Hoarders: Jo's Collectibles Hoard Is Worth LOTS of Money — A&E

[00:00:00] Speaker ?: . [00:00:22] Jo: My name is Jo. I'm 72 years old. And I am retired. I see myself as a collector. My interest in collecting didn't start until after I married. Every time Edward would get a bonus, we would buy an antique. And that was the beginning of collecting. I like my glassware. I love the blue and white. My mother told me that her father was a clockmaker. So maybe that's where I got my love of clocks. [00:01:09] Speaker 2: I met Jo's husband for 49 years. I was 25 years old when I moved in that house and bought it. That house is part of me. It's part of Jo. [00:01:28] Jo: The house was not always like this. When the kids were growing up, we had no problems. [00:01:38] Sharon: I'm Sharon, and I'm 52 years old, and Jo is my mom. When we were growing up, she-- she was very much, to me, in control of it. Well, it's quite different than it is now. [00:01:55] Speaker 2: Jo's always collected. When we first got married, we didn't have a lot. And we had a lot of bare walls, so the collecting didn't bother me. But as time went on, it didn't stop. The collecting got worse, and it wasn't collecting good things. For that time, it was just not throwing anything away. Not even a bottle cap or a magazine. It just all stayed. Nothing was thrown away. [00:02:21] Jo: It accelerated mostly after the kids left home. I guess you'd call that empty nest syndrome. I started going to junk stores, I call them. It just escalated to where everything I bought, I wanted to keep. [00:02:52] Karen: I'm Karen, I'm 52, and Jo is my mother. The part that really has bothered me is just how it has affected them. You know, that it makes them both seem so miserable. [00:03:08] Speaker 2: You can't eat off the table because the table was full, it was never cleaned off. All of my space was taken out, so I didn't have nothing left. I feel like I've been robbed in my retirement, I really do. [00:03:31] Geraldine Thomas: My name is Geraldine Thomas, I'm a certified professional organizer specializing in chronic disorganization. I think it would be best if you guys worked together as a family on that porch. And the goal is really to clear away as much as we can, but don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable or unhappy or whatever. Easy enough? Easy enough. [00:04:01] Jo: Today is the day that I have to make all my decisions. I know it's serious business. Right now, I'm extremely anxious. [00:04:12] Geraldine Thomas: Jo is taking a huge leap of faith here, trusting us. [00:04:16] Karen: I told her the other day that you can't be as miserable as she is and say that those things are what make you happy, because truly the happiness comes from the love in your life. I love woodworking. [00:04:43] Speaker 2: I built me a shop in the backyard, and before I knew it little by little, things started moving in there. [00:04:50] Jo: Most of this is, like I said, stuff that I piled up. [00:04:54] Speaker 2: Eventually, she's taking all of it over except for one corner. Jo's not doing too well today. After all the things that happened yesterday, it caught up with her last night. [00:05:19] Jo: I don't think I need to be here right now. [00:05:22] Sharon: My mom seemed to be very upset because of things that she thinks we've thrown away. She thinks everything's gone that she wanted to keep. I can guarantee you we've not thrown any dishes away or donated any. [00:05:37] Karen: Good morning. Good morning. [00:05:39] Geraldine Thomas: I heard you're having a rough morning. A rough night. [00:05:42] Jo: OK. To go along with the morning. I want to hear what's wrong. My mind is in a turmoil. OK. All I could do is lay there and think I had this, and I had that, and I had that, but I haven't seen it. [00:05:59] Dr. William B. Lawson: I'm Dr. William B. Lawson. I'm Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at Howard University. This is a condition which has given her a sense of control, a sense of stability, and she indeed does have a strong compulsion in terms of maintaining and keeping what she has. [00:06:16] Jo: These are my possessions. OK. All right. [00:06:20] Speaker ?: Trash? No. [00:06:22] Jo: It's sellable. Are you sure? Yes. People buy mason jars with zinc lead. Trash. Trash. Trash. Trash. Trash. What is it? [00:06:34] Speaker ?: It's a possum that's alive. [00:06:35] Jo: He's in there? [00:06:36] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:06:37] Jo: Holy. Get that possum. If you pick him up, pick him up by the tail and keep it shaking. [00:06:42] Speaker ?: Yeah. Perfect. Seriously. All right. I'm going to go around behind me. Start throwing, throwing. It's so hot. [00:06:47] Jo: There you go. [00:06:48] Speaker ?: Yeah. There you go. [00:06:49] Jo: There you go. There you go. There you go. I always had evidence that this is the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:06:55] Speaker 7: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:00] Speaker ?: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:09] Speaker 7: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:11] Speaker ?: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:20] Jo: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:29] Speaker ?: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:39] Speaker 7: It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:40] Jo: It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:41] Speaker 7: It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:42] Jo: It's the one that's going to be. [00:07:43] Speaker 7: It's the one that's going to be. It's the one that's going to be. the other day, and it should auction over $100. Any of your crystal bowls here, those are very sellable. Oh, this is Fire King mixing bowls, right? Mm-hmm. I found a set of those selling for $250, $260. Oh, my gosh. Really? [00:08:02] Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. She has never sold anything. Never. And she used to tell me all the time, well, this is worth money. I said, yes, Joe, but it's not worth money to me and to the monies in the bank. [00:08:16] Geraldine Thomas: Does it make you feel good thinking you're going to earn some money on these things? [00:08:20] Jo: In a way, and in a way, it's a little heartbreaking. And why is that? [00:08:28] Geraldine Thomas: Bittersweet. [00:08:29] Jo: Bittersweet. [00:08:30] Geraldine Thomas: OK. [00:08:31] Jo: Yeah. Just the thought that I won't have it no more. Uh-huh. That, to be honest with you, I won't have it no more. [00:08:38] Geraldine Thomas: It's sort of like you're describing how you-- like losing a friend. [00:08:42] Jo: Well, maybe that is right. I have a collection of mugs from England. [00:08:53] Speaker 7: Well, now, some of the beer mugs that I see up there on the wall are going to be average pieces. But it looks like you have some other pieces up there that would be very collectible to someone and should sell quite high. Mm-hmm. Just walking around the house, I would estimate probably $10,000 to $20,000 worth of sellable collectibles. [00:09:15] Geraldine Thomas: This is interesting from the standpoint that Joe is a hoarder, but she truly has collectibles. So in most hoarding cases, the things that people hoard are absolutely of no value to someone else. Joe's things are very valuable. I showed Bob your cast iron doorstops, and I think he should tell you what they're worth. [00:09:38] Speaker 7: The top accepting doorstop closing price, $1,690 for a duck decoy doorstop. So most of these doorstops that you've collected are extremely expensive. Isn't that exciting? [00:09:52] Geraldine Thomas: It's exciting. I'm not sure what motivates Joe. It's not monetary. It's not more space in her home. I'm not sure what we can use to motivate her. [00:10:22] Speaker ?: It's so good. Unbelievable. I have a shop again. Spent a lot of time out here at one time. [00:10:28] Speaker 2: I didn't think I'd ever be able to use it again. It makes me feel good. Thank you, thank you. I'm happy. I'm happy for me too. They did good! [00:10:52] Jo: I will try my best never to do that again. [00:11:11] Geraldine Thomas: I think the best plan for Joe would be for her and Edward to seek some therapy together, and then Joe to get therapy on her own. [00:11:21] Dr. William B. Lawson: This is not something that's going to go away immediately. I think we're going to require ongoing counseling, psychotherapy, and perhaps medication. [00:11:32] Geraldine Thomas: I came here extremely optimistic, but she has already started talking about going shopping but not buying things. That's not a good sign. I'm not optimistic about her progress. [00:11:51] Speaker ?: I'll see you next time. I'll see you next time. I'll see you next time.