Useful questions to ask someone you suspect is excessively saving or collecting.
Nov 10
3 min read
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Most people who have challenges with excessive acquiring and saving will be embarrassed about their surroundings so these questions should be asked sensitively. These could include:
Your Health & Wellbeing
• When was the last time you contacted your GP about your health and wellbeing?
• Do you have any family members, friends or professionals that help support you?
• Is there anyone else living in or regularly attending the property? Are they a child or do they have care and support needs?
• Do you attend any community, voluntary, charities or faith groups?
• How do you keep yourself clean? Can I see your bathroom? Are you able to use your bathroom and use the toilet, ok? Have a wash, bath, shower?
• Where do you sleep? Are you able to change your bed linen regularly? When did you last change them?
• Does anyone make you feel afraid or threaten you?
• Can you prepare food, cook, and wash up in your kitchen?
• Do you smoke?
• How do you keep yourself warm at night? Have you got extra covers to put on your bed if you are cold?
• What do you do with your dirty washing?
• How do you manage to keep yourself warm, especially in winter?
• Do you struggle with discarding things or to what extent do you have difficulty discarding (or recycling, selling, giving away) ordinary things that other people would get rid of?
Your Home
• How do you get in and out of your property, do you feel safe living here?
• Have you ever had an accident, slipped, tripped up or fallen? How did it happen?
• How have you made your home safer to prevent this from happening again?
• How do you move safely around your home (where the floor is uneven or covered, or there are exposed wires, damp, rot, or other hazards)?
• Has a fire ever started by accident?
• Do you have smoke alarms in your property, and do they work?
• How do you get hot water, lighting, heating in here? Do these services work properly? Have they ever been tested?
• Do you ever use candles or an open flame for heat and light, or cook with camping gas?
• When did you last go out in your garden? Do you feel safe to go out there?
• Are you worried about other people getting into your garden to try and break in? Has this ever happened?
• Are you worried about mice, rats or foxes, or other pests? Do you leave food out for them?
• Have you ever seen mice or rats in your home? Have they eaten any of your food? Or got upstairs and are nesting anywhere?
• Do you use your fridge? Can I have look in it? How do you keep things cold in the hot weather?
• Can you show me where you sleep and let me see your upstairs rooms? Are the stairs safe to walk up? (If there are any)
• Are there any broken windows in your home? Any repairs that need to be done?
• Because of the number of possessions you have, do you find it difficult to use some of your rooms? If so which ones?
• Is there any anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood and has this ever affected you?
Further Information