Are you a young person living in a hoarded home?
Do you feel utterly alone and at your wits end with the issues in the house?
First and foremost, know that you are not alone!
I myself am a survivor and thriver that knows EXACTLY what it’s like to move through the chaos of growing up in a hoarded home.
There are a number of tips & tricks that I used to survive and at the time I didn’t even realize that these had become my coping mechanisms. There was a lot of secrecy, hiding and shame associated with growing up in a hoarded home and I often wondered if I had been adopted or something! We had not always lived that way, so I think that is why it was so confusing for me when we did find ourselves living among stacks and boxes.
And the arguments! Holy cow! Were there ever arguments and drama about moving stuff or disturbing one small item in order to cook a meal or put up a Christmas tree.
Then of course, if you had any type of legitimate trash that you needed to get out of your room or your space, there would be endless rounds of why that trash shouldn’t leave the home. I remember resorting to smuggling it out of the house, tucked in my laundry basket as I would do my laundry at my grandma’s once a week as a teenager.
Growing up in this environment is difficult and it is by no means our fault! Knowing we didn’t create it and ultimately can’t fix it is something that has helped me a lot. I wish I had known it as a teen though!
The 10 Tips for Youth might be a useful tool for you to use and I hope you will find your own survival tips as well as you continue on this journey.
Please know that you are not alone in this burden and that are actually quite a few of us who survived a hoarded home and have gone on to have our own successful lives.
There are a number ways to connect with me and I would be happy to at least be a source of support, because I wish I had known I was not alone all those years ago!
Tammi Moses is the founder and Chief Encouragement Officer of Homes Are For Living, LLC which is a Veteran Woman Owned & Operated business located in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, WA. She provides consultations, assessments and workshops on the issue of hoarding and inspiring others to take their adversity and use it for the greater good. She is the voice of #AKOPTH-Adult Kids of Parents That Hoard. You can connect with Tammi at [email protected] on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.