Civic Coffee Recap: Spring Cleaning

From left to right: Emily Billow, Catherine “Cricket” Farr, and Lauren Williams

On March 26, Age Friendly Seattle and Seattle Public Library collaborated with Filipino Community Village to host their monthly Civic Coffee event focused on spring cleaning. Emily Billow, Older Adult Program Manager for Seattle Public Library, facilitated an engaging discussion featuring panelists Catherine “Cricket” Farr from Full Life (formerly known as Elder Northwest) and Lauren Williams from Casual Uncluttering LLC.

Catherine “Cricket” Farr has a background in behavioral health and previously worked as a health care provider. She supervises five programs that support the housing needs of older adults and adults with disabilities. Housing insecurity and related challenges can often be exacerbated by mental health issues, making Catherine’s expertise in this area particularly valuable. She aims to assist individuals who wish to live independently by addressing various concerns, such as hoarding, excessive clutter, difficulties in relationships with caregivers, and maintaining social connections.

Lauren Williams, the founder of Casual Uncluttering, is a Board-Certified Professional Organizer recognized by the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. Since starting her business in 2022, Lauren has dedicated herself to helping people declutter their spaces and establish effective systems to organize the items they choose to keep, preventing future clutter. Her expertise includes addressing severely cluttered and hoarding situations.

The process begins with reviewing items to determine what to keep, what to let go, and how much can realistically be retained. Next, Lauren helps clients figure out where each item belongs in their home. Finally, she tailors the organizational strategies to accommodate each individual’s unique learning and thinking styles. Lauren helps clients decide what works best for them, whether it’s using clear bins, labeling, color coding, creating a map, or other strategies. Her goal is to support clients through the anxiety and emotions that often accompany decluttering, as it can be a lengthy and challenging process.

The panelists addressed several key questions about hoarding disorder:

What is hoarding disorder, and how does it differ from cluttering or collecting items?

Hoarding disorder, also known as Plyushkin’s disorder, is a mental health condition listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Its recognition is relatively recent, as it was added to the DSM in 2013. As a result, there is limited research on effective treatments, which makes it important to discuss, especially since more individuals are being diagnosed with this condition.

Hoarding disorder is characterized by four main symptoms:

Click on the image above to watch a video recording of the Civic Coffee on Chronic Illness Management (YouTube, 56:46).

1. A persistent inability to discard items, regardless of their actual value or relevance.
2. A continuous acquisition of possessions, regardless of their usefulness.
3. The accumulation of items to the point that areas of the home cannot be used for their intended purposes.
4. Symptoms that cannot be better explained by another condition, meaning that while an individual may exhibit these behaviors, it does not necessarily indicate hoarding disorder if another unrelated factor is at play.

Lauren emphasized that hoarding disorder is a low-insight condition, meaning many individuals with the disorder may not realize they have it or may underestimate the severity of their situation.

What are some of the common misconceptions around hoarding, and how can we shift that narrative from judgement to support?

Hoarding disorder is often misunderstood, with common misconceptions focusing on negative stereotypes like laziness, greed, or filth. However, hoarding is a mental health condition, not a lack of willpower or poor housekeeping. While it’s often diagnosed in older adults, hoarding symptoms can begin in adolescence or early adulthood, and the condition may worsen over time.

Cultural stigma around hoarding also plays a role in perpetuating these misconceptions, making it harder for people to seek help. To shift the narrative, we need to recognize hoarding as a mental health issue and not a personal failing. Professionals like Lauren Williams of Casual Decluttering emphasize a judgment-free approach, offering support to those struggling with the emotional and psychological challenges of hoarding. By moving from judgment to empathy, we can help individuals manage their condition and improve their quality of life.

What resources are available to help with hoarding?

Farr emphasized that there is treatment and hope to support people with hoarding disorder, but it is not a short process. At Full Life, they are working to employ evidence-based treatments to support hoarding disorder and are in touch weekly with researchers to discuss the possible treatments. Currently they are using an exposure-therapy method to get people used to parting with items so they can slowly build up to decluttering their space. They also encourage people with hoarding disorder and their loved ones to get help and focus on safety. Hoarding disorder can be personal and difficult to discuss, but living in a safe place is the top priority.

For a list of local and national resources that support hoarding disorder and decluttering, visit the March Civic Coffee: Spring Cleaning Resource Guide.

Age Friendly Seattle and the Seattle Public Library are grateful to Farr and Williams for their valuable insights on hoarding disorder and decluttering, and for the Filipino Community Village’s partnership in hosting this Civic Coffee event.

Contributor Reese Wohrle is an intern with Age Friendly Seattle. He is studying Community, Environment, and Planning at the University of Washington’s School of Built Environments. To read more about Civic Coffee and other programs, visit Age Friendly Seattle.