"It's an unusually warm day in mid-November, and 43-year-old Jo Powell is rolling up her sleeves as she enters a bedroom filled with piles of clothing and bags stuffed to the brim with documents and other paraphernalia. It's hard to walk around without tripping, so Jo is treading carefully. Two small dressers on either side of the bed are submerged under books and tissue paper."
"Jo, the director of Hoarder Clean Up UK, is spending the morning in this semidetached home in a southeast London suburb. Her client, Emily, a pseudonym, is a woman in her mid-30s who asked that her identity be withheld for privacy reasons. Emily has booked Jo for half a day to start clearing her elderly mother's room so that a new bed can be delivered. When Jo arrived, she briefly met the mother downstairs."
Jo Powell specializes in cleaning hoarded homes with a focus on dignity and sensitivity. She carefully navigates cluttered rooms filled with clothing, documents and other items while using gloves and cleaning supplies. Jo works collaboratively with family members to decide what to keep and prioritizes practical tasks such as removing mould and preparing spaces for necessities like a new bed. Clients can feel wary, embarrassed or resistant, and Jo offers reassurance and respect while working quickly and sensitively. Her approach combines practical sanitation, respectful communication and an awareness of the grief and shame behind hoarding.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]