Days 2 & 3 At Mumsie's Hoarder House

While I got sick and felt triumphant the first day cleaning Mumsie’s Horror Hoarder House, my second day was much less physically miserable and more emotionally miserable. Reese and I worked for 4 hours straight yet again, widening the small path we made the first day and tackling some piles in living room, kitchen, bathroom and my sister’s room– it just about undid me.

To begin with, my sister over the last few days went right back to just dumping trash and dirty dishes on the floor or covering her bedside table, even when there was at least a sink and a dishwasher cleared out for her to use from last time. I was beside myself and had to have a “talk” with my sister about it. It was very disheartening to see her give up even basic care of herself and the house so easily.

For another thing, I came across and had to deal with the plastic containers filled with my mother’s human waste from when she couldn’t get out of bed easily after she fell. THAT was lovely as you can imagine! It never occurred to her to take care of it herself or ask for help. SO disgusting!

I found broken glass all over the floor of her bedroom where she walks in bare feet all the time.

And then, as Reese and I started digging into the piles in the kitchen and living room, we disturbed well over a hundred spiders. At least 7 of them looked to be black widows!! (My mother and I are both very allergic to spider bites! A black widow bite could send her to the hospital again.) Even Reese, who is hard to disturb, cried out a few times and jumped back to avoid the spiders scurrying across things to get away from our efforts!

I did less bending over this time, working off the tops of the piles to bring them lower instead of going from the bottom up, but the stench and the extra surprises were difficult for me to take with equilibrium. By the time we left for Reese’s– I was crying and feeling incredibly hopeless.

Day Three I handled a bit better. My mother was cooperating thus far and she was even kind of sorting some papers and gave us a big pile for recycling herself. She thanked us and was amazed because by the end of the day, Reese had completely cleaned and organized most of the kitchen. A brand new fridge was also brought in and the old one (with all it’s disgusting biology experiments) was hauled away.

It was HOT out and we were sweating up a storm! The “breathable” protective gear didn’t feel very breathable and by the time we finished, we were drenched in sweat.

However, the kitchen and bathroom were both usable again, and Erica could walk all the way to her bed and most of the trash was out of her room. The living room still had a high pile, but it was a couple of feet lower and the path to the front door and Mumsie’s chair was wide enough for her walker to be used as well. Nearly 3/4ths of all the lightbulbs in the house were burned out, so I went around replacing those (my mother bought the bulbs, but that’s where it ended until I got there.) Doors could open and close and overall things were a bit better.

And… Erica was cooperating now and stopped backsliding in her own behavior. Dorla had said she was treated like a “little Princess” and to some extent that’s true… but it’s much more true that she’s been utterly neglected and made to live in filth she’s not allowed to clean up.

SO–! Before I return for the month, it’s obvious that I’ve made some great inroads on this front. It’s still a nightmare, but it’s not as bad as it was before. The house is functional at least. Not much more than that, but you’ve seen the pics! Ee-gads!