An upcoming episode of A&E TV's "Hoarders" -- a series about people with compulsive hoarding disorders -- will feature a Milwaukee single father of two adopted, special needs kids and the eight local professional organizers who volunteered more than 100 hours to help him get a handle on his home.
Two weeks ago, the crew came to Milwaukee to shoot the episode that will air Monday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m.
Cedarburg’s Richard Taft was one of the professional organizers who volunteered to help unclutter the house. Taft is currently the marketing director for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and will soon serve as the organization’s vice president.
Taft rallied eight professional organizers to help, and within two days, the group donated more than 100 hours.
"Over a two-day period, we went through the entire house, creating usable living spaces, installing storage solutions, sorting clothes and getting rid of the items that they did not need," says Taft.
The owner of the home is a single father living in Milwaukee near the airport with two adopted special needs children.
"Due to the attention that the children needed, he was not able to maintain the home," says Taft. "It had become packed with stuff, including rooms full of clothes, lots of toys and ordinary household items until there were just paths to move around in the home. He takes very good care of the children, but had the compulsion to give them everything that he could, until the house got to the condition that we found it."
The hoarding homeowner makes the final decision on what goes and what stays, and because it is often difficult for "hoarders" to let go of their stuff, a therapist is on site to help. For the Milwaukee project, A&E hired a Chicago-based therapist to support the father.
During the cleanup process, the organizers called 1-800-Got-Junk to haul away six truckloads of stuff. A local carpenter donated his time and materials to build bunk-beds for the children. SecurX provided shredding services for stacks and stacks of papers, and, at the end of the process, The Maid Brigade cleaned the entire house.
"It was really amazing how we transformed the house in two days," says Taft.
Hoarders debuted in August 2009 as the most-watched series premiere in A&E network history among adults age 18-49. The 60-minute episodes profile one or two interventions that last two or three days. Usually the intervention is due to the threat of eviction or the possible removal of a child.
Jenny Rushizky, a professional organizer based in Bay View, volunteered in the unkempt South Side home for 14 hours.
"At times it was a challenge. Mostly because you could see how difficult it was for the client. He was trying so hard to raise his kids and just got overwhelmed," says Rushizky. "The hoarding was pretty bad, but there weren't any animal or food issues as has been seen in previous episodes of the show."
Rushizky opened her business, Mighty Organized, in 2007, and her advice to pack rats is plain and simple.
"Take it slow and focus on one area at a time," says Rushizky. "Never be afraid to ask for help."
The Milwaukee family will receive ongoing support from professionals to keep their house orderly. It has been two weeks since the transformation, and Taft says, so far, the dad is staying on track.
"To have a group of people work together so well with the single goal in mind of helping out this family was really amazing to be a part of," says Taft.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
