JUDY: My name is Judy.
I'm a retired hospice care nurse.
I have a lot of clothes and stuff all over the place,
lots of papers and books and magazines, some craft things,
boxes of different things--
God only knows what.
It gets to a point like, where in the name of heaven
do I start?
I'm Linda.
I'm Judy's friend and she's currently living with me.
And I just couldn't see letting my friend stay in that house
when she was weak and ill.
I wouldn't have survived in that house.
I don't know where I would have gone or what I would have done.
I am Erika, and Judy is currently
living at my mother's house.
Hi, Judy.
Hi, Linda.
How you doing?
Judy's been at my home for nine months,
and I certainly didn't anticipate this length of time.
ERIKA: My mom does just about anything Judy needs done--
does her laundry, does all the cooking
and everything every day.
Judy's taking advantage.
LINDA: I have things on every floor of my house
and in my garage that belong to her.
And I don't want it anymore.
She needs to leave and all of her things need to leave.
[music playing]
My name is Molly.
I'm 30 years old and Judith is my mother.
I don't really feel like she deserves to be called mom,
because growing up, she didn't really
treat me like a daughter.
I'm very appreciative to Linda for taking her in.
I know that I wouldn't be able to take her on,
especially with her behaviors.
I grew up in squalor, so I don't need that in my life.
JUDY: I feel like I've lost her completely.
I really do.
She won't let me hug her.
She won't let me kiss her.
If I say something to her, like I love you,
she just brushes it off like nothing.
[music playing]
Good morning, everybody.
ALL: Good morning.
I'm Jerilyn Thomas.
I'm a certified professional organizer specializing
in chronic disorganization.
Judy, are you ready?
Yes.
JERILYN: OK, good.
So you're really committed to this, to making a change.
Yes.
And I hope you take this opportunity with all this help
and all the support to actually make it come true,
that you can be in your own home.
But not only are we trying to get your house back,
we're trying to get your life back.
Right.
When can we get started?
Right now.
All right, let's go.
[music playing]
MARK: Judy's willingness to let go of a lot of items
without seeing them is part of her denial system.
For Judy to actually see every item
is overwhelming and difficult for her.
MOLLY: I was thoroughly amazed at how bad things had gotten,
and I don't know that she was really truthful over the years.
But with all the feces and filth, it was just mindblowing.
JERILYN: Do you know how it got like this?
I can't talk right now because I'm going to start to cry.
JERILYN: It's OK if you cry, Judy.
I gotta sit down.
OK, have a seat.
I would like to see her more engaged in this process.
She seems to be checking out a lot.
There's a lot to be said for having you roll up your sleeves
and participate some, because I have to have
you sort of buy into this.
If we just come and do it for you,
it's really not helpful for you in the long run.
Well, I don't think I'm ready to go in there right now.
This is an issue where I need to take a short nap.
So you're telling me that you're
not going to go in right now?
Not right now.
JERILYN: You're going to take a nap?
Right.
Where are you going to nap?
JUDY: Just right here.
I could close my eyes any place.
It's very common when working with hoarders
that they try to distract me and take
me off-task or procrastinate.
But I have to say, this is the very first time I have ever
had a hoarder take a nap on me.
[music playing]
JERILYN: All right, so your chair's here.
It's a little bit of a precarious walk
you're going to be doing.
Judy has this great opportunity today.
Ah.
And she was asked to participate,
and she fails to do anything.
LINDA: Judy, I do not understand how
you could have lived like this.
This is garbage.
JUDY: What do you want me to say right at this point?
LINDA: I don't know.
I am angry.
I am-- I've just had it.
Look what you have done to yourself.
This is way beyond any reality I have ever seen.
And I feel like you have lied to yourself
and you're even lying to me.
And I hope you can see it.
I have piles of stuff to clear out of my own house.
And now the reality is, I don't see how you can ever
get back in this house again.
I just don't.
What do you want me to do right at this point?
I want you to realize what this is.
JERILYN: I'm hearing a lot of yelling.
Do I-- what's wrong?
What-- what's going on?
Do you want me to--
Mark?
MARK: Yep?
What's wrong, Judy?
That wasn't easy.
She just yelled at me.
MARK: Well, this is the first time she saw this.
Linda needed to tell Judy directly
about the impact of her hoard.
Otherwise, she would still sit there thinking
that's of no consequence.
So Linda's expression of anger to Judy
was not only necessary, but long overdue.
Did you have a few things you wanted
to share with your mother?
MOLLY: I just kind of wonder what I'm doing here.
I see you're happy having everybody clean
this up for you, but I don't really see
you wanting to get involved.
I physically can't get involved right now.
I can't barely walk.
MOLLY: You sitting here brings me back to growing up
and you sitting there and wanting me to do everything.
Me sitting there and wanting you to clean?
On the couch, yes.
MARK: Judy's interaction with Molly
was indicative of their relationship
for the past 25 years.
Right now, all these old memories-- coming up,
which makes it very difficult. Is
your intention to stay the day, Molly,
or do you feel you need to leave?
I can stay.
OK.
See how things go.
[music playing]
MOLLY: I'm taking pictures of his uncles as children.
JUDY: No, I don't want those going now.
MOLLY: You don't want those going now?
JUDY: No, I don't.
I don't know why you'd want the originals of dad's family,
other than knowing that I want them
and you don't want me to have them.
JUDY: Oh, did you just have to say that?
Did you just have to say that?
(MOCKING TONE) Did you just have to say that?
What?
I'm not stupid.
So yeah, she said I can't take any of my father's photos.
She can have them if she really wants
them to sit and rot in a box.
It's pretty much hopeless and I really want to avoid
any more time with Judy.
[music playing]
JUDY: That ship there was your father's, that little ship.
Would you like that?
If you would--
- Sure. - --that would mean a lot.
JUDY: Sure. MOLLY: Thank you very much.
JUDY: You're very welcome.
Appreciate it.
JUDY: And I know you'd really have-- you'd really like that.
You could put next to his urn.
Absolutely.
It'll look beautiful.
Well, thank you.
That's a little bit of a change from some
of the behavior today.
Well, honey, if I see something that I really think
would be special to you--
Yeah, this would definitely-- if anything.
Thank you.
JUDY: You're welcome.
Well, that went well.
Yeah, it did.
I'm glad.
Good.
[music playing]
JERILYN: You're not letting anything go
out of this house except trash.
You just keep putting off the process
of going through things.
You're OK if somebody is doing that for you.
And I don't really like that, either.
But I am just--
I know this has to be done.
And why does it have to be done?
JUDY: Because my house was way out of control,
and I need to get back in my house.
And why are we here?
To get my stuff out of my house.
And to help you.
JUDY: Yes.
Let's just do it.
JERILYN: OK, let's do it.
JUDY: Go, keep, go.
This can go.
Go, go, go.
This can go.
Go, go, go.
Judy, you did really well.
In total, 22 trucks were filled to the brim with debris
from this home.
We were able to clean the kitchen, the living room,
the dining room, a bedroom.
Unfortunately, the plumbing's not working,
the bathroom is uninhabitable, and
the kitchen is nonfunctioning.
There's a lot of work that needs to be done to this house.
MARK: It's really going to be during the aftercare process
that, hopefully, Judy will learn the skills that are necessary.
Anything you want to tell your daughter right now?
Look at her.
I'm very sorry.
MOLLY: It's OK.
Maybe there is a road to healing at some point.
MARK: Yes.