Me and my mum certainly don't have a habit of
keeping the house clean.
This is not a safe place to eat, or cook...
Pretty scary.
Waking up to a big bag of trash next to you...
It's not a way to live.
My hoarding has hindered his social life.
It's no fair, is it?
I just have cuss words in my head.
I need the family to come together here.
It's hard for me to not want to see what all is in there.
See how I'm not looking at it and saying no?
Where does she go if her home was taken away?
This is too much for you, we can stop.
It's stressing me out now.
It seems that Tajko would be better off without me.
I'm sorry that I am this way.
It's an emergency situation.
What do you feel like today?
- Eggs and bacon, I guess. - Okay, can you grab them?
I don't want toast though,
I'm just having eggs and bacon.
Okay.
I'm Lori, and I live in Kugluktuk, Nunavut.
Kugluktuk is a community in the Western Canadian Arctic.
We're about 1600 people living here.
Over 20 years that I've lived here, you know,
it's really become my home.
I'm a sister, a mother, administrator, a friend.
The biggest challenge in my life is my hoarding disorder.
There are four bedrooms upstairs.
It's very chaotic.
You see like piles of clothes in disarray.
There's not really any area in this house
that does not have stuff.
Makes me feel a lot of guilt and a lot of shame
because I know it shouldn't be that way.
You ready to eat, then?
I think so- Well, do we have forks and...
spoons?
- Oh, man, I forgot about that. - Want to check your room?
My name is Tajko, and Lori is my mom.
And is there none in the kitchen?
I think you need to check your room, Mom.
You always leave them in your room.
Here's a plastic spoon, that's no good.
Okay, I'll go up to my room and take a look.
I feel a little sad, I feel frustrated, and...
a little disappointed when I think of the way
she has almost tried to hide the way we live,
for fear that it might tarnish the way
other people view us.
All right.
Am I sitting on it? Oh, this one?
I think you are, thank you.
Tajko is my only son, and...
he's 17 years' old.
Because of my behavior...
he didn't have playdates and birthday parties.
He didn't have the social life that he deserved.
And sometimes I have said that it seems that
Tajko would be better off without me,
like I feel like I'm hurting him.
My name is Nadene,
and I'm one of Lori's best friends.
Her and I have been friends for nine years.
I have never seen the inside of her home.
From what I'm told,
her hoarding issue is extreme.
If Lori doesn't get help, I fear it's going to put
a strain on her relationship with Tajko because
he's going to feel like he was held back.
Ah.
Dang.
There's a lot of plumbing issues in this house that
I haven't attended to.
Right now we wash our hands in the bathtub
in the upstairs bathroom because...
the tap on the sink is not working.
Then in the kitchen, you'll see more chaos.
There's a dishwasher that hasn't worked for many years.
And, one side of the sink doesn't drain.
And then, in the downstairs bathroom,
I honestly don't know if the bathtub and
sink are working, but I do know that the toilet
was leaking out the bottom.
I haven't called a plumber to fix those problems.
I feel overwhelmed, and I feel ashamed,
and I feel embarrassed
by the state of my home.
I think I started collecting things
when I really got into online shopping.
The thing that is the biggest issue is clothing.
If I see something I like,
I want to get it in every color.
There's a momentary high, you know, and I imagine...
you know, that some outfit is going to be life changing.
And, yet, when it arrives, I just feel overwhelmed and
kind of dread because I think, ugh, I did it again,
where am I gonna put this?
I've spent 1000 bucks on clothes at a time,
multiple times.
There's an exercise machine in a box still that I ordered
from The Shopping Channel that was like 2 or $3,000.
It's still in the box because I don't know how to
put it together, and I don't have room for it.
All this time I've spent buying this stuff,
when I think about that, how this money could have been
directed toward Tajko's education, I feel awful.
My name is Kathy, and I'm Lori's older sister.
My parents were collectors.
More coming from a place of not wanting to waste,
but saving things in case
they would be useful in some way.
We had a really sort of casual lifestyle
when it was just my mom, but when my dad was home
it was kind of more regimented.
When my dad was coming home,
I felt anxiety and stress
that my mom was also feeling because we knew he'd be
expecting the house to be a certain way.
And if we didn't meet his standards,
the main worry that we had was that my mom
would be the brunt of the criticism,
and we didn't like to see her endure that.
Growing up, it was stressful at times, too,
because he had an issue with alcohol...
and we would worry about where he was going to be at
with his consumption in any given day.
I feel that Dad was living with trauma
from wartime experiences.
And my mum, you know, did not have good self-esteem.
And part of it was coming from the way
she was treated by my dad.
When my parents passed away...
and we were clearing the family home, you know,
we found so many items, you know,
that had been stashed away, like pantyhose to use
for gardening, like to tie up your tomato plants or,
you know, bread, bread bag tabs or
just everything saved, everywhere.
I think that that saving things in case they
might be useful to her or to someone else,
I think that it somewhat contributes to
the difficulty in letting go.
My sister is quite the opposite of me.
She maintains her home and her belongings,
very organized.
I haven't reached out to my sister in the past because
I felt too ashamed for her to see how we are living.
I think she'll be shocked.
My name is Keith.
I'm Lori's ex and the father of our son, Tajko.
We worked in the same tavern in Ottawa.
She always lit up the room when she came in.
I got a job offer, here, and...
I asked him if he would like to come, and he did.
We didn't know what to expect, we just knew that there was...
good work to be had.
I was told the baby was not viable.
And, I could wait it out or be induced,
and I opted to be induced.
So, I went through a labor experience,
and the baby was stillborn. So, very traumatic.
Before she was pregnant, well,
I told Lori I was leaving,
and she told me she was pregnant.
And I stayed, and...
that episode brought us together.
After that loss, I was...
really heartbroken and really depressed.
She was dead set on getting pregnant again.
Tajko was born in March of 2005,
and we were overjoyed to have him.
My boy is perfect.
He was born 10 pounds, some odd ounces.
He was huge.
Came out with a full head of hair.
I could have swore he had teeth.
No.
He was kind of a miracle baby.
So, we were all super happy.
When people would come to the home,
they rarely came farther than the front door.
I know I was aware that seeing me keep buying and
buying and buying was stressful for him.
He knew, you know, that we had other expenses to
attend to and other hopes for the future.
So, I'm sure it was very frustrating.
I felt buried.
I, I was very depressed.
I remember Keith saying- he later retracted it-
"You are a great person, but your problems,
you know, outweigh the good."
And that was something that really...
kind of, I felt that.
Tajko was very sad and, you know, missed his papa.
I was more panicked as a single parent,
wondering how was I going to survive,
working full-time with a six-year-old child.
I think my issue also got a lot worse when Keith and I
parted ways because then there's no one here now
to disapprove, so I'm going to get what I want.
Keith hasn't seen the house in more than 10 years.
When Tajko and I video chat,
he hides the house from me.
He points the camera at the ceiling, mostly,
if he doesn't cover the camera with his face.
This situation makes me
angry in a lot of ways because
I know that we could be doing something about it,
but we aren't.
It's very taxing on my mental health.
I do feel very trapped,
both in our home and in our town,
because it's such a huge task to climb out of this
figurative and literal hole we've dug ourselves.
I've tried to explain to her that the biggest thing
keeping us both from being happy is the house.
But as the child trying to instruct my parent,
it's kind of an impossible challenge.
You know, he's talked about staying here an extra year,
you know, to work on the house because
he doesn't feel that I would be safe.
Where does she go if her home was taken away,
because it's uninhabitable? Then what?
That, and your son.
That really troubles me, that my problem and
my behavior would further harm him.
I can't live like this anymore.
An open-door policy is really
the way of life here in Kugluktuk.
Most people don't lock their doors,
and most people from here don't knock on the doors of
their friends and family, they just walk in.
But I don't feel comfortable inviting people in my home
because of the way it looks.
I feel embarrassed and ashamed of the chaos.
Sometimes I feel like a fraud,
when people call me things like generous and giving,
because I look around myself,
and I see so many things that I'm hanging on to.
It makes me feel like what I try to project to the world
is not like my real life at home.
My name is Sarah Ahmed.
I'm a psychotherapist that specializes in
problematic behaviors, including hoarding.
- Hi. - Hi, Lori?
- Yes, I'm Lori. - Hi, Lori, I'm Sarah.
- Nice to meet you. - Oh, hi, Sarah.
So good to meet you, thanks for coming.
- This is big, this is huge. - It is.
It's something I really wished for, for a long time.
Yeah? If it's okay with you,
I'd love to go in, take a look.
Yeah, for sure. If you want to go ahead...
- I'm sorry, it's really tight. - That's okay.
But if we turn left, we'll be in the kitchen.
Okay.
Oh, the door doesn't open.
Yeah, I'm sorry about that.
To the left, you said?
Yes, please, this is the kitchen.
Okay, yep, I see a fridge here.
- Yeah. - Okay.
Wow, that's a, a lot of stuff.
Yeah, way too much.
The dishwasher doesn't work.
This side of the sink doesn't drain.
Okay, and so, are you washing the dishes on the left side?
Mhm, washing and rinsing on that one.
It seems like you're also cooking a little bit... as well?
Mhm, not, not so much. Just the stovetop.
We can't- the oven, we can't use the oven right now.
Yeah. Who lives here in the house with you, Lori?
Ah, it's just me and my son, Tajko.
He's 17.
For a lot of us, the kitchen is actually
the heart of the home.
And this is a space where we share memories together.
It seems like an incredibly sad space for a mother
to make meals for her son.
I know that my hoarding has hindered his social life.
You know, he doesn't invite groups of friends in freely
like he should be able to.
And, we haven't had birthday parties here for him.
I have a lot of guilt and shame about that.
Here we have the laundry room.
Mhm. It's a lot of clothes.
Yeah, a lot of them have been washed and
laid out to dry and never put away.
The dryer's not working right now.
And I see over there, there's a bathroom.
Yeah, we don't use that one because the toilet's not good.
The water leaks out the bottom when you flush it.
And how come you didn't have anybody come in to fix it?
Because of the mess, I guess.
I haven't called anybody in because I'm embarrassed
about the mess, and I haven't taken initiative
to clean it up.
Having access to a functional bathroom is
one of the basic needs of every human being.
- To the left here? - Yes, please.
And that will be the living room.
- Okay. - Common area.
And is this where you spend most of your time?
Not so much myself, but Tajko does spend a lot of time
particularly in this corner here
where the TV and computer are.
You know, this is, this is a table
where he does his homework.
And these chairs, he plays a video game.
Sometimes we sit here together and
have our dinner together and watch a show.
Do you fight a lot?
The only time we do have conflict, really,
is usually when...
when we are trying to work on the mess,
and he's got a different approach than I.
So, what's your approach?
Do you find you're a bit more passive and
you kind of just back up?
I guess it's a, it's usually about, you know,
how we're going to categorize things,
how we're going to sort through things.
And, I'm really stuck on the need to feel like I need to
go through every single item and decide for
every single item, even if it's obviously trash.
And so, of course, that's tough for him...
- Yeah. - And it's frustrating.
So, I see there's a combination of
things over here.
Yeah, a ton of clothes, in a whole range of sizes.
I gained a lot of weight recently,
and so there's a lot of clothes that I'm hoping to
get my weight down again and use them again.
Lori is holding on to this version of herself
from a few years ago, and feels as though if she
went back to that version, she would be happier.
What would you say the stuff represents?
You know, right now when I look at it,
I just see sadness.
You know, and- yeah.
And also a lot of, a lot of waste, like, you know,
wasted- wasted money, wasted space.
I wish I had, you know, put,
put all the money towards something...
worthwhile, like Tajko's education and...
you know, left this space for him and I to use.
It's very evident that Lori feels like
she's not good enough for her son,
and that he deserves better.
And there's so much guilt, so she tries to escape from it.
And that escape can look like purchasing more items.
Well, I do know one thing, Lori...
Neither you or me, we have a time machine,
we can't go back in time. - Right.
What I do know is we can do something, moving forward.
Yes, that's what I'm hoping for.
My job here is to give Lori the tools to let go of
her past, and be able to see her future.
She's got a lot of work to do to be able to get there.
I notice the sink is, is full,
so the sink is not being used?
It's not working right now.
- Yeah, okay. - Yeah.
- And the door isn't opening... - The door, no.
So, you're not able to close the door to your bedroom
as well, when you're using the bathroom,
is that right, Lori?
- Yeah, that's right. - Yeah.
The shower and the tub do work,
but because the sink's not working,
after we use the toilet, we wash our hands at the tub.
In here is...
my room, this is where I sleep.
That must not be comfortable. It doesn't look it.
It's not comfortable at all.
You're eating over here as well?
Sometimes I eat up here.
And the black bag right next to you, is that...?
Trash. Mhm.
Waking up to a big bag of trash next to you is...
It's not a way to live, it's no way to live, right.
She's so ridden with guilt, and she feels so bad
about not being able to provide for her son,
that she chooses to punish herself by continuing to live
in a space like this when she knows that it is not safe,
hygienic, or healthy, by any means.
I would like to live in a different way.
I don't know if I deserve it because I'm the only one
that brought all this junk in here.
Sometimes I think-
that Tajko would be better off without me.
Sometimes, the nature of living here can be a
challenge because of the varying degrees of light
through the year.
In the summer, we have 24 hours of daylight.
And it's- sometimes your body doesn't know
when it's time to go to bed.
And then again in the winter,
it's close to 24 hours of darkness.
It can be dark when you walk to work and
dark when you walk home.
Sometimes, we can be confined to our homes for
days at a time because of weather.
At those times, it doesn't feel good to be
in this house amongst all this stuff.
- Hi, Papa. - There is only one.
There is only- Long time no see.
- It's been a while. - Yeah.
- Geez. - Crazy.
I kept imagining how big he must look.
You don't quite get that when you're video chatting.
And to see him in person was great.
- Hi, Kathy. - Hi, Taj.
Hi, Keith. Thank you for coming.
Her being brave enough to invite me
makes me very grateful and proud of her.
And I can't wait to help...
because she would do it for me, too.
- It's a lot to take in. - Yeah.
- I still think I'm dreaming. - Yeah.
I'm sure there's a lot of emotions that are going on.
Lori, I know this is a huge, huge, huge deal,
and you've got a lot of feelings about it.
And you're very nervous and very anxious about
your sister seeing your place for the first time.
Keith also being in there after a very long time. Nervous?
Nervous, really nervous, yeah.
I'm going to invite our professional organizer,
Kim Diamond.
- Hello, everyone. - Hi, Kim.
- Glad to meet you all. - Thank you.
Happy to meet you.
My name is Kim Diamond,
and I'm a certified professional organizer,
specializing in hoarding disorder and hoarding behaviors.
- Lori, I'll be here with you. - Okay, thank you.
Me, you, and Tajko, we're going to be over here,
and we'll let Kim, Kathy, and Keith go in.
- Okay. - Okay?
Yeah.
Take a deep breath, just remind yourself
she's here to help.
Yeah.
♪ [Quiet instrumental growing in intensity] ♪
What are you feeling right now?
That the love between my sister and Tajko...
...is above the effects of this problem.
It's a pretty difficult problem, yeah.
What about you, Keith?
I just have cuss words in my head.
She said it was worse, I couldn't fathom.
So, would you say it's like twice as bad as
when you last saw? At least?
Yeah, it's at least twice as bad.
Yeah? So, as you can see,
this is not a safe place to eat or cook.
There's a lot of safety hazards just in this one room.
You alright, Kathy?
Yeah, it's overwhelming.
I can see it on both your faces.
What are you thinking?
My boy.
If there was ever a fire in that house,
there's so much stuff to get through, that...
getting out unscathed would be a miracle.
This is Geezer.
He's been dead for a couple of years.
- Was that a cat or a dog? - Cat.
He always used to sleep here.
But as you can see this...
we can't see the floor.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
This stuff is closing in on them.
- This is Tajko's room? - Yeah.
It's no fair, is it?
Lori's filled that room up, and that's a danger to Tajko.
It's a massive fire hazard.
I can see the sadness in their faces.
Everywhere I turn in this house:
hazard, hazard, hazard.
It's going to be really tough.
Her mattress.
Oh, that makes me sad.
It's hard to believe she'd get
a good night's sleep in here.
We're not even on the ground, we're standing on stuff.
- On stuff, yeah. - And again...
Can't get out this door, can't- you know,
this is, this is impossible.
I need the family to come together here,
support Lori and be a really important part of
this process, or I can't get it done.
And right now, they're so overwhelmed,
I don't know if they're going to be able to handle this.
It's an emergency situation.
Yeah, it is, it is.
Lori's saying that she's ready for this,
but I'm really not sure.
Tajko's looking to move away and start his life.
But, he wants to do that without having to worry about
his mom's safety or her mental health.
- Oh, my God. - I'm so sorry.
Maybe we can go right to the living room.
Just let me stand on the step and
we're going to go that way.
Oh my.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry to put you through this.
You don't be sorry, because that's not something-
You're not putting me through anything.
I'm in this for the long haul.
This is a different set up for somebody
who's dealing with an issue in their life.
It isn't a quiet meeting or something.
You're exposing yourself to everybody,
and you're having to deal with everything right away.
Her friends have to be there for her.
And I will, and we will.
These are not pros, they have not been trained.
I hope they can handle this huge task,
'cause this is not for the faint of heart.
One theme that comes up with Lori often,
is how people perceive her.
Lori is going to be facing her biggest fear,
which is having to open up her door to invite
members of her community to go in.
And this is something she's never done.
Welcome, everybody.
Thank you so much for being here.
- How's everyone feeling? - Good.
- Great. - Yeah? Big day.
I am so happy to see this number of people here
supporting you, Lori.
We're harnessing the power of community,
and we have this amazing team here behind me.
We've got a big task ahead.
Mm-hm.
Lots of emotions, lots of hard work.
In my wildest dreams,
I didn't really think it would be possible.
And here we are.
It's a miracle, it feels like a miracle.
What I need to know from you is,
do I have your permission to go in the house?
And, do we have your permission- and I mean,
we, all of us here- to decide if there's garbage,
can we just immediately get rid of that and
not have to check with you?
Yes, please.
If we think it's not salvageable any way and
it looks like garbage, that's an okay?
- It's okay. - Confirmed.
We got that, team? All right.
My concern is, is her definition of garbage and
our definition of garbage the same thing?'
'Cause often it's not.
So here, let's grab some corners, let's lay these out.
Great.
I'm amazed at the range of people that have
shown up to help today.
We have teenagers all the way up to grandmothers,
and that's amazing.
That shows how much Lori matters to this community,
and it's clear how much they care about her.
Take this out and then pull things out.
Again, papers and books, keep.
Get this porch all cleared.
My plan always starts with safety first.
I need to clear the entryway
so the front door can open fully.
Right now, there's no way.
- Okay. - That can definitely go.
I'm seeing papers.
Yeah, these papers can go, please.
Not only do we have to separate the garbage-
the things to get rid of- from usable items,
but I've got to make the most of this to get as much stuff
to this community donation event that
we're doing at the end.
I've got a lot to pull off in a short amount of time.
Yeah, the boxes-
Okay, so look, look at that, yeah.
And then, if we find any...
if we find any stray pots and pans inside,
I'll be happy to donate those ones and
replace them with a set.
Yeah, start new.
Yeah, that table can be donated.
These have seen better days.
They're sitting in water, okay,
so I'm pretty sure most of the stuff in here
is rusted and can go.
- Yeah. - Okay.
And a box of brand new hangers...
probably a keep?
I would like to keep those, please.
So, we will keep those. You're doing great.
Thank you, feels good.
- It does? - Yeah.
Oh! See what we've got here?
- Looks like trash. - It looks kind of rough.
- Yeah. - Trash, please, yep.
How's that feel? Is it all wet?
Does it smell, I can't- My sense of smell is really bad.
- Whoa! - Really bad?
- Yep. - Okay, we're throwing it.
- That's going. - Okay.
- I got a good sense of smell. - Okay, yeah.
- Great decision. - Thanks.
It's, it's helping me a lot, working with you.
I wouldn't, I probably wouldn't have
done that by myself.
Well, it's like having a trainer at the gym.
You tend to do more reps and get more out of your workout
when you have the pro standing with you.
Oh my God, that's crazy.
Look what's going way to the- look what's going to the dump.
That's awesome.
I thought this would be one of the more
challenging parts, too, so I'm looking forward to
how the rest of the house moves along.
- Yeah, I'm on a roll. - Can I give you a hug?
Please.
- Thank you. - Thank you, too.
It's clear that Lori is ready for this process.
She's done some work.
However, it almost is too easy right now, so I'm...
I've got my little warning signs and warning bells
going off, and I just want to make sure that this is real.
Because often, it may start quickly that way,
but then come to a grinding halt when we hit
one item that triggers something.
And I don't know what those are.
It could happen at any time.
We've cleared the entryway and
a little bit into the kitchen.
And all of that is out on tarps,
and it is a lot of stuff.
It looks like the contents of a house are out on the grass
on those tarps, but it's actually a very,
very small space in the house.
Here we go.
- You're holding that end? - Yeah.
Awesome.
In order for this job to get done,
it's important that two things happen:
Lori still feels like she has control,
but at the same time,
she's got to allow her trusted family members,
or even friends, to make decisions on her behalf.
Otherwise, this is impossible.
There's no way we can get this amount of stuff
sorted and dealt with. No way.
Okay, so that can junk, right behind you, if you like...
Junk, okay.
But I think we'll send this up for sorting.
Oh, yeah. Um...
Yeah, this is garbage 'cause it's been scratched.
Okay.
This is garbage, right behind you.
She is letting go without looking.
That worries me a bit because
I don't want her to have regret.
How about I have you two go up and sort together?
Because I think you make a pretty good team on that.
Yep.
And you can help each other with maybe
some of the tougher decisions.
- Sure. - Alright, sounds good.
- Devil's advocate. - Yep.
Lori and Tajko are heading up to work on the tarped areas.
I've got to get into this kitchen because
there's a lot to deal with.
There is a lot of food that should have been refrigerated
that's sitting out on the counter,
like salad dressings and mayonnaise.
And, I'm scared they've been eating that.
So, we have to get that stuff out of there,
and make sure there's only safe food left.
I've got to make this kitchen clean and usable again.
Is this a good shirt to wear one day?
What?!
Can you put this on the keep pile, please?
- Ah... - Will it fit you?
- That's Taj. - Really?
- Yeah, can you keep that, Taj? - I guess.
Can you put this one there too, please?
- Okay... - Let's keep that.
- Is there stuff in here? - I like to keep these.
These are ski pants that I can fit.
Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo.
Okay, I'm just taking a few keeps here.
When it comes to my mom, she needs to look at each thing
individually, and that's a little frustrating to me.
Would you ever wear snowboard pants like this, Taj?
Okay.
- Child hat. - Barb made that.
With a bonus inside it... Wood picks.
Oh! Keep those, please, those were gifted to us.
Okay.
I do think I'd have greater relief just kind of
letting this all go at once.
I know, I'm trying to get there, but I'm not there yet.
Yeah, it's stressing me out right now.
- What? - It's stressing me out now.
Because you know there's thousands in there,
and we'll never get rid of it all at once.
Or, unless we decide for them all at once.
I'm sorry, honey, I'm trying to get there,
but I'm not there yet.
- I'm just warming up, okay? - I know.
Can you be patient with me, please?
I'll try to be.
I feel like I need to see a little bit more of the stuff
that's coming from inside.
Or that I would like to.
I've seen her like this before,
and whenever we try to go through things,
she seems to need to be in charge of every single item.
Even though this needs to be washed,
you want to keep this, right? - No.
See how I'm not looking at it, and saying no?
Okay.
I'm at the point where
I don't have to look at it, you know?
Okay.
I can understand her difficulty a little bit.
There's some things here and there that I, myself,
would like to keep, but I know that it's past the
point of no return and that we need to do our best
to get things out of the house.
She says things like, "Oh, I feel so bad for
the way I raised my boy. I wish I could have
given him a better upbringing in this house."
And at the same time, she says, like,
she needs to go through all of these clothes and
keep some of these items.
So, that makes me mad a little
'cause it's- it feels a little hypocritical.
And I'm trying to-
We knew that there'd be sticky spots.
Yeah, for sure, for sure.
Keith actually seems a little bit distant
from Lori and his son.
But I'm just going to see how things play out,
because sometimes ex-partners need a little bit of time
to warm up to each other.
Oh, I want to keep these.
This is my oldest item of clothing.
There's so much stuff to go through.
And if Lori is going to keep analyzing every single item,
there is no way we're going to get through
this entire house.
- Mama. - Uh-huh?
We have your boxes ready for you to look.
We're going to show you what's in them and
hope that you approve.
Okay.
There's quite a number of new,
never-used items of clothing in here.
We both agree that these are things that
we don't need in the house and...
are better in the use of other people.
Okay... Okay.
- You approve of that? - Um...
I, I'm, I- I got to be honest,
it's hard for me to not want to see what all is in there.
You'd maybe like to, but wouldn't you-
If you had the two options, to keep them or live in
a cleaner room, I think I know the answer.
- Right. - Right?
And so, we're choosing the latter right now.
If you have been managing without them...
Yeah, so you don't need to see them, frankly.
And I hope you can get towards that.
Mm-hm.
Thank you for getting closer.
Yeah, I don't know how to express it.
Difficult feelings, like, and...
Like it's, it's hard for me to hear you saying
you don't need this, you don't need this,
you know?
But it's just, it's just, it's my disorder talking,
you know, that...
it distorts it to hear it that way.
And...
Right.
It's just- it just doesn't sit well and...
I have to work through it.
She thinks we're fighting against her,
but really I know that this is just her way of expressing
that it's an overwhelming situation to face the problem
we've been living through for a long time.
It's not as easy as I was hoping it was gonna be.
So, think of how much smaller the task is
if we just accept that it's gone already.
You mean just take all these as they are?
More or less.
Half the battle is accepting that it's already done for
and there's no way to make use of all these items now,
so looking at it is kind of a waste of time.
Okay, so what is the best thing for me to do, I wonder?
I would say, in a way, Mama, nothing.
It's best to do nothing...
Go away? Like...
I'm just checking in. Lori, I'm just checking in.
How are you doing?
I'm sorry that I have this disorder.
You don't have to apologize.
No, I feel like I do because I know it's hard to
understand when you don't think the way I do but...
You never have to apologize for your disorder.
- Thank you. - Okay?
Thanks.
The most frustrating thing is
the power of old ways of thinking.
To see my sister suffer and then say,
I'm sorry, when it's really a disorder,
that makes it hard.
- I love you guys. - Love you.
Thanks, Sarah.
I don't know. I just don't, I really-
I just don't know what to do next.
Will you take this Rubbermaid?
Take it? Take it to the donation?
I can take it, I'd like to.
Okay.
I'm happy you can let something go.
Yeah.
Lori needs to remember that everyone is here
to support her.
And she has to trust her friends and family
to make difficult decisions.
We had a lot of wins today,
but we barely made a dent in the house.
And we're already overwhelming her so,
with day two tomorrow, if Lori shuts down,
there's no way we're getting this done.
Waking up to a big bag of trash next to you is...
It's not a way to live.
It's no way to live, right.
It's not as easy as I was hoping it was gonna be.
It's stressing me out now.
Imagining and actually doing are two different things so,
Lori seeing her stuff actually leaving on the truck
and going to the dump is hard.
And that's going to bring out
even more emotions every time a truck leaves.
It could increase her anxiety,
it could shut her down.
I really hope she can do this.
Good morning, everyone. How's everyone doing?
- Good morning. - Great.
Lori, your energy yesterday, your motivation,
your progress through the porch was incredible.
And I think it's safe to say
we were all so, so proud of you.
- Mhm, thanks. - However, I did notice...
As we slowly started to move to the bags of clothing,
there was a bit of resistance.
- Yes. - What was coming up?
Um...
I guess I'd call it anxiety.
And, you know, worry that when others were helping
make decisions that they would donate one of the
few things that I do actually use.
Letting go of all of those bins yesterday
was a huge moment.
And I just want you to remember that moment and
bring that energy back to all the tasks
we're going to be doing today.
Yesterday, we basically got kind of
one and a half rooms done, and that resulted in
a pretty big mountain of stuff here...
and two and a half truckloads of garbage,
which is fantastic.
But that was one and a half rooms.
We've got three big rooms to do today.
that's to clear another exit/entrance
to the house. Very important for safety.
The laundry room, and the living room.
A lot of clothing in there.
And, some of that stuff might be hard for you
because you've identified clothing as your hot spot.
Sarah's going to be with you every step of the way when
you need that kind of support or if you hit a roadblock.
Nadene is here ready to take those donations to the
community donation day that's happening tomorrow,
so that we can get these amazing,
useful things that are no longer of use to you,
back into the community.
So, there will be a tsunami of stuff coming out.
Alright.
But you've got an amazing team of support right
beside you here, that are ready and willing to help you.
Knowing me, I may lapse in my clarity.
So, feel free to remind me
what I promised you all, please.
And thank you for being here... everyone.
Let's, let's put leggings...
Lori's given us permission to throw out obvious garbage.
And I want to capitalize on
the progress we've made so far.
There are going to be some challenges that were inside
of the house, bringing things outside to Lori,
that are a little harder for her to get rid of.
I'm instructing the crew to really be more diligent about
making sure that stuff does not get out for
the sorting for Lori.
That's going to slow her down even more.
I don't know what to do next.
Keith?
I think this might have been yours.
Keith?
Keith has barely said two words to Lori
since he got here.
It could be resentment towards her because of
how her hoarding has impacted their son.
I don't know.
But I think it's time for me and Keith
to have a quick chat.
- Hey, Keith. - Hey, Sarah.
How's it going? Can I actually just
chat with you, real quick?
Okay.
I haven't seen too much interaction
with the two of you.
I just wanted to just check in to see
if there's something coming up for you.
Frustration or feeling angry. What's going on?
It is an awkward... situation.
It's overwhelming and awkward.
Yeah.
I'm frustrated and overwhelmed.
I see a lot of the brand new stuff that never got used,
and I think it's going to be an eye opener for Lori
on how to use her money.
Leaving emotions out of it is better for me and...
comes naturally, I suppose,
just so I can tackle the task at hand.
You know, something I was wondering is like,
if that's the nature of your relationship,
and even when you guys were together, right?
Like, is that something that came up, where it was just...
she would do her thing, you would do your thing and so
she's probably just defaulting back to that
with you, like, "Okay, cool, Keith's here, he's just,
I'm not going to question him"?
- Doing his thing? - He's doing his thing.
Maybe, maybe that's a lot to do with it, yeah.
We never really cleaned up together.
I always did it by myself when she was out.
I came up here to help Lori and my son.
And I'm gonna roll up my sleeves and keep doing
what I'm doing until it's all done.
Keith clearly is a man of few words,
but it's nice to see he's supporting Lori with
his actions, especially for the sake of their son.
We're going through the items in the house.
They're densely packed, there's so much.
It's like a tossed salad.
Everything is so mixed up and intertwined.
It takes that much longer to sort it and separate the
stuff to keep versus the stuff that's got to go.
I would like to keep that.
I'll put it on the, I'll put it on our keep pile,
okay, thank you.
I better get quicker.
I'll get quicker.
Oh...
There's so many bins with like, toys.
Like, do we just throw the toys,
or do we try to go through them?
Um...
Lori's pace is a bit too slow for what we need right now.
There is so much clothing, and some of it is brand new
with tags, and that's made her stop and look at each item.
I've gotta speed this up.
I've asked Nadene to step in and help Lori.
She's having a hard time with some of the decision making.
She and Lori have been friends for over nine years,
and there's good trust there, and I think Nadene's the
person we need right now to help Lori.
These boots and this is going to go in a tub,
it's gonna go to donation.
Throw it all?
Most of it's garbage, leave it in the box,
and he'll just haul it down.
Okay, Keith, we got another garbage box for you.
So, let's get another tub.
This is how we're going to get through these
30 more tubs out here.
I'm going to stay right on them.
Look, there's no time for talk here and that,
let's keep go, go, go, go, go.
Because we have more stuff than we have time.
This one...
It's all dirty and that, Lori,
we've got bags of good stuff.
Okay...
- These all keepers? - Is this all donated?
Ah, maybe.
Okay, we can't have a maybe, we need a yes or a no.
Yeah, Mom, you got to be able to go through that box and
say this is good to go.
I'm putting the ones that I'm giving away on this side
and ones I'd like to keep on this side right now.
- Okay? - Go, go, go.
This is good to go, Mama. This is good to go.
Okay, let me be your mediator and help you out, okay?
Am I not gonna need a few clothes to wear?
Like, am I, am I, am I gonna,
am I gonna buy entirely new clothes?
Can I not keep three and give that many away though,
is that not okay?
Yes, that's okay.
Okay, I thought that was okay.
- Is that not okay for you? - We need to be faster.
We need to be serious about this.
He doesn't mean to overwhelm you.
- I don't want to attack you. - We're all coming at you.
Well, that's what it feels like.
I'm sorry, I'm not doing that good right now.
Lori has walked away.
It could go either two ways: She just needs a little break,
and is going to be right back.
Or she's shutting down.
And she's my main decision-maker.
I've seen this happen before,
and sometimes they don't come back.
I'm sorry that I am this way.
Lori is walking away, and leaving the building.
The stuff coming out is coming to a grinding halt in
a big pile, and I don't have my key decision-maker here to
determine what's being kept and what's going to go.
If she comes back, I'm worried that this
massive pile is going to send her back crying.
It's overwhelming.
How am I going to get this done without her?
Thank you, thank you.
- How you doing? - Thanks.
This is normal. Hey?
I guess.
You're doing wonderful. Okay?
Well, everybody's telling me I'm moving too slow.
And I'm doing my best.
You know what? It's a time factor.
- Yeah. - It's not against you.
It's against the clock racing, right?
Yeah.
Think about what we're doing anyway,
it's almost unrealistic, isn't it?
It took years to pile all that stuff.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Right?
Yeah.
I think I need a, I need a break from everybody, like...
Okay, okay, that's understandable.
She's overwhelmed that everybody is
maybe telling her what to do.
Thanks.
Oh, my God, girlie, what you're doing.
We are just reaching the inner part of the problem with her.
So, we stop, we let her know we love her,
we care about her...
we're only here to help her.
We're here because she's asked us to be here.
- Okay! - Okay, thanks, Nadene.
I went down and gave her a hug and we talked for a bit,
and we laughed a bit.
You take a deep breath, you know,
and then you go forward.
That's not been an easy thing,
especially when, you know,
you're kind of causing it for her.
This entire experience,
it's extremely overwhelming for her.
What she's been dealing with over the last two days is
something she's never dealt with before.
I want to be mindful of certain things that perhaps
might be contributing to how she's feeling.
I know that sometimes when we're helping her clean out
the area and spaces, we refer to things like garbage or
trash or junk, and that can feel quite hurtful, right?
Because these are items that are meaningful to her,
and she holds on to them.
She likes to apologize and kind of blame herself
for a lot of this, and...
just to help her understand that this is all,
this is about getting better for all of us.
It's difficult for her, right,
she's so scared of the judgment that's going to come
from people and, this is actually coming to be true.
Language like that can feel so triggering and heavy that,
"Oh, you know what, what I've done,
they're judging me for it."
It's overwhelming, there's a lot.
- Welcome, Lori. - Hi.
I know you had to take a moment to kind of step away.
Talk to us.
I guess I've been...
feeling it in a different way today, and...
Like, I know, I know that I can be frustrating
to work with, I know I work really slowly.
Um...
And I'm just finding I can't...
watch what they're,
what they're doing too closely because...
sometimes, people make decisions different than
what I would make, you know, and it's...
it's just hard. I'm finding it hard.
None of this is going to be effective if we continue
doing what we're doing and it's not working for you.
Because then, it's just removing physical items.
There's no change in behavior,
and we want that.
If this is too much for you, we can stop.
No, please don't stop. I want to continue, please.
Because we can also take a bit of a break
if you want us to stop. - No, no, I...
I had a break and I appreciate it,
but I would like to keep going.
- Okay. - Please don't stop.
I want to continue, please.
I'm really proud of Lori.
She came back, and she wants to keep going,
which tells me that she's processing the emotions
through the discomfort,
instead of avoiding it and shutting down.
It's tough for Lori today.
We're throwing a lot of stuff at her.
Frankly, two to three times the amount of stuff
we did yesterday.
I was able to get around into a storage room and get another
door open, so we have another point of entry and
exit to get more stuff out of the house.
Holy cow, look at all that stuff that's garbage.
I can't even look at it.
Look at it, like- I see lots of bins and-
They're throwing that cooler away?
That thing, me and Aunty decided that because
it's got, it's got dust, dirt and grass in there,
it's like the bottom has disintegrated.
We wanted to ask you, the bottom's all rusted out.
It's an antique, though.
Like, I still like it for a display but...
- Okay. - I don't know.
- I guess let it go, but this is- - You gotta let go.
This is like, it's just, this is the part I find hard,
like, things that I really like-
Your collectibles.
People are saying, Oh, that's filthy, that's gross.
Did you know where that cooler was?
It was in that water room area.
We can't live like this, you know? It's...
This home is antique, and it could be in much better shape.
That, that- stuff like that is,
some of it might be antique,
but it's already gone, you know?
Yeah... But I thought, like, I thought I clearly said
I would like to keep the Coke stuff.
We can go and grab that off.
- You want to look at it? - Yeah, come and look at it.
- No, no, I'll- - It's gone already.
It can go, it can go, but it just...
it hurts, it hurts.
Like, me and Kathy were aware of that.
This was our decision with that Coke cooler.
But you gave us clearance to make decisions,
and we thought it was very damaged and...
But I guess I would have hoped that since I had said
I'd like to keep the Coke stuff,
that you would have let me in on the conversation.
Yeah, we could take it off the truck, so...
We can regroup about it.
No, no, it's okay, it's okay.
I got to let it go.
- Hey, Lori. - Hi.
- How's it going? - It's alright, thanks.
I know there were specific items you requested for,
and I know one of the items that you were
requested for ends up in the...
truck, where all the disposable items are.
I want to know how you're feeling.
I guess at that moment I was just thinking...
well, you know, why are we talking about guidelines or
requests if they're not going to be followed?
That's how I was feeling in that moment.
Lori, you're not wrong. You asked for that, right,
and we said you're the boss, so...
you are the one who gets to decide.
And I understand Tajko, you know,
made a decision that it's not functional.
I just want to make sure that you're being very intentional
as well about your choices rather than doing something
just to please your son and your sister.
I don't, I don't want you to do that.
And you're making so much progress.
I think your son can attest to that.
More than I've ever seen before.
Because remember, if you're doing it for others,
when they leave, the behaviors are going
to come back, and none of us want that.
We're looking for a change in behavior,
not just removal of physical items.
Do you want to think about it?
No, thanks.
I really, I really want to stay with letting it go.
- Okay. - Yeah.
I'm really proud of Lori.
She's making a lot of progress today.
She is able to understand the discomfort that comes with
being able to let go of items that have no purpose for her.
This was a big moment for her.
It's day three, and I've got an even bigger job today
than I had yesterday.
bedrooms, bathroom, like, key living space.
And I know that there's going to be a lot of emotion
in there for everybody.
Lori's really concerned that we're going to get rid of
clothes that she wants to keep.
We've got a whole pile of bins on the hill there that
need decisions, and that's going to be
way too much for her.
So, I'm hoping that she will delegate that decision-making
power to my team. We can look at a bin,
pull out anything good, and the rest will go...
'cause we've got a donation day happening,
and I've only got the truck for an hour or two,
and I've got to fill it.
Ah, this can donate.
Maybe this one's new.
This can donate, yeah.
This looks like a lot of junk to me.
Taj has been really great today.
This has been hard on him his whole life.
And, this process is hard on him.
That's an extension cord, I'll keep this.
We're gonna really get to work on his room 'cause
I know he cannot wait to have that as his own space,
'cause really two-thirds of that room is his mom's stuff.
You've been working so hard, and I know that this space is
something you've wanted to reclaim for a long time and
have it back in your full possession.
So, I want to clear out your mom's stuff,
and you said there might be some of your dad's stuff.
I really want to give this room back to you,
so that this is your space,
'cause it hasn't been your space...
probably almost since day one, right?
Yeah, this is the first space I have to clear for myself,
so I'm...
happy to come back to it and it's the last space
that we're going to properly clear.
Yeah, this is going to be Tajko's room again.
Yeah.
Garbage...
Garbage.
Me and my mom certainly don't have a habit of
keeping the house clean and...
tackling the house in such a big way has been
a lot for both of us.
And I'm really starting to think about how we're going
to adjust to a home with much less items.
It's going to be good in a lot of ways,
but I know we're going to be feeling
like a part of us is missing.
Alright, garbage, garbage.
Taj and I are working in his room,
and he's an absolute machine.
Gone, gone, keep.
Yes, no.
And he's making great decisions.
I can't believe he's a teenager.
He's so mature.
But I want to get 100% for him because this is so
important for a guy his age, and he needs his own space.
Thank you. Okay.
What we're doing right now,
I really want to see this corner clear.
I've always had to stick to my bed area.
I look forward to being able to do things outside of that.
Maybe a computer set up in here, it'd be awesome.
I want to make the most of this
clean slate we've been given.
A lot of the things I own were selected by my mom.
So, seeing those go and working with a clean house,
I look forward to being able to personalize a little more.
Kathy, I found something I wanted to show you.
Really cute photo album. Who is this little baby?
This is one of Lori's closest friends, growing up.
They did a lot of fun things together.
They used to pretend they were hosting a cooking show.
Yeah...
Yep, this is- this whole album must be a gift from
one of her closest friends while she was growing up.
- That's her friend? - Yes, yes.
That's so sweet.
She added a real playful spirit to our family.
Yeah, which is so nice to hear.
And it must make it that much more difficult, you know,
when you think about your baby sister who brought
such a joyful, playful energy to the household,
having to live like this.
Yeah.
Why don't I give this to you?
I'm sure your sister would love to see this.
Yes, she will, she will.
She'll laugh.
- Lori? - Yeah?
- I found something. - Oh, boy.
- It's really sweet. - Okay.
- Your dear, dear friend. - Mhm?
- And this album. - Oh...
Oh, my gosh.
It's got very precious family photos.
- Oh my gosh. - Look.
Wow. Yeah, that's funny.
Yeah, this is a very special selection.
Mhm. Oh, my gosh.
- So cute. - Little ones.
That's awesome. Thank you.
Thanks so much for being here.
I love you so much.
Okay, now get back to it. No, I'm just kidding.
Ha-ha! Just joking.
- Just joking. - On the double.
Sounds like Dad.
Later, alligator.
Back to it.
Day two was hard for Lori 'cause we really
got into the nitty gritty of clothes.
And, that overwhelmed her.
I was worried that was going to happen again,
but here we are working through clothes...
and she is doing great.
Ah, donate.
Donate... Donate.
So, I'm going to capitalize on that,
and I'm going to run with it.
Oh, wow. Lori!
Where's all the stuff?
Oh, wow, amazing.
- Lori! - Yeah! Kim!
- Come to me, come to me. - Hi.
So, I'm assuming you saw behind you?
- Yeah. - What do you think about that?
I think it's a miracle. Thank you so much.
- It kind of was, to be honest. - Yeah, no, I agree.
Everyone here did such a great job.
They carefully pulled out good things that
we kept for you.
And we've got great donations on the cube truck,
which will be leaving very soon.
So, we got it done in time.
The power of community is pretty spectacular here.
And isn't it interesting the community that you
kind of closed your doors to...
and then, you opened up, and the wonders that
have happened after that. It's incredible.
Thank you for a miracle, everybody.
I was worried how she might react to it all being gone,
and a bare hill, 'cause it's been almost
three days of stuff there, and now it's all gone.
I'm happy, and I can see Lori's happy.
That's a win-win for both of us.
Okay, last bin to go on the donation truck.
Yeah.
I nominate you to put it on there.
- Sounds good to me. - Yeah?
- Mhm. - Alright.
Thanks.
All right. Goodbye.
- Close the door. - Mhm.
Putting that last box on the truck with my mom
is like sealing the deal.
It's putting a massive issue to rest after 17 years.
- Thanks, honey. - I'm proud of you, Mama.
Thank you, honey. I'm proud of you too.
Love you... Love you.
Thank you! Love you, too.
Yeah!
Alright, bang on that truck door, it can go.
Lori and Tajko are going to have challenges
in the days and months to come.
But seeing that truck drive away full of stuff...
that's a win.
Thank you so much.
I couldn't have done it without you. Love you so much.
Yeah, couldn't have done it without our awesome crew.
Lori has let go of two truckloads worth of stuff,
and they're on their way right now to
the community centre, where Nadene has
organized this huge donation event.
That's such a beautiful thing for Lori to do is,
to give back to the community that are
giving to her right now.
I'm really proud of her.
Today's a really big day for Lori.
She's going to be facing all the people in her community
that she's hidden her disorder from.
But I'm hoping it's going to be powerfully cathartic.
Hi.
- Hi, guys. - Oh, hey, honey.
- How's it going? - Hey!
Good, how are you? What's happening?
Are you okay?
Are you struggling a little today?
I think I'm okay.
I've got a little bit of anxiety.
Oh, what... how do you mean?
Just seeing all this, it's very real.
Yeah... No, it's understandable.
I thought I was ready, and I still am,
but I am struggling a little bit.
Yeah. I'm sure it's going to be kind of a roller coaster
for me in there too. Kind of...
looking forward and dreading at the same time
to see what it looks like all in one place.
Yeah.
I love you, honey, and I'm proud of you.
And I'm thankful for you.
Can I get, can I hug you, please?
Hey... Thank you.
I think I maybe won't go in there.
You don't want to? Why not, honey?
You don't want to take a look?
I think it's less stressful, I think it's easier to...
- Just detach this way? - Yeah.
Okay, okay.
Whatever you think is right, I want to respect that.
Aw, I love you so much.
Sorry, honey.
If you're ready, you'll come in on your own.
Yeah. I see a lot of people here, they're going to be...
much happier than we are.
Yeah.
It's a beautiful thing, what your mom and you
are doing for this community.
They want to share in your happiness to come though.
You try and maybe hold on to that a little bit?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- Group hug? - Group hug, yeah.
- Group hug. - 3, 2, 1.
I love you both, I love you both so much.
- Me too. - Me too, me too.
Good luck, guys.
For the community, this donation drive is
a social event that brings them together.
But for Tajko, it's a very different story.
Seeing the hoard all spread out for everyone to see is
very overwhelming and brings up some intense feelings
of loss and shame for Tajko.
Hi, everybody!
Wow.
Oh, my gosh.
Aw...
So, yeah, I just wanted to thank Nadene and everybody
who helped us put this event together,
it's so good to see everybody.
Excuse us, guys. We'll see you in there.
Wow! Wow, wow, wow.
- Hi, Miriam! - Hi, hi!
Take a whole bin home for the grandkids.
Oh, hi. How are you, Scarlett?
- Good. - Good to see you.
- It's your birthday? - No, it's not my birthday.
I'm just giving presents to everybody.
Lori's Santa Claus.
- Hi, Lori! - Oh, hey, Joanne!
I'm so glad that you're doing this.
So much stuff you've been hiding,
now you let it all out, good for you!
I can't even believe it, when I see it
all spread out like this, it really hits me,
what crazy amount of stuff I had in my house.
Honest to God, I don't feel anxious at all.
It's nice everybody's coming to see you.
I'm even seeing a couple things going by that
I wouldn't have put out, but it's okay.
- Hi, how are you? - I'm good, and you?
Good. Thanks for coming.
Oh, thank you.
I was honored to be a part of all this, I will say that.
- I love you. - I love you too.
Thank you for coming.
But the best part of all was seeing my friend
become the person that...
was almost trapped inside, that she has wanted to be for
so long, and seeing that butterfly come out
like today, that's more than I could ask for.
That was Tajko's first concert.
I hope you enjoy.
- Lori? - Yeah.
- Hi. - Hi.
Oh my God. I know.
It's great, eh?
Oh my gosh, how are you doing?
I'm good, I'm really happy.
Yeah, I've been watching you from there.
I'm happy I got to see so many people.
I saw lots of people I haven't seen in a long time.
I was told this is like one of the very few social events
of the year that's happened.
Yeah, for sure.
How's your son doing?
I haven't had the chance to check in with him so,
what's going on with Tajko?
Just before we started here, he was just-
it was hard for him to articulate, but he was...
He was just feeling emotions, I guess.
It's a lot that's happening and
it's just kind of all registering now.
Sounds like he's overwhelmed.
I think so, yeah.
Like, I mean it is- I can understand
how it must be unsettling for him, because...
like, unfortunately, sadly,
he's lived the way we've been living
pretty much- well, all his life, right?
So, it's very drastic change
that we're... moving into.
Yep, yep.
And it makes sense he would
feel some intense emotions at some point
'cause he hasn't really expressed too much yet,
I think. You know, other than maybe being
a little bit frustrated with me when I'm...
thinking I need to keep too much. You know?
Do you think it'll be okay for me to check in with him?
I think that would be great, if you don't mind.
- I would appreciate that, yeah. - Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
I'll go ahead and I'll do that.
- Okay. - Yeah, okay.
- Thanks. - No problem.
I'm really happy with the amount of donations
we got out and the amount of garbage we got out.
It was a lot.
I still have a lot of rooms to clear,
and then the house needs to be cleaned and fixed up and
reorganized and ready.
There are years' worth of grime, and food,
and cat litter.
We also need to look at the plumbing and
electrical in this house.
Make sure it's safe, make sure it's livable.
So, we're not out of the woods yet.
This is the first time I've seen Tajko have such
an intense emotional reaction to anything.
I need to have a quick check in with him
to see what's going on.
Hey, Tajko. What are you doing?
I'm just looking through some of the stuff around
my area to see if I want to keep any of it.
I just wanted to check in with you to see
how things are going.
I'm really happy, I...
can hear an echo in here, which is new,
because of the more space.
Do you ever fear that, you know, living with
somebody who has concerns with just hoarding items,
that you're going to end up like that?
I do see myself presenting some similar ideas,
and following some similar... mindsets.
I feel quite angry when, like I said,
she falls back into old habits of hoarding issues,
even when we have a clean area.
She might say, I worry she might say, "Wow,
this is great," and then continue to practice her
sort of hoarding mentality where she's like,
"Oh, I have this space.
I can buy all these gifts I want for my friends."
And the cycle sort of continues.
I think on her own she would very much
slide back, and possibly self-harm.
That's the first time I've heard you say that.
Is there anything that's happened that makes you
fear for, like, risk to your mom's life?
She hasn't done anything to herself, thankfully.
She has said some very upsetting things that I...
I fear to think about coming into reality.
She'll start talking about herself
in a very demeaning way, and...
very, in a way that it's very frustrating to me that
she thinks that she's a horrible person,
or pulling words out of my mouth to say that I'm saying
she's horrible and things like that.
I don't stress over what I missed out because of the
situation, but I do stress over not fixing the situation
so I can move on with my life.
Today's the day, we're handing the house
back to Lori and Tajko.
But there's still several things that need to get done.
There's vacuuming, there's dusting, there's cleaning.
All of this needs to happen to bring this house up to
a level of sanitation that's livable.
The plumbing issues with the sinks and toilets are finally
being fixed, after years of them not working properly.
We've got some deliveries coming in today,
some furniture, new fridge and stove, because frankly,
Lori's fridge and stove were not salvageable.
They had to go.
I'm so proud of Lori,
and to see the progress she's made
over the last few days, over such a short span of time.
When I think about the way the community came here,
and were willing to do so many different kinds of
dirty work, unpleasant work, and with a smile and,
you know, like, very selflessly,
and that is what makes this community so very special.
I'm ready to go, I'm excited.
Keeping my eye on the prize.
I know we've come a long way since day one.
I'm excited and anxious to see what the house looks like.
We just have a few final touches left,
and then Lori and Tajko, and her family,
can come in and see the results of their hard work.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh!
It's a new oven, it's a new fridge.
Is it really?
I thought it was the same fridge.
Oh, my gosh.
It's so beautiful.
I haven't been smiling a lot for the last couple years,
but when I walked through that door,
I just feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.
Wow!
So much space to entertain and feed our company.
I look forward to our bright future in this room.
It looks like we could have company right now.
I think so. Oh, my goodness.
It feels like a different house.
I never thought I'd see something like this.
It's just surprising, and exciting,
and there's so many things I want to do with this space.
Wow.
I don't even have to dodge between
the stuff on the stairs.
Wow!
Whoa-ho-ho!
- Wow. - Oh my gosh.
My heart is skipping beats.
Yeah. Mine, too.
Oh!
It's hard to describe how I'm feeling.
A lot of joy.
I'm happy that Tajko and Lori have their space now.
And this was just an amazing opportunity to see my son
and, to change his life, it was...
Amazing.
Oh my gosh.
Wow!
Much better.
So much better, it's a different space.
It's a different house.
I want to watch my sister and my nephew
more than I want to look around.
And I'm just exploding with joy because I can see
the emotions of joy and gratitude and release.
You'll sleep comfortably.
Hi.
Oh my gosh, I love it so much.
I can't believe it.
- Thank you so much. - You're very welcome.
The first time I came in here with you...
Yeah.
...you couldn't even say the words,
"I deserve a space to sleep.
I deserve a space that's free of everything and
just private and comfortable for me."
- Yeah. - How do you feel now?
I feel so good. It's clear, and we're free.
I just feel free. I just can't believe it.
- Oh, I love you so much. - Love you too.
I'm so proud of you. I'm so thankful for you.
This day, for me, is absolutely the
second happiest day of my life.
And it's second only to the day Tajko was born.
Ah!
This was such a meaningful experience
for everybody involved.
It's not only going to transform the lives of Lori
and Tajko, but I think it deeply affected some of
the members of the community as well.
Oh! Oh, my gosh.
I'm so glad you guys could be here for this.
Yes, it's so amazing.
I haven't felt this happy in a long time.
It's a whole new world of opportunities.
And I'm excited to see where it's going to take me.
Thank you.