I was a kid when I first encountered the home of a hoarder. My mother brought me there because she was dropping off schoolwork to one of her students (a year y

I was a kid when I first encountered the home of a hoarder. My mother brought me there because she was dropping off schoolwork to one of her students (a year younger than me) that lived in the home. I think that was just an excuse, I think she was concerned for the child who lived there. What I remember most vividly was the pile of toilet paper cardboard tubes. The pile was taller than I was, and wider than I was tall. That wasn't even close to the worst, but it stood out because it must have represented decades of hoarding. It takes a long time to use that much toilet paper. That's not simple materialism. That's not loving your motorcycle like somebody loves a dog. It's a serious mental illness that shouldn't be taken lightly or brushed off.