Extreme Clutter & Hoarding Behavior | Organized At Last!

Extreme Clutter & Hoarding Behavior Resources

Assessment Tools

Developed by Dr. Catherine Roster of the University of New Mexico, in collaboration with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization® (ICD®), this tool explores how clutter affects four important areas of life. This self-assessment tool doesn’t simply address how much clutter we have but more importantly, how the clutter affects one’s experience of everyday life. The questionnaire considers four primary areas: - Livability and functionality of the living space - One’s emotional well-being related to their living environment - One’s social and family relationships regarding their home environment - Financial implications due to the accumulation of items in the home https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-06-12-CQLS_EN_C.pdf

Pathways to a Healthy and Safe Home

Created by the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force, Pathways to a Healthy and Safe Home offers 8 benchmarks as a starting point for assessing home health and safety. This easy-to-use tool helps individuals and service providers identify key safety issues and areas requiring immediate attention to ensure a healthy, safe living environment.

HOMES Assessment Scale

HOMES Assessment Scale is an initial and brief assessment tool used in determine the nature, parameters, and risks due to the hoarding problem in the home. It is a multi-disciplinary assessment tool providing structural measures through which the level of risk in a hoarded environment can be identified and a plan can be developed to address action needed, both immediate and long term to ensure the safety of the occupant(s) and the building. HOMES looks at the effects of clutter/hoarding on Health, Obstacles, Mental Health, Endangerment and Structure in the setting.

Clutter Image Rating Scale

The Clutter Image Rating Scale uses images to assess clutter in common rooms of the home on a scale from 1 (least cluttered) to 9 (most cluttered). Individuals compare their rooms with reference images to identify their clutter level. When used with a support person, the scale helps establish a shared understanding of the clutter, identify a starting point, and develop a plan with goals and milestones.

Activities of Daily Living

Activities of Daily Living assess the degree of difficulty one experiences when doing simple activities associated with everyday tasks due to the accumulation of clutter and hoarding issues.

Home Environment Index

Home Environment Index is a simple, straight forward tool that identifies the presence of any sanitation issues in the home that need to be address.