I am not a doctor.

The key here will be in determining if your grandmother has what might become a new diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) called hoarding disorder or if she has another OCD, OCPD type of mental illness or even dementia or schizophrenia where one of the symptoms of that illness is the compulsion to not throw away anything... or if she is just fine and likes to have and keep all of her stuff.

Researchers are still working on determining if hoarding disorder can exist within a human mind in the absence of other mental illnesses like OCD, OCPD, schizophrenia, dementia, or even Prader-Willi syndrome etc because as it is described right now compulsive hoarding is considered a symptom of another mental illness and not a mental illness in itself.

~quote
The DSM-5 Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Sub-Work Group of the Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum, Posttraumatic, and Dissociative Disorders Work Group is proposing the creation of a new diagnosis in DSM-5 named “hoarding disorder.” This proposed diagnosis would apply to hoarding that occurs in the absence of, or independently from, other organic or mental disorders.
~endquote

Hoarding in general is considered difficult to treat.
I wish you and your family the best in finding a resolution.

Hoarding is a type of behavior. But 15% of people who have OCD report compulsive hoarding. It usually begins at childhood but no one realized till adulthood. People who hoard often have relatives who also engage in compulsive hoarding.

Yes it is. I have read that hoarding is a form of depression and also caused by a lack of self-esteem. As people put the value of the objects they own as their own personal net worth. This is why it is so hard for them to seperate themselves from the objects. I think you could reinforce to her what an important person she is and how she is needed by the family. Then you have to sit her down and tell her you are going to clean up and let her know that nothing there in the house is as important as she is. If it is a depression related problem then maybe she needs to see a Doctor for a prescription as there are so many meds now for depression.

I answered a similar question before:
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/what-causes-someone-become-a-hoarder
and judging by what my refrigerator currently looks like:
http://www.cooking-questions.com/how-long-is-too-long-to-keep-refrigerated-left-overs
maybe you might label me a hoarder too.

I confess that to eat at my kitchen table, you would have to clear a space off. Sometimes I don't even bother doing that, and I put the food on top of the mail or whatever. I attribute this to just being lazy and being too distracted to make the decision to save or throw away. Right now, the kitchen table is covered with junk but I rather answer this question, rather than clear it off.

I hoard because I like to have stuff readily at hand for all the ongoing projects I like to do. The only problem is that it is getting to the point where I cannot find what I need, when I need it. Sometimes, it is easier to just go to the store to buy something, rather than trying to find it here, even though I know I have it.

One of the pleasures of hoarding is that you do forget what you have, and so it is always a marvel to open up a box that you have not opened up for a while and rediscover what you have.

Another advantage of the hoarding mentality occurs when my wife and I go traveling. Since I have the propensity to save everything, in about a weeks time in a new location, I have already collected enough stuff in the hotel room to almost start my life over again. I usually save the left overs from our meals out, and then save the plastic containers the food was packed in. Then my thinking is that all I need to do is upgrade what I have. The first step would be to buy a nice dish, and then maybe some nice utensils, etc. It is quite amusing, but I do feel more comfortable as I accumulate stuff. Of course, most of it has to be thrown out when we check out, but I save just enough food and utensils for the flight home, since they no longer serve meals on flights anymore, unless you fly first class.

Rather than pay for therapy, why don't you offer the same amount that you would have paid the therapist, and pay her to throw stuff away? This strategy would actually work for me. However, no one has made that offer to me yet.

As a child, I am wondering what you thought when you went to your grandmother's place? I suspect some of your ideas regarding orderliness have changed as you grew up so now, as an adult, you react with more distress.

I notice that people who have lived through the Great Depression tend to be hoarders. I actually love going to their homes to see what they have.

duenhsiyen

People who stockpile stuff in their homes may have more to deal with than a cluttered home. Hoarding can actually become a mental condition associated with anxiety. I would start feeling quite overwhelmed to be honest!

The roots of this problem go back to when she was toilet trained. She was taught to keep her s**t and not let it go. I don’t see how it has anything to do with self-esteem. She was trying to please someone and it became a habit.

Let there be no hoarders left behind!

It definitely is. There is a difference between collecting and hoarding. People who enjoy collecting specific items which give them pleasure, or because they are rare and may become valuable, or because it reminds them of their youth, are in their right mind. Even so, when it begins affecting their budget and their priorities get mixed up, they have become obsessed.
When someone is gathering useless junk without purpose, they surely have a mental disorder. When the hoarding has no purpose, that is it.

Hoarders, like many people with mental disorders, have a faulty way of thinking and often try to justify their behavior. There is a show called “Animal Hoarders” and there was a lady on there who hoarded dogs. This woman received a check from the government every month and would spend it on the animals; every month she would call a member of the family to help her with things like groceries because she went broke buying her pets toys and food. She claimed to love the animals but yet she never took them out for walks. She let them play and poop in the house while she walked around with a long handled dust pan scooping up the waste. Now, everyone who is thinking straight knows that a person who really loves their pet will take it to the vet when necessary, not let it die and leave it in the house under a bunch of stuff. A responsible pet owner will let the animal outside for fresh air, not have it playing on a dirty, urine soaked carpet.

People, like your grandmother, hoard all sorts of things. What they share in common is that they are typically going through something on an emotional level and deal with the issue by keeping things around them because they see sentimental value in it. I first noticed my mother having a hard time throwing things away after the death of my grandmother. Hoarding runs in my family but fortunately I find it so ridiculous I am the opposite of the women in my family.

As far as options go, you may cause a bit of resentment if you or other family members try to clean her house for her. The mayoclinic.com site has a brief article that explains the disorder and suggests seeking a mental health professional and possibly the local authorities. The homes of many hoarders turn out to be health and fire hazards. I don’t know where you live but try searching for a professional organizer or someone trained in Chronic Disorganization. I’ve added the website of a company that conducts counseling over the computer if you don’t find anyone locally.