I took care of two cats one time, for a couple that lived three doors down from us. They were away for a week. They told me that the cats needed food and water on,y every other day. So, I went over there two days later . . . and was immediately revolted by what I saw. They had dirty dishes on the dining room table and wasted food in the sink (it couldn't fit in the garbage). One of the cats had coughed up something or other, and there was a trail of ants that went to and from the vomit. The general mess in the place made me wonder just how much effort they put into general cleanliness (other than personal hygiene, and I really didn't want to think about that). When I returned home, I told my wife that I was thankful and glad that my wife is a stickler for cleanliness (which I gladly agreed to before this, and after!). I took her over there the next time I had to feed the cats, and she had the same reaction that I did. When the couple (unmarried, BTW) moved to Toronto for a job that the male half was taking, the townhouse had to have a five-digit amount of money to repair things that the couple had let go (the father of the male half actually owned the place). The couple that owns it now is still trying to repair things in the place.
Do we have a 'shaking head' emoticon?
I've seen something similar before.
A family that lived about a mile down the road from us (where I lived, a mile isn't that far for a neighbor) who lived like one of those things you see on that hoarding show. And I mean literally.
We used to talk to them quite frequently, they were some of the nicest folks you could ever hope to meet too. The old fellow and his boys would help us out sometimes bailing hay or whatever needed more hands, and we would help them out from time to time with things like vehicle repairs, etc.
I had to go to their house one time, was helping the old fellow with his tractor and he asked me to come inside for some lemonade and a rest after some time.
I walked in and I simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. It wasn't necessarily filth, it was clothes... lots of old clothes in piles that went nearly to the ceiling. The house was a maze of paths to and from the kitchen, bathroom etc. I can only imagine the vermin living in those piles after having been that way for God only knows how long.
I mean, even I have trouble throwing some things away and my wife calls me a hoarder... with me it's tech gear... old computers, network gear, etc. But even I go through the junk pile in the basement about once a year and thin it out. After what I saw in that house though, my habit of collecting stuff "i might need some day" seems petty.
