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| Our Process First and foremost, we respect privacy. We do not use logos on our work trucks or equipment, in order that neighbors cannot identify the services our clients have contracted. We will go along with any story they want us to! If s/he want to say we are remodelling- so be it! If s/he want say that we are long lost relatives in town and staying there- that is fine, too! We want our clients to be as comfortable as possible with this, since it is a remarkable, brave first step towards a better life! Most hoarder homes have a lot of trash, to put it mildly. Depending on the location and the amount of confidentiality requested, we can mutually decide whether to use dumpsters or pick-up trucks for garbage removal. It is important to note, however, that many items will require specialized handling and disposal and cannot be thrown away with typical trash items. These include: bio-hazard wastes, prescription medications, chemicals, mattresses, and the like. If a biohazard condition exists, the initial step is to remove as much waste as possible and have the property chemically treated. Following that, our first and most time consuming project is sorting through the household contents to de-trash. We meticulously sort by hand, item by item. Obvious trash(as identified by the client, i.e. empty pizza boxes, dirty tissues, etc.) is thrown away, and everything else is sorted. Money, important documents, jewelry and other valuables are locked on-site and transferred to the client on a daily basis, when possible. When all trash has been removed a floor to ceiling cleansing, sanitizing and deodorizing process begins. Simultaneously, contents will be further sorted with the client to determine what will be purged or kept. We will never force anyone to discard of anything. This is a difficult process and sometimes it takes a little time and encouragement to overcome certain attachments. We follow the Frost/Skeketee model Treatments That Work: Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring, Oxford University Press, 2006 and Frost/Skeketee/Tolin, Buried in Treasures, Oxford University Press, 2007. All contents that will remain in the house are cleaned and sanitized, without exception. Sometimes this requires us to partner with specialists like oriental rug cleaners, bulk laundry facilities or others. We will gladly take care of all drop off/ pick up arrangements, scheduling and all other necessary contact to protect our client's identity. After the house and contents have been cleaned, we will again go through another contents sort with the client. We will decide to how to organize, store or display everything in the home. We will continue to purge by assisting with the sale and donation of items as the client continues to grow. Detailed processes are put in place to help maintain the environment, and we will follow up on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis until positive habits are formed and the client is continuously living in a healthy environment. | |
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