Hoarders: Compassion and Clean Up
As hard as we might try to stay on top of things, a clean and organized home can get away from us quickly. There are countless reasons this may happen – physical inability due to injury or disability, financial stress, emotional overwhelm, and so much more. Whatever the reason, when it comes to servicing a hoarding scenario, Lavender Maid understands the delicate sensitivity of the matter, and we’re passionate about serving hoarders, judgement-free.
When it comes time to take control of an overwhelming hoarding situation, we know how to carefully tackle the emotional overwhelm homeowners face, while aggressively handling the physical cleaning situation at hand. Below are 10 steps that we follow to provide our hoarding clients with a clean, safe and welcoming home so they can hit the “reset” button on their space and in their lives!
1. Review and Situation
First thing’s first, when Lavender Maid approaches cleaning your home – no matter if there is hoarding involved or not – we always review the situation at hand. When we approach a hoarding cleaning service, especially, we understand how to compartmentalize and organize what needs to be done in a step-by-step basis. But what sets us apart from other cleaning companies is our ability to personalize the service while taking your emotional needs into account. We treat all of our clients as family, and hoarding cleaning is no different!
2. Wear Protective Gear
Homes that have fallen into hoarding situations tend to disguise serious health concerns. Because the hoarding truly takes over a home, the owner no longer has the ability to see these potential dangers underneath the excess items. There could be insects, animals, gas leaks, and so much more. Because of this, as we enter the home, we wear protective gear from head-to-toe in order to keep ourselves as safe as possible as we handle these hidden challenges.
3. Plan Ahead
We don’t just walk in unprepared! Lavender Maid will work with the property owner to understand the situation we face, and together, create the best plan to tackle the deep cleaning, sanitization needs, and more. We’re thorough and precise because of our focus on preparation!
4. Assemble a Team
Not only do hoarding cleans require a lot of man-power to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible, but they also require a safe and understanding team of people. Because we understand the shame home owners often feel letting others into their homes, we take great pride in assembling an understanding, caring and judgement-free team whose only focus is providing you with a clean and safe place to call home.
5. Move through the Space
Hoarding cleans take time and patience. It’s a step-by-step process working diligently toward the end goal. We don’t skimp on anything, especially in these types of cleans. Our attention to detail is what sets us apart at Lavender Maid.
6. Remove Anything Broken
If we find broken appliances or items, Lavender Maid knows how to correctly remove them from the home and get them to a location for proper disposal. One of the easiest ways to help our clients through the distress they often face with hoarding is helping them understand which items don’t serve them purpose and hinder their space.
By focusing on broken items, we can help ease our clients through the transition of what needs to go and help them grasp what can stay.
7. Locate Important Documents
Often, the important documents hidden within a hoarder’s space go overlooked, but Lavender Maid understands their need to be safely and efficiently stored. We’ll help our clients locate these legal items – wills, tax documents, birth certificates, etc. – and place them in a secure and safe location so that the home owner knows exactly where they are, should they ever be needed.
8. Locate Homeowner’s Personal Treasures
Although outsiders looking in may view a hoarding situation as mostly “useless items,” we at Lavender Maid understand the importance of emotional value behind many of these things. Each person has a right to their personal treasures – items that simply bring them joy. We don’t believe you owe anyone an explanation for these items of sentimental value, and therefore, we’ll help you locate them and store them safely.
9. Deep Clean and Disinfect
Not only are our hoarding cleaning services clearing walkways or counterspace inside the home, we have a package for you that includes disinfecting and sanitizing the entire home as well. With the accumulation of items, there’s an inability for the home owner to properly maintain deep sanitization. The build up of grime and germs means that when Lavender Maid comes in, we focus on resetting the space by clearing it of any harmful bacteria. It’s not just about the visual appeal of a clean space, but the knowledge that it’s free of anything harmful to you and your family!
10. Face the Future with Confidence
The last and most important step in resetting your home after hoarding is facing the future with confidence. We at Lavender Maid have years of expertise in cleaning, so you can trust our service. But we also want to inspire you as the homeowner so you may feel prepared to upkeep your home and prevent another hoarding situation from happening again.
And if you do happen to find yourself in an overwhelming situation in the future, we want you to trust that we’re a safe space, judgement free. We don’t want you to hesitate for one moment in contacting us for our help, because it’s our pleasure to serve our clients in their home cleaning needs, and we find nothing more rewarding!