About this episode
What can a year of decluttering a hoarder house teach us about letting go? Author Eileen Stukane shares her journey from horror to healing, plus practical tips for helping loved ones and releasing your own grip on stuff.
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RESOURCES
?????????????????????Get all the links and resources at wannabeclutterfree.com/294????
Connect with Eileen Stukane:
Eileen's Website???
????????????????????????Follow Deanna Yates, the host of Wannabe Clutter Free on:
?????????????????????Instagram?????????????????????
?????????????????????Website?????????????????????
?????????????????????Get my children's book: Lenora and Her Super Duper Messy Room??????????
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What would you do if you inherited a home from a family member, a home you'd visited many times and remembered as warm and elegant, only to open the door and find it had become a floor-to-ceiling hoarder house?
In this episode, host Deanna Yates talks with author and journalist Eileen Stukane about her memoir, The House That Held Everything. When Eileen and her sister inherited their cousin's childhood home after his death, they were shocked to discover rooms so packed with stuff they could barely get through the front door.
What followed was a year-long journey of clearing out the house and uncovering family secrets that had been buried for decades.
With an estimated 19 million Americans affected by hoarding, this episode offers hope, understanding, and practical wisdom for anyone who knows someone struggling with this issue or recognizes tendencies in themselves.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How possessions become "mini autobiographies" that reveal sides of people you never knew
The difference between collecting and hoarding, and warning signs to watch for
A powerful tip for letting go: create a photo album "museum" of items you can't keep
How to help a loved one who hoards using trust-building and the harm reduction approach
Why checking in on people matters, even when they say "don't come over"
Time Stamps:
00:00 Introduction & Welcome
01:52 Meet Eileen Stukane: From Magazine Editor to Memoir Author
04:18 Inheriting the House: The Shocking Discovery
06:20 From Repulsion to Compassion: Why Eileen Wrote the Book
09:15 Possessions as Mini Autobiographies
14:08 Uncovering Family Secrets
18:15 Disco
