My latest posts may sound like nothing but a vent session from my moving experience but there’s a reason that I’ve been sharing them.
Moving with a hoard is much different than moving an average home.
If you’re planning on moving and you’re a hoarder, I hope this helps you a little bit. Maybe you can learn something from my awful experience.
Maybe you’ve already moved and can relate. If that’s the case, please leave some tips in the comments so that maybe we can make it easier for someone else.
If you have a loved one with a hoarding problem that needs or wants to move, I hope you can get some insight into how to help them.
The hardest part of moving when you’re a hoarder is finding people to help. Everyone knows. You may think you have a hidden hoard but trust me, there are people who know. Neighbors, delivery people, mail carriers, noisy co-workers and friends.
People know that moving a hoard is incredibly hard, especially when books are involved, so when you say “I’m moving” they’re going to say, “I’m out of town that month.”
No one will want to help you.
Even people you offer to pay will be reluctant.
I tried to get a cleaning lady to come do some surface cleaning after I had completely gotten everything out of my kitchen. Before she came in, my mom mentioned that I’m kind of a hoarder and that woman wouldn’t do anything after that. She walked out saying it was too much for her and it was impossible to clean.
There was nothing in the room.
My entire moving experience went that way.
Right at the end, we did have some friends who came to help which leads me to my next part of the experience. You might be embarrassed by having people come help.
But please don’t let that get in your way.
Just suck it up and let them help. You deserve some help. No one is perfect and if hoarding is your vice, so be it. Different people have different problems and that’s perfectly okay!
Imagine how boring life would be if we were all the same and thought the same things all the time.
Don’t forget to be extra nice to the people who show up!!! If they’re willing to come help, they care about you!
Why are you keeping this?
You might have to forgive your friends and family though if they do give you a hard time. Even though most of them are well meaning, they might slip up once in awhile.
What I’m getting at is that people can be pretty mean even when they’re helping, wondering why you have so much stuff.
This will probably come from people who know you the best and who’ve tried helping you in the past. It’s frustrating moving hundreds of boxes and packing for days on end so be gentle. It might be hard for them to keep their cool.
Be prepared to hear, “Just get rid of it” about a million times.
I’m not even exaggerating.
At times, you might be tempted to tell them to go away and you’ll do it yourself. Instead, tell them that you really want to keep it but you’ll try to find something that you do want to get rid of. You don’t have to get rid of anything you don’t want to.
However, it will make your moving experience so much easier if you do!!
And if you give into them once in awhile, on things that you can let go of, they’ll feel like they made a difference in the life of someone they care about.
It’s okay to give in once awhile and it’s okay to say no.
Here are the four things to remember:
- It’s okay to ask for help.
- Don’t feel bad because you have too much stuff.
- Do try to get rid of things as you pack because it will make the entire moving experience easier.
- Yes, it’s going to be embarrassing letting people in, but do it anyways.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, Jen. I wasn’t even moving 8 years ago, but just trying to dehoard. My former sis in law, who was still a friend, came to help. She ragged and bullied me into getting rid of stuff. In my blog, I said my former nice friend turned mean. I mean it as a joke, but we’re not friends anymore. But she did help me lighten my load!
Yep I think other people just get really frustrated with it and don’t understand. So I just had to keep my mouth closed a lot during the process!! Lol!!