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Woman suffocates under piles of clutter in home
Local6.com ^ | Jan 7, 2006 | Local 6.com

Posted on 01/09/2006 6:22:49 AM PST by plain talk

A woman in Shelton, Wash., who was reported missing by her husband, was found dead under piles of clutter in their home, where she suffocated to death, according to police. Shelton Police Chief Terry Davenport said the home was so cluttered that police officers' heads touched the ceiling as they climbed over the clutter.

Authorities found the body of 62-year-old Marie Rose buried under clothes after 10 hours of searching. She reportedly suffered from a condition known as hoarding. Rose's husband believes she fell while looking for the phone in the house this week and suffocated. There were so many piles of items that the man did not realize she was dead in the home.

(Excerpt) Read more at local6.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: disorders; hoard; hoarder; hoarders; hoarding; obsessivecompulsive; ocd; pigsty; squalor; stuff
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To: lorris
Not sure what we'll do, but it is horrible.

I've had this problem with a certain relative.

It starts with the foot-tall stacks of "important papers", continues to the pens and pencils that I know have been in that pencil holder for the last 20+ years, and then right down to an infatuation with the most trivial of personal possessions (e.g., a $20 entrance mat from K-Mart).

During the garage sale, several items almost but didn't sell because of a $2 or $5 dispute. Stuff that will ONLY go in a yard sale. So instead of getting things cleared-up, there is the need for yet another yard sale.

It took more than a year to get the accumulated junk cleared out.

It was a test, since my own spring cleanings are utterly ruthless.

161 posted on 01/09/2006 11:55:10 AM PST by angkor
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To: tiredoflaundry

162 posted on 01/09/2006 12:04:58 PM PST by Lady Jag ( I dreamed I surfed all day in my monthly donor wonder bra [https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate])
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To: Lady Jag

LOL !


163 posted on 01/09/2006 12:05:47 PM PST by tiredoflaundry (I'll admit it , I'm a Snow Flake !)
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To: AnAmericanMother

About twenty years ago, my mother was tasked to clean out the house of her sister's mother-in-law, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's and passed away.

Apparently, she had the hoarding syndrome and had been collecting things for years.

We couldn't just throw things away, though. My aunt went to toss a packet of toothpicks. My mom grabbed it and found a hundred dollar bill. Or old nylons that were knotted up contained antique watches.

And then there was bizarre things she wouldn't throw away, such as bags and bags of empty crisco bottles. WTF?

We had a yard sale that year that topped all others. There were several accidents in front of our porch. When I say we had everything at that porch sale that year, I mean we had everything..from hummels to perfumed horse manure.


164 posted on 01/09/2006 12:24:25 PM PST by Woman on Caroline Street (Go sell crazy somewhere else. We're all stocked up here.)
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To: Xenalyte

I hear ya on the books, Xena. We have a good amount of books as well, but every once in a while, I find a few that we won't miss and take them to a little used book shop. They usually give me store credit. So I can buy MORE books. The cycle goes on and on.

I still cry over all the National Geographics my parents threw away when they sold the house. Now that I'm older, I'll devour a NG in a few hours, and not just the pictures. The articles were really well written. So now I'm picking up issues here and there and trying to build a collection. I promised not to buy anything older than 1980 though.


165 posted on 01/09/2006 12:35:33 PM PST by Woman on Caroline Street (Go sell crazy somewhere else. We're all stocked up here.)
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To: angkor
When we bought our house, the previous owner had apparently used the garage as his hoarding site. We knew there was a lot of junk in there, but he promised to get it all out before the closing.

His version of "getting it all out" involved taking it out of the garage and dumping it in the driveway. I am talking about a pile that filled the entire two-car turnout and was too tall for my 6'6" husband to see over. Broken chairs, bed frames, half-empty dried up paint cans, old bedspreads, broken window frames . . . you name it!

We found a good solution though. My husband called the garbage collection service that this fellow had been using (apparently he didn't use them much!) and proposed that we would keep them on if they could send a truck and a couple of men to clear out the driveway. They agreed, and it turned out to be a good deal for them - we're still here and still using them after 12 years. Occasionally they spill a little garbage or one of the men leaves a cigarette butt in the driveway, but they do a good job overall and we can't complain.

166 posted on 01/09/2006 12:37:34 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: Woman on Caroline Street
Wow!

Always check the pockets before you throw stuff out or give it to the Goodwill . . . I'm in the habit of checking pockets because of my kids, but it's never a hundred dollar bill, just half a candy bar or a bunch of paper clips that would play hob with the washing machine . . .

167 posted on 01/09/2006 12:39:38 PM PST by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: Woman on Caroline Street
Maybe I need to find a used bookstore that's not Half Price Books. They give me roughly a penny a pound for used books; I've never gotten more than a dollar for a book from them.

Off I go to look for used book stores near the hizouse!
168 posted on 01/09/2006 12:40:12 PM PST by Xenalyte (Can you count, suckas? I say the future is ours . . . if you can count.)
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To: Skywalk

Learn a lesson ping. : )


169 posted on 01/09/2006 12:42:35 PM PST by radiohead (Hey Kerry, I'm still here; still hating your lying, stinking guts, you coward.)
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To: najida

Have you been in my living room, Naj?

Yup. 8 12x12x4 garden blocks and 4 12x4x1 plywood board (they'll cut them for you at Home Depot - just buy a slab and tell them the measurements). One can of paint and you have an instant bookshelf. I'd be lost without mine and refuse to part with it.


170 posted on 01/09/2006 12:46:14 PM PST by Woman on Caroline Street (Go sell crazy somewhere else. We're all stocked up here.)
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To: AnAmericanMother; Woman on Caroline Street
Wow! Always check the pockets before you throw stuff out or give it to the Goodwill . . .

Especially when going through the estates of the depression era generation. We found a lot of stowed cash here and there among my grandfathers things.

But some found money is just forgotten... In fact, I once almost sold my saddle-seat show jacket and jodpurs with a big wad of cash in it. I hadn't worn it in years, but the last time I did, was at a horse show where I'd frequently walk around with a lot of cash for late entries and stall fees.

The buyer tried it on and stuck her hands in the pockets, if she'd been thinking before she pulled the cash out, she could have gotten the outfit for near free :~D As it was, she was happy to buy the jacket even without the cash in it.

171 posted on 01/09/2006 12:46:55 PM PST by HairOfTheDog (Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/ 1,000 knives and counting!)
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To: najida; Xenalyte
Bricks and boards are quick and cheap.

Or milk crates... I stole a lot of milk crates in college, I still have enough to line two walls floor to ceiling with very functional shelves :~D

172 posted on 01/09/2006 12:48:58 PM PST by HairOfTheDog (Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/ 1,000 knives and counting!)
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To: Woman on Caroline Street

Oh I just go buy the pine boards, but you're right, the plywood is even cheaper. And you can arrange them anyway you want.

My "Bookcases" in my office are brackets on the walls and boards. Looks pretty cool to me!


173 posted on 01/09/2006 12:49:33 PM PST by najida (When I'm good, I'm very very good, and when I'm bad, things get broken.)
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To: HairOfTheDog

Do you remember the days of metal milk crates?

I have some that would classify as 'vintage' or maybe retro. Yes, from my college days too ;)


174 posted on 01/09/2006 12:54:02 PM PST by najida (When I'm good, I'm very very good, and when I'm bad, things get broken.)
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To: xsmommy; Hap

Ah, if only I could make a living out of needlepoint and cross-stitch . . .


175 posted on 01/09/2006 12:55:15 PM PST by Xenalyte (Can you count, suckas? I say the future is ours . . . if you can count.)
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To: najida

I remember metal milk crates... Definately vintage :~D I don't think they stack as well as the plastic ones.


176 posted on 01/09/2006 12:57:00 PM PST by HairOfTheDog (Join the Hobbit Hole Troop Support - http://freeper.the-hobbit-hole.net/ 1,000 knives and counting!)
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To: plain talk

I am glad it happened in Washington, at first I thought it might be my wife.


177 posted on 01/09/2006 12:58:57 PM PST by John D
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To: Paved Paradise

I'm like you. I like nice elegant surroundings, I even fung shei or whatever you call it. I like flow. Wifie though, well, we recently moved, and (this is the truth) she packed, in boxes, old newspapers.


178 posted on 01/09/2006 1:09:16 PM PST by zeeba neighba (I have my Christmas Newfie . He's eating my foot as I type)
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To: HairOfTheDog

I use them in the floor of my pantry. They're great for storing/stacking heavy stuff and keeping it up off the floor.


179 posted on 01/09/2006 1:09:27 PM PST by najida (When I'm good, I'm very very good, and when I'm bad, things get broken.)
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To: plain talk
Read the stories, see the pictures.
Squalor can be overcome.
180 posted on 01/09/2006 1:10:09 PM PST by Ignatz (cyborg: "The lay teachers could not make hands of some girls.")
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