impact on your life, while in other cases it seriously affects your functioning on a daily basis.
People with hoarding disorder often don’t see it as a problem, making treatment challenging. But intensive treatment can help people with hoarding disorder understand their compulsions and live safer, more enjoyable lives.”
Last week I featured the home of a relative of my daughter, Devin, that had been vacated because of medical issues. Today I will show you more “before pictures” and then the home after most of the reno is done. I did not take the pictures, but they are authentic.
As you look through them, use them as a gauge. We all have issues and at times falter, so don’t judge too harshly. As we like to say, “But for the grace of God, there go I.”
Devin describes their process of how they dealt with the situation with the home:
“We found out that their finances were upside down and that Scott’s dad wasn’t able to manage things anymore and told Scott to use his power of attorney to help dig him out of the rut he was in.
We found moving companies with temporary storage and moved Scott’s parents up in August and started the long, grueling process of cleaning up their house and selling all of their assets the house being the biggest project of them all.
Scott’s mom was an avid shopper always looking for a good deal to benefit her children and grandchildren. That habit began spiraling out of control when Scott left home after he graduated high school.
We had the house sold before we even got a chance to finish clearing it out and we only had it up on the market for a few hours before the buyers put in an offer.
We sold it to the buyers knowing that they had big plans to totally renovate and remodel. Homeowners who are planning to renovate or remodel their homes should consider hiring a team of professionals including a masonry contractor Lynchburg.
The pictures speak for themselves.”Family support, health issues, depression or anxiety, past experiences, faith, etc. all play into who we are and how we function. Use this example as both a warning and encouragement.
No matter who we are, where we are in life or our past experiences, we can learn from each other and improve our manner of living. We have a choice. Choose clean living, in every area of our lives, not just our home. With the help of Clean Team services, maintaining a clean and organized environment becomes more accessible
BEFORE
“There are some originals kept in the house such as the living room floor…which they sanded and resurfaced without changing the original design of that unique hard floor.
They tore out the entire kitchen and put in custom-built cupboards, extending the kitchen out to make it bigger than the previous one.
They used one set of cabinets from the old kitchen in the laundry room. They redid the cabinet by painting it and putting on new hardware.”
The International OCD Foundation compares “collecting” and “hoarding.”
“How is hoarding different from collecting?• In hoarding, people seldom seek to display their possessions, which are usually kept in disarray.
• In collecting, people usually proudly display their collections and keep them well organized.“
“The bathrooms were totally gutted.
They took out a closet in the upstairs hall to make room in one of the upstairs bathrooms (by the top of the stairs) for the stool and the tub to be along the one wall making more room in front of the vanity.
They took out the tub in the master bath and the ledge next to the tub and the wall dividing it from the double sink to make more room for a separate tub and a stand up shower.”
Much of what had been considered collectables and “good deals” by the former home owners ended up in a dumpster simply out of necessity. To sift through thousands of items in order to decide what to keep and what to toss would have been impossible for the family. If they had, who would have the time to sell it or even figure out who to give it to?
Just sorting through my Mom’s things after she passed seemed to me overwhelming – I can’t imagine a houseful like this. A lot of credit must be given to the family for stepping in and handling this.]
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“This is how it was listed: The 3200 sq/ft house has 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, one formal dining room and a smaller area for a table off the kitchen, one family room, one sitting room, a four-season room, 2 car garage, Custom Wrought Iron Spiral Stairs, and a spacious foyer right inside the front door. They cut down 12 trees around the property that were old and a couple eventually would have fallen on the house.”
The International OCD Foundations asks:
“What is compulsive hoarding? Compulsive hoarding includes ALL three of the following:
1. A person collects and keeps a lot of items, even things that appear useless or of little value to most people, and
2. These items clutter the living spaces and keep the person from using their rooms as they were intended, and
3. These items cause distress or problems in day-to-day activities.”AFTER
Today the beautiful outside reflects the beautiful inside of the home.
Here is the listing and photos:
What can we take away from this?
- We need to keep an eye on our daily living standards – check ourselves to make sure we are not falling into a self-harming routine. If you need junk hauling Roanoke contact Roanoke Junk Removal & Dumpster Rental.
- We can learn from others as much as how NOT to be – a negative can turn into a positive for us.
- There is hope even in the most dire circumstances. Sometimes we can change a seemingly hopeless situation.
- Beauty can come from havoc and pain. Perspective is important as well as just plain hard work.
- We need to have a positive outlook on our circumstances – we can always find someone who’s living situation is worse than ours.
- Learn from others but don’t fall into a critical spirit toward them. But for the Grace of God…
*Pictures and narrative used with permission by the homeowners and family. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for visiting. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Do you collect or tending toward hoarding? Are you making progress in the area of organization and working on making your home warm and inviting? Do you know anyone with a hoarding tendency?
As a gift to you for visiting, get your FREE PDF of 4 Homemade Chalky Paint Recipes – click the picture below:
Until next time – be amazing!
Wow – what an incredible transformation. My total respect to the family that dealt with that. I was overwhelmed just looking at the pictures.
This is a great reminder to keep things in perspective.
It sure made me think!
Wow, that is crazy. And what a beautiful makeover. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my goodness, this blew my mind! What a transformation… and what a lot of work!
I'll be sharing this post in my weekly newsletter!
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely week.
xoxo
Thanks, Jennifer!
What a beautiful home Val. It's very sad when things get that bad. I know I've had some issues over the years when I was at the height of my depression but it never got this bad. It's so overwhelming and you just don't know where to start. If you don't act on it this is how it can end up. A great post.
Thanks so much for linking up to Thriving on Thursdays. Hope to see you this Thursday!
Anne @ Domesblissity xx
Yes Anne, it is sad but not impossible to deal with. We all need support and sometimes someone to step in. Thanks for stopping in. I will see you Thursday!
What an incredible transformation! It's sad to see when someone has become so far gone that someone has to essentially dig them out of their home. I'm glad you were able to rescue this home and make it liveable again. I love a good transformation story! =)
I can't imagine, I get panicked when things are cluttered so I'm constantly cleaning out and will probably be doing so, not sure why I have such a strong hold on decluttering. Perhaps it's because I stayed in one place most of my life until I got married. Growing up we never got rid of anything. Thoughts to ponder… Amazing transformation we just never know what's happening behind closed doors. Always good to pray for everyone because we all need it.
I tend the other way. I am forcing myself to declutter because I need to make room for my next projects. But my tendency to assign sentimental value to things keeps me struggling to get rid of them. We have had lean times in the past and it left its mark. Balance is the key.
This transformation is absoutely amazing! It's wonderful to see such a beautiful home look just as beautiful inside as it does on the outside. I know I have too many things I hold on to, and reading stories like this help me put things in perspective.
Thank you to the homeowners for sharing this story–I know this will help others!
I agree, these stories are motivators and helps us keep perspective. I so want to pare down my belongings and make better use of my home. This is the year of decluttering!