Hi, I’m Melanie Renee!  I am a recovering hoarder who has decluttered thousands of items from my hoarded home!  I’m excited to share how I was able to start clearing out the hoard and maintaining my spaces.  Hoarding Disorder is a mental disorder and my life’s purpose is to humanize my disorder so everyone can understand the mentality behind the stuff!  Even those who struggle with hoarding disorder can start to successfully declutter while keeping their nervous system calm!

 

 I had started hoarding in childhood and it developed into a coping mechanism from being bullied in middle school and then a survival skill during an abusive relationship.  I advanced to a level 4 hoarder by adulthood since my PTSD was never treated.  I hid my hoard and mental disorder because I was too scared of the public judgement that would be placed on me.  I knew that millions of other people hid their disorder in fear of being judged harshly too, which would cause us to hoard more to soothe the pain.  I had to break this vicious cycle: in my heart I knew I was going to be the voice for hoarding disorder for everyone who struggled with it, but especially for my 2 boys.  I did not want them growing up in a hoarded home, I actually grew up in a neat, tidy almost minimalistic home and I wanted to give my boys the same childhood experience.  Since hoarding can be hereditary, I wanted my boys to be free of the messes, the compulsive need to save everything. I wanted to be the last generation in my family to struggle with this disorder.  I also want a better life for my children, so they were my source of inspiration to change not only myself, but for every single person who suffered with this.  This is a journey of how I freed myself of hoarding!