I want to let Tracy know that I understand.  My mother--a
nurse--also died squalor, at the age of 61.  Also like Tracy's mother,
mine didn't have a working toilet.  Her house was full of her own waste
and animal waste and rotten food--especially meat that she had ordered
from TV shopping stations.  She hadn't let anyone in for 16 years. ..

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This form was submitted:  Feb 20 2008 / 19:03:34
Daughter

I want to let Tracy know that I understand.  My mother--a
nurse--also died squalor, at the age of 61.  Also like Tracy's mother,
mine didn't have a working toilet.  Her house was full of her own waste
and animal waste and rotten food--especially meat that she had ordered
from TV shopping stations.  She hadn't let anyone in for 16 years. 

Mom had been in court on Board of Health charges for conditions outside
of her house.  She cleaned them up sufficiently to get the law off of
her back; I asked the housing court judge to order an internal
inspection, but she said she didn't have the authority to do so because Mom
owned her home. . .  

In the end, my sister and I hired <a cleaning company>* to come and empty out the
house.  We think it was one of the best decisions we ever made.  Mom had
been dead for a week before she was found, so there was decomposition.
  But the squalor was even worse to deal with than the decomposition.
  The cleaning people donned protective gear, emptied out the house, took
away the refuse, and sanitized it; we were able to sell it for a
surprisingly decent price. 

If you are facing the prospect of cleaning up a loved one's squalor,
please consider hiring professionals.  The job isn't "emotionally loaded"
for them like it is for family members.  They can work more quickly
and efficiently than family members can.  You'll protect your own mental
health, spare yourself a lot of anger at your loved one, and get the
job done faster.  The one possible "down side" is that you probably won't
recover much stuff.  But in the end, we found that a reasonable
trade-off.  We didn't need more dishes and small kitchen appliances, in boxes
that had absorbed horrific smells, anyway. 

Good luck my fellow Survivors. 

-- Sherri

*Story edited to remove name of cleaning company.  Contact site admin. if you are interested in the name.-childrenofhoarders.com