‘Hoarders’ Organizer Dorothy Breininger on Decluttering Lives & Season 15 Dramas

It’s a new year and new episodes of Hoarders. The long-running A&E series is entering Season 15 with organizational experts and clinical psychologists helping more individuals come from beneath the weight of their belongings. And this season there is something new happening that fans are sure to love. As usual, each episode focuses on someone under dire circumstances. Through the support of loved ones and the Hoarders pros, they find the light of hope for a brighter future after they are given a hand in cleaning their homes.

Dorothy Breininger has been there since the Emmy-nominated and Critics Choice Television Award-winning show’s inception. For “The Organizer,” every case brings its own set of challenges to overcome. During the premiere, she teams with Dr. David Tolin to assist a hard-working midwife named Terri. Code Enforcement is concerned about the safety of Terri’s home after they’ve successfully stopped a fire from consuming the property. Safety concerns have forced her hand to make changes or risk losing her house due to it being deemed a hazard.

Here Breininger previews what’s to come and shares some tips for those who find themselves with a lot of new stuff from the holidays.

Going into season 15, how do you look back on your history with the series? 

Dorothy Breininger: I did the pilot. I did the training before the pilot. It really started for me back in 2003 when I was simply put in a major newspaper here in Los Angeles and wound up on the Today Show for helping one hoarder, which I did gratis. Then I got called by the Hoarders show. Since then, it hasn’t been just Los Angeles. It’s not just in the United States that has changed but the entire world. I travel to Japan, Italy, and Australia and what do I talk about? Hoarding. This television show is something people will not turn their backs on. Fans love this show. They are devoted to it, and everyone is learning from it. I don’t just mean people who have everyday jobs. I’m talking about lawyers, conservators, and judges, it totally impacts how they do their jobs. So many have been impacted and moved by it.

Can you share a recent story that was particularly a challenge? 

Tim in Texas comes to mind from an upcoming episode. This gentleman had over a hundred cars outside. And the whole inside of his house was filled with car parts to support the outside. He was married and in a relationship where they loved each other, but she had to leave. One thing I’ve noticed is that it’s younger and younger that are hoarding. The stories are becoming deeper. There is so much more to solve.

Even though I’m essentially there to clear up the clutter, I can’t help but just look at what their goals and dreams are every time I do an episode. I’m stepping into the person who hoards and tries to understand. I ask them, “What would you do with your life if all this was gone?” They are baffled at the question. These types of questions are being brought to them because they’ve been guarded so much with relationships and talking about how the hoard is keeping them from living a fulfilled life.

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What can you say stands out this season? 

We’re having special episodes that are being integrated into regular seasons. It’s Hoarders, where are they now? I know this is what fans want. They always want to know where people are after. One is a follow-up from just a year and a half later. Another is 13 years since the last time they were on. The first meeting is me giving them a tour of their home as we reveal it. With these follow-up cases, they are giving me the tour. They are telling me how it is. In some cases it’s magical and others it’s very sad. It’s a great part of this kind of special episodes that are coming.

Often times it seems things just build up because schedules are so busy and people don’t realize they are hoarding until it’s too late. In the premiere episode with Terri, it seems she is so busy taking care of others rather than worrying about herself. 

I got to know her and what she wanted. Terri had so much trauma coming up. It was of my opinion she became a workaholic to fend off that trauma. When you’re a workaholic there is no time to get to the house, let alone your own selfcare. So when I started asking what her goals and dreams were, that’s something that hit the most people. We want to clear the clutter out of our lives so we can either sell a house or go back to school or enter a relationship. I think most people can really relate to the dilemma of, “I have to clean this up, so I can do XYZ.”

Has your method or approach changed or evolved over the years? 

There have been a few things. As far as the logistical stuff, I draw schematics. When I see the house, I don’t have much time at all to put together a plan. So drawing out a schematic for each of the rooms, measurements, how high the hoard is, what we can fit through a door, I do a lot of big posters now. There is usually this morning meeting where I’ve brought in tools now to demonstrate what it is we are going to do so the family can see it visually. It’s a map, chart, or two columns with big checkmarks or a display of something. In Terri’s case, you will see a huge change in how I do the morning meeting. It’s transformational so she can truly see where she wants to go in life.

This time of year we all got a bunch of new things in our homes from the holidays. What do you recommend to reduce clutter and prevent hoards from forming? 

First of all, what I’ll mention is January is called Get Organized Month. People can go to the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. You can find an organizer anywhere. You just put in a zip code, but you have to pay for that. If you’re trying to do it by yourself and have all these gifts come in during the holidays, I like to use the one-in, one-out rule. If you’re getting a new Scrabble game that came in, try to let go of the old one. If a new pair of black jeans comes in, try to take a pair out. Then at least you make it even year-to-year.

If you want to truly declutter, then you want to set time aside. Have an accountability partner and say, “I will do my closet for 10 minutes.” You can do a 10-minute sweep of t-shirts for example and try on t-shirts and then let certain ones go. So you can go through your entire closet in 10-minute segments. The same for another space like the kitchen.

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How often do you stay in touch with those you help? 

Since I started, I would say I still am connected to about 75 percent of the people I work with. Yes, I have hoarders as friends. These folks are accomplished people and something happened in life. You take a week out of your life to be with them and see what goes on. They are eager to call me and tell me what is happening in their lives. I love hearing that. It means the show is working and people are watching and lives are changing

Hoarders premiere, January 8, 8/7c A&E