Day By Day© by Chris Muir.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Clean your house!

I promise to tidy my house at least once a week:

A woman in Shelton, Wash., who was reported missing by her husband, was found dead under piles of clutter in their home, where she suffocated to death, according to police. Authorities found the body of 62-year-old Marie Rose buried under clothes after 10 hours of searching. She reportedly suffered from a condition known as hoarding. Rose's husband believes she fell while looking for the phone in the house this week and suffocated. There were so many piles of items that the man did not realize she was dead in the home. Shelton Police Chief Terry Davenport said the home was so cluttered that police officers' heads touched the ceiling as they climbed over the clutter. And the home was so cluttered that police didn't see the woman until their second search of the home. "This is without a doubt the most cluttered residence I've ever been to," Davenport told KIRO-TV. It was estimated that several tons of debris remained piled up inside the house. Authorities said Rose collected items for 15 years -- and because it went undetected -- it ultimately cost her life. Hoarding is a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder, according to the report.