Childhood traumas like neglect (emotional/physical), abuse (physical/sexual), poverty, and loss/abandonment significantly increase the risk of hoarding by disrupting attachment, creating insecurity, and fostering a deep fear of future scarcity or loss, leading individuals to cling to possessions for security, control, and identity that were missing in their early lives. Possessions become substitutes for unreliable relationships, offering a false sense of safety and stability against unpredictable environments, as seen with food hoarding after chronic food insecurity.
Some people develop hoarding disorder after experiencing a stressful life event that they had difficulty coping with, such as the death of a loved one, divorce or losing possessions in a fire.
Some researchers believe hoarding can relate to childhood experiences of losing things, not owning things, or people not caring for you.
Hoarding disorders are challenging to treat because many people who hoard frequently do not see it as a problem, or have little awareness of how it's affecting their life or the lives of others.
12 Tips to Overcome Hoarding
Assemble A Support Team
Cleaning a hoarder's house is not a one-person job. Assemble a team of friends, family members or professional cleanup services to help with the task. Having multiple people involved can make the process faster and less overwhelming.
If the 5x5 method is as new to you as it was to me, allow me to explain. Coined by Steph of The Secret Slob, this technique requires nothing but a timer and twenty-five free minutes. Pick five rooms or zones and dedicate five minutes per area. In twenty-five minutes, Steph promises a cleaner, less cluttered home.
Hoarding disorder may exist on its own or may be part of another condition. Mental health conditions most often associated with hoarding disorder include: Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD).
Don't say “If we don't clean up this apartment and get rid of all these things, I'm going to leave.” Don't say “We have too much stuff! We have got to get rid of some or else we'll never be able to move again!” Don't say “I can only stay here if we start throwing away all our junk.”
Hoarders tend to have high IQ's and they also have difficulty processing information. They may also have negative self perceptions of themselves and they may be ashamed, embarrassed, overwhelmed, or out of control. They may harbor fears of being considered "crazy" or their fear of being "found out".
Specific symptoms for a hoarding disorder diagnosis include (American Psychiatric Association, 2022): Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and to the distress associated with discarding them.
Complex trauma disrupts a person's sense of safety, self-worth, and ability to form healthy relationships. These disruptions often manifest in behaviors like hoarding, which serve as coping mechanisms for unresolved pain.
The main treatment for hoarding disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a skills-based approach to therapy. You learn how to better manage beliefs and behaviors that are linked to keeping the clutter.
In many cases, hoarding disorder is closely linked to Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD). C-PTSD develops in response to prolonged, repeated trauma, particularly in situations where escape or relief is not possible—such as in cases of chronic childhood abuse or neglect.
Neurocognitive Functioning
Deficits in decision making may increase the distress felt by hoarding patients when forced to choose whether to keep or discard an object. Hoarding may also be linked to inattentiveness and a lack of inhibition [14].
The 5 stages of hoarding describe a progressive scale from minor clutter (Level 1) to uninhabitable conditions (Level 5), where homes become unusable, safety is compromised (hazards, pests, biohazards), personal hygiene declines, and severe social isolation occurs, reflecting increasing difficulty discarding items and significant disruption to daily life.
In fact, if it's done without their consent, discarding the hoarder's possessions usually does more harm than good. The hoarder will likely be angry and resentful—damaging the relationship between you—and their process of accumulation will simply begin all over again.
A key factor behind hoarders' anger lies in their emotional attachment to possessions. The mere suggestion of parting with items can trigger profound feelings of loss, intensifying frustration and anger. These possessions often hold sentimental value, security, or a connection to the past.
Hoarding behaviors can be thought of as one type of OCD symptom, and there is evidence that suggests individuals who hoard make up a distinct subtype within the larger construct of OCD.
Decluttering Tips For Hoarders With Checklist
Bipolar disorder isn't considered a direct cause of hoarding disorder. The causes of hoarding disorder are complex but may include: Genetic factors. Brain structure and function.
Hoarding is more common in older age groups than younger age groups. Below are some early signs that an individual may have hoarding behaviors. These behaviors are typically mild and progress over years. They may develop into a severe problem in adults around their 50s.
The 12-12-12 decluttering method, created by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist, is a simple, manageable system where you find 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to return to their proper place in a room, totaling 36 items, which helps to quickly reduce clutter without overwhelm and build momentum. It's a quick, repeatable process for any area, focusing on immediate results by tackling trash, donations, and misplaced items in small, achievable steps.
The Core 4 Method was created by professional organiser Kayleen Kelly. It's designed to keep things simple and strip decluttering right back to the basics. The four steps — Clear Out, Categorise, Cut Out and Contain — give you a structured plan that says exactly what it does on the tin.
In simplest terms, the 1-3-5 decluttering method is a method that seeks to break decluttering down into tasks of varying size and difficulty: 1 could be a large task, 3 is something more medium in nature, and 5 is five small steps towards your goal.