How can people live like this.....

[Jonny]

Before i start i must confess that i am no angel when it comes to all maters domestic but i do have some standards.

In my job i travel to many private homes and have noticed that there are so many people that live like animals. I have been complaining recently about one particular house that i have been sent to on several occasions and my bosses didn't believe it could be that bad.
So i grabbed some shots to explain why i wasn't going back again.

What these pics do not give you are the stench that accompanied the mess. The white/yellow sheets in centre of the first image and lined soaked (but drying) in urine.

The two rooms shown are the bedrooms, i don't know where the physically sleep. 3 people live here.


Suddenly i feel so much better about the small mess i leave hanging around at home!



http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.speed/Images/mess1.jpg


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/j.speed/Images/mess2.jpg

[Pete]

Holy crapola!!

[Rumjungle]

This is just sad.

[timbernet]

When I invited you into my room I didn't think you were going to post photos to the Internet .... sheesh....


Just kidding - seriously though - how does one walk?

[Jonny]

This is just sad.

Sad only if you cannot look after yourself.

Plain disgusting on most occasions. It is not until you work in a field where you visit peoples houses that you realize how many people live like this.

I try hard not to judge but when you are faced with this it is hard.

[Pete]

Whoever lives there must eat a whole lot of fruit!!

[lostdoggy]

Two Word: FIRE HAZARD!!!

[Time Thief]

Before i start i must confess that i am no angel when it comes to all maters domestic but i do have some standards.



Suddenly i feel so much better about the small mess i leave hanging around at home!


Ditto!

[LotsToLearn]

I often feel bad about the condition I leave things in and then I see something like that or watch that show Clean Sweep on TLC and I too feel all better :)

[nicksan]

I guess I don't really need to clean my house afterall.

Holy S.:shock:

[shannyD]

WOW! i just feel a whole lot better about my house. we just moved here so we still have some boxes lying about. but nothing to this degree. holy crap. someone should say something to them. and i can only imagine what their house smells like. i have had many friends who's house smells horrible. YUCK! im shocked.

[LucyRoberts]

Wow... what kind of work do you do that puts your health in danger going into homes like this?

[buto]

I guess the one good thing is that it's not rotten food...

[cdifoto]

How can people live like this.....
Isn't it obvious? They're on POTN so much that they can't possibly budget the time to clean. You really only need so much space around the computer...

[tiktaalik]

This is more than being messy. This is compulsive hoarding and is considered a serious mental health problem.

http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2007-03-13/korn-youthinkyouremessy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061024214706.htm

[deltroid]

I'm sorry, I didn't catch the name of the hurricane...which would also explain the wet sheets. :)

[3Turner]

And my wife says I am a pack rat...I need to show her these pictures.

On the other side, I know where Jonny is coming from....I work in the field also and see these types of houses regularly.

[PalmBayFlo]

They definitely need a call from "How Clean Is Your House's" Kim and Aggie!

[thekid24]

ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who in the he!! took a pic of my room while I was away?!?!

At least give me the oppertunity to put up my walker. MAN!!! SOOoooo rude.

[LucyRoberts]

ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who in the he!! took a pic of my room while I was away?!?!

At least give me the oppertunity to put up my walker. MAN!!! SOOoooo rude.


Dirty boy. I told you the kinky walker stuff was going to be your down fall one day. ;)

[cosworth]

Humans have a desire to measure success by how much "stuff" they have. Wherther it be money or poessessions, you cannot suppress a perosn's deisre to feel successful through acquisition of "stuff". A feeling I went through moving to the Caribbean. I measured my success as a person by how much stuff I had.

Once I unburdened myself from that, I was truly able to appreciate what I have.

Thankfully I had not taken it to that level where it was a serious mental disorder. I've seen houses like this in my days of working with special needs children. It was an amazing smell I can still "smell" in my mind. It will never leave me.

[thekid24]

Dirty boy. I told you the kinky walker stuff was going to be your down fall one day. ;)
yeah well you told me you liked it soOOoo,....HAHAHA jk.

[cricketboy75]

my god! that's really sad...i guess it makes me feel better about the condition of my own place though. :)

[S.Horton]

OMG.

[LucyRoberts]

I still want to know what the OP does for a living that puts him in this position to photo these houses, yet he doesn't know the reasoning behind it. My only guesses would be invalid or mentally handicapped (is that the PC term this week?) .

[thekid24]

I still want to know what the OP does for a living that puts him in this position to photo these houses, yet he doesn't know the reasoning behind it. My only guesses would be invalid or mentally handicapped (is that the PC term this week?) .
We're not allowed to let anything get into politics around here....even being politically correct;)..so let'er go:p

[EOS Man]

That is one hell of a stylish, comfortable place to live in. No wonder the guy feels free to invite guests like the OP :p.

[Billyj571]

are the phys impeared

[Sabarika]

When my Corolla was totaled by a semi on my way home to KY from Huntsville, AL my friends in Huntsville had to put me up for a week before I could go home. The house they lived in was disgusting and made me sick for a week. Flea bombs for the people, mange on the dogs, cars on the lawn (a nice Mazda convertible!! sat for a year!!) . I can't even describe it. The guy who owned the house had inherited about $1mil and SQUANDERED it. Literally. Bought a huge 60"+ TV when they were BRAND new - about $10k. He was your stereotype geek - NEVER, I mean NEVER left his room. Lived with 3 ferrets roaming free in his room, crapping on everything. Over half the wallspace in that room alone was piled with junk. An entire bathroom was closed off with waist-high trash. The kitchen you couldn't access half of it due to trash buildup. They had to use a SNOW SHOVEL to clear a path for me to go to the back room where my friends were -surviving- in! The bathroom? The guy let the water clog so bad it was barely a TRICKLE, and the shower? I almost vomited, except I couldn't position myself to the toilet for all the trash and dirty laundry! I barely made it TO the shower, and one in there were two "cleanspots" - one for each foot to stand. >.<;
Disgusting. Had I access to their local health board's #, I'd have called it in, except I was stuck over 500 miles from home without a car or a ride back and no money. It was disgusting. I only wish I had thought to take photos!

That's DISGUSTING. I just -don't- get it. I hoard things, but at least I vacuum and use Windex and Comet and the likes.

[SuzyView]

Don't be too judgmental here. You may never know what they've had to live with all their lives. Those pictures look like my bedroom right now since I haven't taken anything downstairs from the wedding.

I have the money to hire 3 cleaning ladies here this month and I still can't get my house clean. Heck! If only I wasn't on this forum all day, I'd probably get the house clean! ;)

[LucyRoberts]

Don't be too judgmental here. You may never know what they've had to live with all their lives. Those pictures look like my bedroom right now since I haven't taken anything downstairs from the wedding.

I have the money to hire 3 cleaning ladies here this month and I still can't get my house clean. Heck! If only I wasn't on this forum all day, I'd probably get the house clean! ;)


Suzy, come on, you have Urine soaked sheets in your room? :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

Read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
By Phillip K. Dick

One of the recurring themes of the book that is an underlying force throughout is the nature of Chaos and the Human relationship with it, how we fight it to keep our world in order, and how our own actions and "junk" like in the pictures in fact push us into worse chaos thn nature could create without human interference.

PKD was very much commenting on what you see above in this seminal work.

For those that may not know, the book is the loose basis for the movie Bladerunner
Though the movie does not mention this aspect of the theme directly via dialogue, this theme is ever present throughput the movie as well, as all buildings are in a state of decay as humanity slowly stops the fight against the chaos from sheer fatigue and the garbage just keeps piling up.

Anyway this, and bridges collapsing in the Mid US are what PKD was writing about.

[SuzyView]

Suzy, come on, you have Urine soaked sheets in your room? :)

No. Thank heavens! But I studied family psychology for a very long time and I have been a teacher for over 20 years now. I've seen some kids who live like this because their parents didn't know better. Can't be too judgmental because that could easily be me, if not for my great parents.

[OriginalKevan]

Yikes! Years ago, I used to deliver pizza for Domino's Pizza in Portland, Maine. There were a couple of places I hated to go to because their place not only looked like the picture, but the place also reeked of who knows what. I know I can be a pack rat at times, but I sift through stuff from time to time and get rid of it. I feel bad for those who feel compelled to live this way.

[LucyRoberts]

No. Thank heavens! But I studied family psychology for a very long time and I have been a teacher for over 20 years now. I've seen some kids who live like this because their parents didn't know better. Can't be too judgmental because that could easily be me, if not for my great parents.
I know I shouldn't be so hasty to judge, it's just really hard for me to wrap my mind around people living like this.

[Tandem]

Hmmm... reminds me - I need to clean out my office. It's only 9' x 9' so things can pile up. Good thing there is nothing organic in there. Office tailings don't have much of an odor. :)

[beefykoala]

I'm a clean freak (and a student - oh contraire!) I couldnt live with even a fraction of that mess.

[DVS_WiNdz]

whoa.. thats one messy place

[Aquaman]

On a positive note... everything is right there at his or her finger tips! ... or knee caps as the case may be.

[SuzyView]

Because of that picture I had to re-evaluate my messy 3 office areas. My husband says every time I take over an area and it spills over, I buy a new desk, a new computer and start all over again making another big mess. He's right. If I just contained station 1, I'd have a clean house.

[LucyRoberts]

Because of that picture I had to re-evaluate my messy 3 office areas. My husband says every time I take over an area and it spills over, I buy a new desk, a new computer and start all over again making another big mess. He's right. If I just contained station 1, I'd have a clean house.
:D

Just print it out and hang it in your office. Inspiration is a great thing!

[the_incubus]

Read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
By Phillip K. Dick

One of the recurring themes of the book that is an underlying force throughout is the nature of Chaos and the Human relationship with it, how we fight it to keep our world in order, and how our own actions and "junk" like in the pictures in fact push us into worse chaos thn nature could create without human interference.

PKD was very much commenting on what you see above in this seminal work.

great book that definitely applies tot his case. Phillip K. Dick is an excellent writter.

[rhys]

Hmm. I had an open-plan filing system in my home in the UK but it was never as bad as that. Honestly I would never ever have allowed it to get that bad.

Looking at the pictures I'd say they belong to low-class tennants - possibly council house occupants?

[S7000]

I've seen worse...Much worse, and that's from my dad's cousin. He was living so poorly he took his life last year. No one knew what was worse, the smell of his house, or the smell of his decomposing body when it was found.

[DavidW]

This saddens me tremendously - and makes me realise how fortunate I am. There's clear signs of health problems there; my own health problems make me realise the significance of the green Simpla box (bottom left, second shot). Urine soaked sheets don't entirely surprise me - at least one person in the house has some kind of bladder problem.

I suspect, too, there's other health problems around - people that just don't know what to do and where to start. Few, if any, would choose to live this way - but people will live this way if they have no other option.


I hope that those living here find proper, compassionate help to deal with whatever issues they have - and that they find the significant courage it will take to acknowledge they have a problem and accept the help they need. Sadly, I realise that all these things won't come easily.

If it wasn't for those who have helped and supported me when I've been ill, that could be the situation I'm in. Thank goodness, my mental health has always been OK, and my problems are purely in the physical domain - but I know how easily any of us could land up like that, even if it's uncomfortable for us to admit it.

To the OP - however hard you find it, please do your best for those in this house. You didn't share the nature of your work, which I guess may be some sort of caring role. I suspect that the occupants of this house are difficult to deal with - but they deserve compassion, understanding and respect, too.



David

(taking time off from proof reading a major piece of work on equalities and diversity, which is reminding me how important it is to respect everyone, and value them for who they are)

[Cybnew]

I want to let my dorm room get like that :)

[asysin2leads]

Being in the fire/ems biz, I've seen a lot of crap. We had a patient who was bed-ridden. He was only about 35-ish. We got called there because he was having trouble breathing. When we got there, the door was locked so he told us to break it in. We did and was faced with the most horrendous stench I've ever faced.....and I used to work with the coroner. He would take off his Depends and just throw them on the floor. Including when he would crap himself. We had to use our SCBA's (air tanks) in order to get him out. It was that disgusting. There was rotten food all over the floor. What I don't get is how did he get his food and why didn't someone report the conditions. They ended up tearing down his house because of the mold and decay of the interior.