For those Savvy Aunties old enough to remember, we all laughed at the sitcom Sanford and Son, about a pair of junk dealers. Fred Sanford’s home was stuffed to the gills with all sorts of odds and ends he collected from his work.  

In the movie Secondhand Lions, Haley Joel Osment’s character went to live with his crusty great uncles, who were hoarders and collectors. The amusing tale showed how the uncles bought their aforementioned secondhand lion, a plane and even a yacht.

If you grew up with parents whose parents went through The Great Depression like I did, you may have noticed their habits of saving everything because it was still “good.” My mom continues to keep yogurt containers (the kind with plastic lids) despite her daughter being a professional organizer. Even comedian (and Savvy Auntie) Kathy Griffin dishes about how her elderly mother saves a drawer of plastic bags.

Although it can be a humorous event on film, clutter can become a serious and even deadly problem when disorganization morphs into hoarding behaviors. Within the past two months, I’ve come across two articles about people who died when the self-made tunnels in their homes collapsed. In Houston where I live, a couple recently died in a house fire. The firefighters had difficulty maneuvering through the house because of knee-deep piles of boxes throughout the house.

As aunts, we play an important role in helping to keep our family safe. But how do you know when clutter has gone from typical household clutter to becoming a serious problem?

•    No one is allowed in the house because of feelings of embarrassment, guilt, and shame.

•    Someone has trouble letting go of items, including trash and junk mail. They may have an unusual obsession and fear of identity theft and do not want to throw anything away.

•    Stacks of newspaper, magazines, jars, and other recyclables are never recycled, and the recyclables keep growing.

•    People can hoard animals as well as newspapers. Animal hoarders typically have a higher number of animals than typical pet owners; are not breeders or kennel operators; and/or do not take proper care of the animals.

Chronic disorganization and hoarding behaviors stem from psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental illnesses, and it can’t go away overnight like it does on some TV shows. It usually requires the help of both a therapist and a professional organizer working in tandem.

If you or someone in your family has an issue with chronic disorganization and hoarding, there are resources:

•    The National Association of Professional Organizers can help you find a professional organizer who specializes in chronically disorganized clients.

•    The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (yes, it’s a real organization). The website has information about chronic disorganization and a list of organizers certified through their organization.

•     Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving and Hoarding, by David F. Tolin, Randy O. Frost, and Gail Steketee. The authors have researched hoarding and hoarders, and their book is based on their research.

•     www.ChildrenofHoarders.com offers resources and help for children of hoarders and hoarders themselves. This can be a wonderful resource if your nieces and nephews are in that situation.

Nothing is impossible. With the right help, anyone with a chronically disorganization issue can find peace.