Reversing a Tide of Clutter: "Reversing a Tide of Clutter
* Facing jail because his house is filled to the brim, a hoarder finds hope in a woman with a talent for organizing -- and a big heart.
By the time Dorothy Breininger dropped — miraculously, it seemed — into his life, Lloyd Drum, at 75, had pretty much resigned himself to going to jail.
The reasons lay in the odiferous piles of moldering, rodent-infested clothing, furniture, books, expired coupons, bikes and bike parts — thousands of bike parts — that crammed his two-bedroom house and flowed over the yards, porches and garage.
Inside the house, a person had to turn sideways to navigate pathways through clutter that, in places, almost reached the ceilings. Unable to eke out space for even a bed, and bothered by the dust, Drum slept in a broken recliner on his front porch.
Drum is intelligent and well educated, a churchgoing vegetarian who likes to help others. He is also a hoarder, a seemingly indiscriminate accumulator and keeper of stuff.
As many fire officials, building inspectors, mental health workers and the families of "pack rats" can attest, Drum's situation is hardly unusual. And many familiar with the case hope that the story of Drum and Breininger, a professional organizer who agreed to help at no cost, will guide officials in developing better ways to handle a problem that mental health experts have only recently begun to understand and treat.
* Facing jail because his house is filled to the brim, a hoarder finds hope in a woman with a talent for organizing -- and a big heart.
By the time Dorothy Breininger dropped — miraculously, it seemed — into his life, Lloyd Drum, at 75, had pretty much resigned himself to going to jail.
The reasons lay in the odiferous piles of moldering, rodent-infested clothing, furniture, books, expired coupons, bikes and bike parts — thousands of bike parts — that crammed his two-bedroom house and flowed over the yards, porches and garage.
Inside the house, a person had to turn sideways to navigate pathways through clutter that, in places, almost reached the ceilings. Unable to eke out space for even a bed, and bothered by the dust, Drum slept in a broken recliner on his front porch.
Drum is intelligent and well educated, a churchgoing vegetarian who likes to help others. He is also a hoarder, a seemingly indiscriminate accumulator and keeper of stuff.
As many fire officials, building inspectors, mental health workers and the families of "pack rats" can attest, Drum's situation is hardly unusual. And many familiar with the case hope that the story of Drum and Breininger, a professional organizer who agreed to help at no cost, will guide officials in developing better ways to handle a problem that mental health experts have only recently begun to understand and treat.
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