Donation Nation: Tackling Hoarding Estates

In the summer of 2007 on a late August afternoon, my family received word that my grandmother had passed away. For the first time I had experienced a death in the family; I was 17 years old. For the first time in my life, I had to go through the process of confronting a universal truth, a truth that we are only here for a limited amount of time. Like all tragic events in life, they become memorable; they get imprinted, replayed and replayed until recall becomes second nature. It was an emotional time, not only due to the passing of my grandmother but because of the stress involved in planning the funeral and solving the many issues that surround her estate.

You see, my grandmother owned a home in Potomac that my grandfather purchased in the early 1960’s. This home was beautiful, covered from head to toe in red brick, black shutters on every single window, two car garage, a large backyard, four bedrooms, and a basement; it was perfect. Only, my grandfather passed away two years before I was born in the late 1980’s, leaving her to this huge home on top of a hill. Perhaps my grandfather was her counterbalance, but after he had passed away, my grandmother would start collecting items, seeming to find utility in everything she had ever purchased, storing things in nooks and crannies of her home, stockpiling things my family thought were useless, but not to her. Over the years we tried helping her by taking multiple trips to the Shady Grove Transfer Station, taking care of the behemoth backyard (trust me, I had to cut it grudgingly) and countless conversations that would lead to nowhere. My grandmother's home became an issue with my family, caused undue stress, and caused numerous arguments between the immediate family. Thankfully, though grudgingly, my grandmother allowed us to work at her home throughout the years.By the time she had passed away, it was not as bad as what it could be; but good lord there was still so much stuff.

A week after the funeral, my family went to my grandmother’s home. For the first time in 40 years, it did not have an owner; it did not have a greeting at the door; it did not have mumbles of chatter; only the silence of 40 years of memories built into every corner and every item in that place. From the piano that my grandmother tried teaching me, to my father’s old desk that I would eventually use at Towson University, to multiple hand-carved dressers that my grandfather made in the 70’s. We knew as we walked into that home that our family could not afford the land tax to keep the estate, and therefore we had to sell it; everything in the home had to go.

When a person passes away, you are only left with memories, memories that you will continue to tell over dinner or family events. However, how do you go into a home and prioritize what memories are important? What if you forget? What if you throw something away and do not have the tangible reminder of a specific day or conversation or event? You do not want the infinity of time to erase your most prized possessions. However, you have too, time will continue to go forward, and the land taxes will come again and again every single year.

The race has already started to get the home ready for sale. 30-foot dumpsters become lawn ornaments, constant traffic in and out of the home becomes routine, and sometimes, you look into the dumpsters and pick out an item, and you secretly put it into your parent’s car. It is not easy; it is not easy to prioritize memories; it is not easy to sell a home that was the foundation of your childhood, or home that your father grew up in; it is not, easy. An entire year went by getting my grandmother’s home remodeled and cleared out, countless hours of work went into this home, but would eventually sell a couple of months later after it hit the market. For the first time in my life, I could not go into the backyard, couldn’t walk into the home I grew up going to on weekends or went to during Jewish holidays, it was no longer ours. For those that have had this experience, you are not alone.

I wish Donation Nation’s services were available back in 2007, and no, I am not just saying that because I work here. You see, my family tried donating a majority of my grandmother’s items, but were told they would have to wait a couple of months for pickup. Due to the race against time, we had to throw everything away that we could not keep ourselves. Now, there is certain romanticism about Donation Nation’s services; there is romanticism in the thought that all the memories that you hold within any of the items they take, will create new memories for others or improve their day to day experiences.

You see, Donation Nation is the only service in Maryland that is a donation service/ removal service; they could have taken everything from my grandmother’s home in two days tops, instead of extending it to over a year. When I first started here, I never realized that thousands of individuals and families had the very same experience that my family had gone through back in 2007. According to Montgomery County Hoarding Task Force, “National statistics indicate that 2-5% of the population suffers from hoarding in one form or another. Based on these estimates, Montgomery County has approximately 20,000 – 50,000 potential hoarders… Even if only 10% of these residents are identified as requiring services, it is conceivable that between 2,000 – 5,000 residents need assistance when addressing a hoarding situation.” Take one of our most recent donor’s reviews as just one example of how Donation Nation can assist you with your loved one’s estate.

“Donation Nation was a godsend for my best friend since college. She was facing the overwhelming task of clearing her childhood home of 50+ years of accumulated "stuff." Her mother who had been in declining health and had unfortunately become a hoarder in the last ten years of living in the home. Charles was the hero of this sad scenario. He provided an incredibly accurate estimate of what it would take to clean out this 2,400 sq. Ft. home. Despite the short notice, the terrible condition of the contents of the house, he managed to pull together a team of 8 workers and three double sized trucks and spent 9+ hours working like sled dogs non-stop in one day to clear out this house completely. I do not know of any other service that would have undertaken this job and gotten it done so efficiently. They got the job done in a single day to accommodate my friend who had flown in from out of town to get this done…”

When addressing hoarding situations, from experience, time is everything. If you wait until an individual passes away, or just wait too long, it becomes unmanageable and overwhelming; stress will build up, fights will continue, and you will not come close to a solution. If you are aware of an individual whom you think may exhibit signs of hoarding, please click the link for more information about Montgomery Counties Hoarding task force!

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS/Resources/Files/Reports/finaltaskforceonhoardingbehaviorreport.pdf

No, not every person will experience the extremes of hoarding estates, but everyone will experience the emotional turmoil of losing a loved one, and handling an estate will most likely be a part of the process, especially for our region. According to the Census Reporter, 19% of residents in the DMV are over the age of 60; 2,172,310 Households reside within our area, with an occupancy rate of 93%, and 84% have lived in the same house as of a year ago, with only 15.7% moving the previous year. Our region is aging, homeownership is at an all-time high, and our mobility trends appear to be stagnant; a recipe of statistics that increase the likelihood that you will have to deal with an estate at some point in your lifetime.

Whatever the reason for needing to empty the belongings from home, whether it is a death in the family, downsizing, transitioning your family member to assisted living, or just clutter, we can help you!

Use Donation Nation’s removal service, get a tax deduction and focus your energy on healing, or, focus your energy on other important matters. We know how difficult handling an estate can be, we are aware it can be an emotional time, we are aware; this is what we do, and this is what we are good at! To schedule an appointment with our non-profit removal service, call (855) 362-9253 and have all your clutter issues resolved in hours!

References:

https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/hoarding-basics

http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/services/community-services/hoarding-task-force

https://censusreporter.org/profiles/31000US47900-washington-arlington-alexandria-dc-va-md-wv-metro-area/