Last Updated on November 4, 2021 by Kravelv
A company whose job is to come to your house and declutter your mess shares some of the most unusual and wonderful stuff that they have found. They were sometimes found in drawer boxes, in cupboards and even on top of tables for everyone to see. Their customers usually are those that are planning to sell their home as a tidy house raises its value. Here is where it gets weird and wacky. What kind of items do these cleaners find along the way?
The company cleaners share that their finds ranging from the funny, to the embarrassing and to the outright dark.
Head cleaner and founder of Cleaners are Us, Juwan Moran shares his experiences and the most memorable moments in his entire career. As a seasoned cleaner, he shares tips as well on how to avoid turning your place into a hoarders’ paradise so you would not have to come to them in the first place.
Juwan points out that during 2018, their company have seen, on average, enough clutter to fill 10 meter deep swimming pools on each house they were called to. This has become a sad trend for homes in America. He revealed some of the most brazen details like how it has become the norm for them to find a box full of sex toys in the most wholesome looking house. It is their job to clear these mess, although, Juwan points out that it always fazes the new ones.
One of surprising homes they cleaned was in a house in a county in Colorado. It was supposed to belong to some elementary school principal. They found drawer boxes full of sex toys. Some of them hanging on the walls and in almost every corner in the house. Along with these are designer female heels as well as designer men wear. Juwan said confusedly, “You could give me a hundred years and I would not be able to find out what happens in this place.”. “The owner told us to pack it all up and clean it cause they were moving in some tropical island somewhere after they sell the house.”, he said.
The real problem really stems from people trying to hold onto their stuff for much longer than they should. Juwan stressed that there is a little hoarder in every one of us. Most people do not realize it yet but for those denying it, there is a box full of trinkets somewhere in your room you know you will never need. “That is how some people control their hoarding”, Juwan explained. It is all well and good if that is the case but Juwan warned that it can get ugly very fast.
Juwan’s company specializes in trying to flip these homes through all the ordeals their owners put them through. After they have done their best, the owners, most of the time, are in disbelief at the amazing job done to their home. Even Juwan feels they surpassed their own expectations sometimes.
The amount of clutter they find in the houses’ drawer boxes alone could fill a few water tanks. Juwan mentioned that it is almost impressive how they can pack so much mess in such a tiny space. The sheer volume of all the clutter inside the house can fill two swimming pools and could cost building one too.
One of the worst houses they have visited had so much clutter that they could not believe that all of that it fit inside the house. The house was filled with cluttered rooms that had walk in closets that led to more clutter. In the end, they need a big truck just to move everything they have found into a storage area.
What bothered Juwan the most though are the least expected homeowner possessions. A box full of severed head dolls, bludgeoned stuffed animals, and other things similar. “You see these things and you just sort of stop for a minute. You get worried about what you are going to find next.” he shared. Luckily for them, they have not yet been asked to clean a murder scene. “We are not that kind of cleaner.” he joked.
Another way it gets worse when cleaning is finding dead animals. It is bad enough to find rotting rats under a pile of sheets. You at least know that you are going to have to get rid of that. What is worse is when the homeowners want to keep those animal carcasses. In 10 years, Juwan had found a jar full of animal eyeballs, ferret heads, a squirrel stuffed with glitter and a mutilated raccoon. Juwan himself worked as an exterminator before opening a company but is adamant that nothing from that job would have prepared him for any of that.
The business is booming according to Juwan. It all began when hit US shows featured hoarders and their lifestyles. This triggered many Americans to evaluate their own houses and see if they fit the tag. “Plenty of Americans are now worried that they are leading into that lifestyle. Not everyone calls us up for cleaning. Sometimes they just want us to take a look at their house and ask us if there is something wrong with them.”.
Juwan’s tip on decluttering the house is really simple. He has what he calls the three threes rule. If you are gone use it for the next three hours, you can keep it on top of a table. If you think you will need it for the next three days, put it in a locker, a freezer, or on drawer boxes. If the next time you will be using it is for the next three months, lock it in the attic and think of these items as your watch list. If they are unused after three months, maybe it is time to throw them away.
It is a good idea to take a step back and try to check if your house needs some tidying up. The stress that comes with a messy house is definitely disruptive.