We cleared the living room today and half of the screened porch. We did a preliminary clean up of the kitchen and living room. All of that filled one 6-ton truck and another 40-cubic-yard dumpster, and still there were more bags. We have half of the hallway and the bedrooms to clear. We still have a section of the basement and the yard to do. We are not looking forward to clearing the yard.

We also have a new problem. The floors are sagging from the weight of all that clutter. We discovered a couple of cracked cross beams in the basement. Miss Alice was overwhelmed by this discovery. She sat in a chair we excavated and stared into space for a long time. Steve Scott, her social worker, stopped by and sat with her and explained some of her options. She rallied a bit and got ready to go out to one of her volunteer meetings.

Alice was having a good morning, busy scrubbing mold out of the hall bathroom and walking on the floors of her house with great delight. But later in the morning she went outside and started pulling things out of the trash to go back in the house. She kept saying, “I paid a lot of money for that.” I asked her to stay focused on the goal of saving her house and reclaiming her life. She stopped and went back to her bathroom project.

When she was shown the cracked beams and the sagging floor she stopped all negotiations for keeping the stuff. It was as if she finally realized what she had done to her home, and the clutter had little value to her after that. She is mostly worried about how she is going to pay for the repairs and the house not being worth anything to leave her children. She really wants to redeem herself in their eyes. Steve Scott and Kathy will call her friends and explain the details so they can help her sort through her options.

One option is a reverse mortgage. We are working with a loan officer to see about getting some money to finance repairs. One of our volunteers, Danny is a long-time friend of Alice’s daughter and a contractor. He lives down the street and has been advising us on how to proceed with repairs and will give us an estimate of what it will cost to fix the floor.

We continue with the clearing. We all believe the house can be repaired. It will be a long and difficult process, but Kathy is determined to leave that house ready to be restored. It’s a pretty little house.

Alice had a rough day. My heart went out to her. Hoarding is thought to be a neurological disorder similar to obsessive/compulsive disorder or possibly attention deficit disorder. We see the many attempts Alice made to organize her life as we go through the piles. She bought all kinds of bags to hold things and lots of filing materials, but could never find a way to use them. Today we found a book, “1001 Tips to Control Clutter.” It was a sad irony.

At first she resented the attempts to interrupt her compulsion. Today she seemed grateful. She told one of the volunteers, Dan, that it was getting easier to let go. It seems to help her to put everything in trash bags.  She says if she doesn’t see it, she won’t miss it.  I am the official sorter of stuff. Alice gave me a list of things to watch for while sorting.  I have found them all except for one.

Kathy is exhausted, but determined. After this project, we have a Fall promotion scheduled with SocialLiving.com. We thought that was going to be tough to fill all of the orders we’re expecting. After this project, I think it may seem like a vacation for Kathy.

Dan Swanson returned to volunteer and he brought a huge shop vacuum. Thanks, Dan. We also had a new volunteer, Brandon Frazier, whose grandfather was a hoarder. He saw the story on the news and was moved to help. He was so sweet with Miss Alice today helping her sort in the hallway. He also jumped up and down in the dumpster with me so we could squeeze in a few more bags. Thanks, guys.

—Reported and photos by Jackie Wells Smith.

Day 8 photos below. View report and photos for Day 9.

Collection of pottery molds for sale. Call Kathy at 404-803-4547

The growing yard sale pile.

This is what 600 full trash bags looks like close up.

The living room early in the day.

Brandon, Kathy on the phone, Dan. Brandon and Dan are volunteers. Brandon's grandfather was a hoarder.

We found this book in one of the piles.

We thought these items at the very bottom were a little ironic: A fire extinguisher you can't get to, a can of crushed pineapples and buried treasure.

Two large Paragon kilns and one small Paragon kiln for sale. Call Kathy at 404-803-4547

Two large Paragon kilns and one small Paragon kiln for sale. Call Kathy at 404-803-4547

The living room at the end of the day.

The kitchen at the end of the day.