Oprah helps hoarding woman remove 75 tons of garbage from inside her 3,000 sq. foot home

By Becky in Blogs & Internet, Video Clips on Nov 17, 2007 at 2:11 pm

The Oprah Show featured a two part series on the “Secret Lives of Hoarders” this week, and featured two empty-nesters named Sharyn and Marvin. In addition to 75 tons of garbage (that’s 15 industrial sized dumpsters), the 100 member clean up team filled more than 1,800 large crates of items from the home, enough to fill three semi trailers.

Oprah with the 1,800 crates in her studio.

More than 75% of the home’s furniture was destroyed by black mold and other infestations. Along the way, the clean up team found food from 1994 in the basement, dozens of umbrellas, a long forgotten pool table and thousands of gifts Sharyn had purchased but never given away.

Peter Walsh (left), with Sharyn and Marvin.

It took a little more than 8 weeks to complete what was originally scheduled to be a two week project. Organizational Expert Peter Walsh headed the effort, and after all the unwanted belongings were cleared from Marvin and Sharyn’s house, the team rented a gigantic 10,000-square-foot warehouse to hold a rummage sale. The family profited more than $13,000 from the sale, which included more than 3,000 handbags and 3,000 pairs of shoes.

Note – This photo only shows about a quarter of the rummage sale.

Link – with more pictures and video clips from the show, via Oprah.com


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  1. ~Dawn
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

    Wow! That’s just… Wow!
    I have no words… wow!

  2. Britt
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 2:29 pm

    I watched that episode set. Good grief, I’m afraid of turning into this woman. Either way, there were some fabulous tips on how to fix such messes.

  3. Paul
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 3:11 pm

    There is an amazing lack of hoarders in countries like Haiti and Sierra Leone….only in America

  4. Dianne Jones
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 3:43 pm

    I could not believe this woman went on national TV showing the world her mess. Wish they would check back with her in a year to see if she learned her lesson.

  5. Vonskippy
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 4:01 pm

    Too bad it won’t last. Hoarders are mental and without ongoing treatment will soon relapse back to their “normal” practices.

    I’m more amazed that a ginormous rummage sale (including 3000 pairs of shoes and 3000 handbags) only earned them $13000 USD. I’m thinking Porky and her gang skimmed the cream off of that sale.

  6. Alex
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    Compulsive hoarding [wiki] is a disease. This woman needs psychological help, otherwise she’ll just revert back.

    This reminds me of the story of Homer and Langley Collyer, who died buried by the garbage that they’ve accumulated in their home. Part of Neatorama’s 30 Strangest Deaths article (about mid-way down).

  7. Becky
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 4:16 pm

    The team actually did involve a psychiatrist, and they stressed the same thing (that mental help is necessary). they showed several clips with Sharyn and Marvin talking to the guy. Whether the continue with it after the show or not . . . who knows?

    i agree that they should follow up, too, but i think in like six months. the sooner they check in, the less mess they’ll have to clean up.

  8. Dim67
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 4:24 pm

    Dang, now where did I put that Twinky? ;-)

  9. Bob Smith
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 5:08 pm

    These people need a house fire. No kidding. My parents just lost everything in one of the San Diego fires and now feel liberated from their horde or stuff. Being over-insured didn’t hurt either.

  10. kati
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 5:42 pm

    This black mold matches my new outfit perfectly!

    I hope they washed the textiles before they put them out for sale. Eech!

  11. Jess
    Nov 17th, 2007 at 6:30 pm

    Obsessive hoarding is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, which is a form of anxiety disorder.
    One of my inlaws and his wife have it. It is unbelievable the amount of crap they have. And every weekend they go garage saleing for more!

  12. ryan
    Nov 18th, 2007 at 10:07 am

    To think if these people where to ‘horde’ their money into a high yield savings account every time they felt the need to buy something…$13K would be chicken scratch.

  13. Jim
    Nov 19th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

    It wasn’t “GARBAGE” (as you use in your title). It was new items that she had shopped for but never used. A small portion of it had been damaged over time.

  14. Becky
    Nov 19th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    Actually, they did remove 75 tons of trash from the home, in addition to the thousands of pounds of sellable items that went to the rummage sale. According to the information on the site, the couple kept less than 5% of the original “stuff” in the house.

  15. Hayley
    Nov 28th, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    { There is an amazing lack of hoarders in countries like Haiti and Sierra Leone….only in America }

    There are hoarders everywhere in the world not just the US.


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