We've all seen Hoarders. We know that people have the potential to have the weirdest homes.
But we don't have to go into those places. We maintain a safe distance from them. Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky to do so as we are.
The people who have braved these weird homes have stories to tell. We must listen.
u/Tmoses_ asked:
Dear Maids/Cleaners of Reddit, whats the weirdest thing you've seen in someone else's home?
Here were some of their answers.
It's Like A Murder Scene
Not sure if being a junk hauler counts as a "cleaner" but we had about 5 truck teams consisting of the driver and navigator cleaning this woman's house (she was a hoarder) and we found a dead rat underneath mounds of moldy clothes and boxes on an unused bed. He had a ring of walnuts around him and little tufts of what appeared to be a blanket ripped to shreds that he was laying on. The rat of course was dead but he went out like a king. It reminded me of the book and movie The Rats of Nimh.
Desperate Housewives But Like, Real
Work for a residential cleaning company for a few months. Me and one other person were cleaning a fairly wealthy family's home. Ring the door bell two young kids open the door look at us and run off. They knew us as we came to the house once a week. I take the upstairs other guy takes the main level. Hear the female homeowner yelling from her room to come look at something.
I walk into her bedroom find said home owner completely naked. It should be noted that she was mid 30's married and a very good looking fit woman. I immediately turn around and apologize profusely. Homeowner laughs and says it's ok I don't mind I needed you in here. Me confused talking through the door asks how I can help. She asked that I pick out clothes from her dresser and bring them to her (10 feet away I might add.)
(The only reason I didn't run away is that these people always tipped big and every encounter with them was always extremely odd.)
I gathered all her clothes bring them to her. She asks for my help getting dressed. I decline saying that I didn't feel that it was needed nor did I feel comfortable (I'm happily married) in the situation. She once again laughs and proceeds to stand up dress herself, hand me a $100 dollar bill, and go about the rest of the day like nothing happened.
I'm extremely confused, talked to my buddy about what had happened come to find out it had happened to him too. We started to ask other people that worked in the house before if they had experienced the same thing. After talking to a few people one guy said he banged her and when they were done the lady's husband came out of the closet. Turns out he's a major cuck and she just likes to bang. Also, we found out later they had always requested guys to clean and would not allow any of the female cleaners in the house.
Talcum What
I had a summer job as an apartment maintenance worker. My cousin was the head maintenance man so I kinda just got hired to help. Im not that handy. But the office workers called us in one day and asked to accompany them to an apartment unit because the man who lived there was 2 weeks past rent and they weren't able to get into contact with him.
Mind you, this is an upscale building. The apartment we went into was like 3k a month. But we walk in after knocking and immediately notice a white powdery tint over mostly everything in his unit. Like all of the table surfaces and counters, the tv, the furniture, etc.
We looked into one of the rooms and we see hundreds of empty baby power bottles basically filling the whole room. The worst was the bathroom. It was caked over everything. We were all pretty creeped out and ended up leaving. The leasing staff investigated online and turns out it looked like this guy had an extreme baby powder fetish of some sort.
They ended up evicting him and hiring a professional cleaning service to come clean the whole unit. By far the weirdest thing I've ever seen.
How Do People Live Like This
My dad and I have a junk hauling company and one job was the most disgusting jobs I've ever had. it was a chain smoker couple who got evicted. I was expecting is was going to be a small job so we got to this house and it stunk outside so bad I almost barfed multiple times. but when we went in it smelled like the inside of a landfill. But we had no choice so we went in and the fridge was dumped and it had a lot of meat and shattered jars all over the house. We found A lot of hypodermic needles, porn magazines and a sh*t load of cigarettes on the floor when me and my sister were working upstairs my dad went downstairs and these people grabbed a pipe wrench and broke all sewage lines flooding the basement.
Arrrgh, Me Booty
I was house/pet sitting and found a huge piratey looking treasure chest in the client's side yard. Massive wooden trunk, at least as big as a standard car boot, outside partially under a tarp and wrapped up in tape.
No idea what was in it, but I clearly watch way too many crime documentaries because to this day I still wonder if there was a dead body in there.
I'd Rather Die, Honestly
Not a cleaner, but my mom briefly worked for a company that cleaned college dorms for use during the year. Surprisingly, most of the dorms weren't out of this world disgusting, some trash and a couple stains to scrub out, whatever. But one dorm in particular she said had literal human sh*t everywhere; the walls, the doors, the ceiling, EVERYWHERE. Hearts and smiley faces of all shades of brown were smeared into the otherwise crisp white walls. The fecal matter murals drove her over the edge, as she has a strong stomach, but she never worked for a cleaning service again after seeing that dorm.
Daddy Paid For This...Dearly
There was no news story or I would certainly site here... from what I remember the home owner when I was there got the house from her dad. I'm 90% sure that her dad had been missing for years and the police suspected that it was his goop and "remains" in the bathroom. I don't know much more than that because after I gave my statement and the police let my boss know what was going on I left.
Gimme A Break, Gimme A Break
Someone tried to shred Kit Kat wrappers. I now have a habit of manually cleaning the shredder to check for weird stuff.
Likely a kid trying to hide evidence of their candy sneaking habits. I visited my sister a month or two after Halloween, and when we pulled out the sleeper sofa candy wrappers SHOWERED onto the floor. Immediately knew which my nieces it was lol
Popo With A Sock Fetish
Both my mother and sister sometimes clean houses for extra cash on the side.
My mom used to clean a younger (early 30s) cop's apartment. He was unfazed when she accidentally sent his iPad mini through the wash, but got really angry when he found out that she had done them same to his entire collection of crusty socks.
Your Stomach WILL Turn
Go to my first solo job working for the company. Homeowner isn't supposed to be home and they gave me the code to the garage. Walk into the house immediately hear and feel wet carpet. It was urine. Could hear a dog barking upstairs and decided the dog must have had an accident. Walk past the piss to a tile section of the house and see what looks like a murder scene. The kitchen is covered in what can only be described as goop of yellow and orange color. I decide I needed to investigate the rest of the house before I started working.
Look in the first bathroom covered in literal sh*t and a scum that can only be described as play dough mixed with motor oil. If that's not odd enough I keep hearing what seems to me a person moving around upstairs. Walk into the master bathroom and immediately knew I needed to leave. The floor was yellow and brown, the tub was covered in red, yellow, brown and green goop/film.
Boss comes by goes in house (thinking I'm overreacting) comes back out with a horrific look (same one I probably had) and calls the homeowner. Turns out the homeowner was home the entire time. My boss said we would not clean it they needed to call a hazmat team. Turns out hazmat team wouldn't clean the house either. Cops get called, Someone was murdered (years before) and the goop in the bathroom was human remains.
To say the least I didn't work for the cleaning company again after that day.
Just like any dog!
My old roommate worked for a cleaning company. He regularly cleaned a house belonging to a well known local politician. This guy apparently had a spot in his shower where he regularly peed. Literally an established pee-corner that was gross and stained and had urine buildup. Erdnuss19
Freeze!
Found a gun one time. zenmia
Buffalo Bill? Is that you?
A little hollow turtle filled with cut fingernails. UrthenAether
Nope. I came here to read about finding weird sex toys. Did not come here for this. I will still upvote but consider this a warning. ScottsTots2013
Too much #2....
Diarrhea on the ceiling/walls/floor, turds under the bed and in the closet. BrigandsYouCanHandle
RIP Bugs....
A dead rabbit. It was their pet. It's was their daughters and she started crying so much that I had to clean the house again. Ohgod420
Child's Play
Not a maid anymore, but I used to long ago. Strangest thing was a bathroom that had 3 foot tall clown dolls lining the upper part of the wall all the way around. sarajane82
I had my grandmother do this for me with porcelain dolls in my room. I loved it as a child but looking back it was creepy as hell. Woshambo
How Special?
A cookie jar filled with eraser shavings. Febuarie
Maybe they were saving it for something special..? Tmoses
Got a Permit?
A taser. silliputti0907
At least it wasn't a coconut... Thalida87
This thread... I am not disappointed. No sex toys but really crazy storyies, way better than expected. Thalida87
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No joke, I will never forget the old Sock'em Boppers commercials. I am well past the age group that plays with these things but that theme song is often in my head. What can I say? I watched a ton of TV as a kid and saw that commercial a million times.
They're now known as Socker Boppers and it's just not the same. Remember that video jingle, "it's more fun than a pillow fight?" Those were the days. Alas, everything good must end.
There are a host of other commercials that have left an impression on people. These people shared their thoughts with us after Redditor No-Caterpillar4212 asked the online community,
"What's a commercial you'll never forget?"
"I still giggle..."
"I still giggle at the LifeAlert "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials. They even have a newer batch of them out."
MisterFives
There's a criminal in my house!
Classic.
"Mr. Owl..."
"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"
TabithaTwitchet
The world may never know.
"I tried to collect..."
"Yo quiero Taco Bell!"
"I tried to collect all those stuffed Taco Bell dogs they did in promotion around this time. I had almost all of them, but never got my favourite one, with the military hat that says, "Viva gordita!""
F22Android
I remember those! There were so many. I swear, I had at least one or two but they've now been lost to time.
"This is your brain."
"The "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs" egg commercial."
[deleted]
Oh, but remember the old Rachel Leigh Cook commercial where she destroyed the entire kitchen and not just the egg?
"The dancing old man..."
"The dancing old man from the Six Flags commercials."
DizzyLurking
Now this one really takes me back.
The Venga bus is coming!!!
And everybody's jumping!!!
"That mid 2000s..."
"That mid 2000s Chef Boyardee commercial where the can follows the family and rolls home with them."
Greb-Grebberson
You mean the one where the can is clearly stalking the family and people are too shy to say otherwise?
At least that's how I like to play it out in my head.
"The Wilford Brimley..."
"The Wilford Brimley diabeetus commercial."
rntopspin100
At this point, diabetes should just be called Wilford Brimley syndrome.
"The Budweiser..."
"The Budweiser Wassup Commercial refuses to exit my brain to this day."
Humblebee89
WAZZZUUUUUPPP!? Any kids watching Scary Movie will not understand that reference in the movie sadly.
"Five eight eiiight, two-three hundred... ...Empiiiiire!"
[deleted]
Today!
Good choice. This one is always living rent-free inside my head.
"My bologna has a first name. It's O-s-c-a-r. My bologna has a second name. It's M-a-y-e-r. Oh, I love to eat it every day and if you ask my why, I'll say. Cuz Oscar Mayer has a way with b-o-l-o-g-n-a."
PianoOk6786
This commercial is likely singlehandedly responsible for teaching children how to spell "bologna."
Apologies if you now have relentless commercial jingles rattling inside your brain right now. You should have known we'd awake some long buried childhood memories!
Have some commercials you remember? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
If you're not familiar with the phrase "you are what you eat," it is not a literal statement.
Instead, the line suggests that it is important to eat better quality foods in order to stay healthy and fit.
But the notion that we can go through a transformation of some sort based on our behavior or surroundings can still be a thing depending on certain discussions within context.
Curious to hear examples of what this might be, Redditor standardgenre45 asked:
"What’s something that people turn into their whole personality?"
We can lose sight of ourselves when heavily influenced by another individual or a group of people.
Influenced By Devotion
"Politicians they follow."
– mrivkees
Era-Specific Like-Minded Individuals
"The generation they're born in."
– TheodoreBurgessL
We Like, We Follow
"‘Girl bosses’/MLM cult engagers"
"And social media."
– wanesandwaves
People can take on the characteristics that apply to their environments.
Location-Based Personality
"Here in the Netherlands people who live in Amsterdam base their personality on Amsterdam."
– kood_gid
When In Colorado
"People move to Colorado and Colorado becomes their personality. They buy a jeep or Subaru and start wearing Chaco’s, and plaster Mountain Life all over everything they own."
– peachesinyogurt
Claiming Ownership Of The State
"Not only that, but 'Colorado native' is a whole thing too. I've met many people who have nothing to talk about except how bitter they are that people keep moving in and how much better it was when they were kids."
– arardvark
What The Canadian Said
"It’s that way for a lot of major cities around the world. Here in Canada each province’s capital city has a bunch of people basing their personality off of it."
– SegaNaLeqa
The Thing About Major American Cities
"Lots of New Yorkers (City not state) guilty of this too. But it’s not just them. Los Angelinos, San Francisans, Chicago and DC are guilty too. Texans are probably the worst about it, especially the further they get away from Texas, then you’ve got people from Austin who are like the elitist Texans, they’re like the oddest mix of hippie and redneck. They often pride themselves on the hippie and denounce the redneck while still obviously being one."
– serene_brutality
Things having to do with money can be an obsession and really take over the essence of a person.
Living Work Or Work For A Living?
"Their job."
– CassiopeiaDwarf
Value Of Conversation
"Or just money in general. I worked with a guy who only ever talked about what things were worth, mostly vehicles. What he was thinking about buying. How much he could sell something for. The trades he wanted to make. How much our customers made. What motorbike he bought before from a guy on the street we happened to be on and what it's worth. That's all. It was annoying as f'k. Any conversation at all, you could be talking about your grandma, and he immediately tries to change the subject to value. It was literally the only small talk he knew. The fact he was poor just made it sad."
– Kossimer
Just Cut The Pricetag
"Omg my husband is kind of like this and as much as I love him, it's so frustrating. I'm just not all about money. We don't need to tell the kids how much their gifts cost. Idk. It makes me a little nuts."
– bohemianlikeu24
Power Of Money
"True, I lived it twice. First time I was a young, driven, ladder climber. Second I was a greedy, grab All the Cheeto’s before everything goes to pot… then when it did in 2008, financial collapse happened, I became lost. I’d let 95% of my identity become my job when it disappeared so did I. Took over a year to get my head right."
– DanMittaul
Ever been told that you're turning into one of your parents?
That's another phrase often uttered, especially by a sibling who sees that you have slowly taken on the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of your mom or dad.
Learned behavior or genes?
Could be either or both. What do you think?
At one point in our lives, many of us have experienced the sensation of loneliness.
We've tried our best to fit in but seemed to fail at every turn to join an accepting community of like-minded people.
But that doesn't always come easily, but when it does, we go all in without really doing our research because we prefer to hold onto that initial feeling of acceptance.
Unfortunately, not all groups have genuinely good intentions. Because before you know it, you find yourself having been sucked into a cult.
Or maybe something that isn't but feels like one. But what is that exactly?
Thankfully, Redditor MichaelScottssmug put our minds at ease and asked the Reddit beehive:
"What isn’t a cult but feels like a cult?"
Facebook groups can include some very manipulative personalities.
The Dog Owners Group
"Some dog owners groups on facebook are very culty like. Got banned from one group for not crate training my pup. I like her sleeping in my bed as it helps with my anxiety."
– LittleWolfPuppy
"Completely Nutso"
"Yep, and they can be completely nutso in either direction. Some of them are all micromanage every moment of your dog’s life, constantly showing dominance so that it knows you’re the alpha. Flip it on its back twice a day and stare directly into its eyes until it looks away in submission. Take away its dinner every now and then and make it watch as you throw it all in the trash, just to keep it from getting too comfortable. If it doesn’t respond to hand signals and commands in six languages, you’ve utterly failed.”
"And others are like 'if you have any rules or boundaries whatsoever with your dog, then you’re basically Cruella DeVille. Your dog’s needs and desires should be prioritized over literally everything and everyone else in your life, including your other pets, your spouse, your children, and yourself. If anyone is allergic to/scared of/just not a big fan of your dog, you should instantly cut them out of your life because your dog should BE your life.'”
– ugh_whatevs_fine
Mommy Dearest
"Mommy groups. And even specific groups. Like a cult within a cult."
"Joined a cloth diapering group. I was excommunicated for using Pampers at night."
"Breastfeeding? If you aren’t nursing till 4? Bye!"
– dollyprincessb
The One That Got Away
"My wife just left one. For a while, she found some feeling of belonging when she was feeling lonely at home. However, it wasn't worth the toxicity. Even by social media standards, there were some sh*tty indoctrinated people in there."
– caseyjownz84
Consequences Of Soliciting "Mom Knowledge"
"An acquaintance of mine got called out in the most glorious fashion when she got sucked into the local Facebook mommy group."
"She posted asking for 'mom knowledge' of how to handle a teething baby and got the insane responses you would expect. (Giving the baby hard liquor; puting special crystals around the house; you name it) Her husband caught whiff of the insanity, and instead of waiting to get home that evening, replied to the post, 'Perhaps you could ask your husband, the PEDIATRIC DENTIST. He probably has actual, proven medicine for this situation.'"
"I don't know what he said when he got home that night, but she never publicly posted in the mommy group again - probably to the benefit of their son."
– poplardem
Certain auto communities make Redditors feel like they're going nowhere fast.
Audi VIP
"Audi ownership (at least in the UK). I had an Audi Q3 as a hire car recently and other Audi drivers were suddenly letting me out at junctions, offering me parking spaces and even stopping to talk to me as if we'd known each other for years. I'm actually serious about this. It was weird."
– GenomeXIII
What The Duck?
"I add Jeep owners to this. They leave ducks on each other's Jeeps??? Why???"
– KromeArtemis
The Duck Discussion
"I only recently found out about the duck thing. I was walking out of the gas station and there's this lady just staring in my jeep, making little apprehensive motions as if she was going to get in. I ask if I can help her and she's saying she wants to leave a duck on the dash but she was afraid my dogs in the back seat might bite."
"She was so determined to give me, a random jeep owner, a duck that she was; standing in the cold, risking dog bites (not really as my boys are friendly goofballs but she didn't know that) and taking the risk that I might perceive this as someone trying to steal my truck/mess with my dogs or any other conclusion I could jump to at the moment."
"Ultimately I took her little Dracula duck and chatted with her for a couple of mins. Nice lady but very eccentric. The entire dash of her jeep was COVERED in rubber ducks. Like a duck army large enough to make her jeep float, no space to spare."
– roostersnuffed
BMW Entitlement
"It still sounds way nicer than "BMW cult" which consists of constant attempt to break as many road rules as possible in certain time."
– ReportInside9923
Some Redditors' cult-like fears hit too close to home.
A Living Nightmare
"My condo association.. No I will not host the ritual at my place again this month, Dave!"
– Birdmanu
Fixing The HOA
"My wife worked her way up to president of our condo association. She's so anti-HOA that she has basically made it non-functional and doesn't enforce anything. One of our neighbors is also anti-HOA and he got elected as treasurer so now they have a majority vote on the board and overrule the other voting member who is a snobby hateful old lady."
"Thanks all for the kind words, I want to clarify when I said that my wife has made the condo association non-functioning, I'm referring to the petty BS like welcome mat size and thickness that the previous HOA board seemed overly obsessed with. As a result, they ignored a lot of building maintenance and my wife is solely focusing on upgrading and fixing issues that were ignored for years or even decades."
– Geng1Xin1
The One To Vote For
"My father made a point of becoming president of any condo association (called Strata where I live). He didn't want power, he just wanted to make sure nobody else abused the position."
"At his previous apartment he was president for 5 or 6 years. He was pretty strict about maintenance. No matter how expensive, if something needed fixing, he levied for it and got it fixed."
"An older member (it was kind of a retirement home) really didn't like that. He wanted to pay as little as possible until he sold his unit. So when a roof levy came through, he went to every resident who was super old and kind of confused. He spun elaborate tales of corruption and got a couple dozen proxy votes in his pocket. He then used those proxy votes to vote himself in as president and vote my dad out."
"My father sold his unit less than 30 days later. He knew the guy was going to run the place into the ground and wanted out."
"Less than a year later the whole apartment complex was sold off to a developer who was going to level it. Apparently the roof maintenance they decided not to do caused big problems they couldn't afford to fix."
– shaidyn
I'm admittedly a hardcore fan of Disney, but let's be real. There are some weird, obsessed fanatics who are literally mad for the mouse, and I'm not even close to that level of mania.
Especially when it comes to merchandise. When I used to work at a Disney park, there would periodically be limited edition merchandise for sale to commemorate a specific event or anniversary. Annual pass holders would line up before the park opens to make sure they can snatch as many of these coveted items are allowed per purchaser so they can sell them on eBay for a king's ransom.
Disney pins are what many of these crazed fans are after, and they show up in line wearing lanyards decorated with their rare collection of pins for bragging rights.
I have no idea what they do for a living since they were always at the parks. Probably living off their eBay money.
I love Disney, but there are definitely others in the cultish community that put my level of passion to shame.
I've known many people who grew up in happy and stable families. I also know plenty of others who did not have the best upbringing or who don't get along with their parents one bit.
A while back, someone confided in me that they do not feel their parent were meant to have children. This was a lot for this person to take in. What would their parent's life have been like if they had felt comfortable or had been able to make a different choice?
It's a lot to think about — having a child is one of those singular events that can change the trajectory of your entire life.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor idkwhatoput_111 asked the online community,
"What are your views on having kids?"
"If you want them..."
"If you want them, raise them right. Discipline them, but be kind, don't provoke them to wrath. If you don't want them, that is valid. If you create something in this world, take care of it."
Nomadic_Narwhal
Agreed. Also understand that the world they are going to live in might be very different than the world you grew up in.
"Being firm but still reasonable..."
"Being firm but still reasonable and kind is so important. I'm as anti-authoritarian as ever existed, but if you're a parent you gotta RAISE a human and that's fundamentally different from being their buddy who they give easy love to because you let them do as they please."
Ffleance
You'd be authoritative, then, instead of authoritarian. Significantly better parenting style.
"I have a daughter and a stepson."
"I have a daughter and a stepson. I love them, and I love being a father, but if you don't want kids you shouldn't have them."
MeringueInternal563
Indeed. You should not have a child till you want one, and feel you are ready. They are a lot of work, and expensive.
"More people..."
"More people should ask themselves whether it’s really for them before having them."
CIsForCookie
Indeed. Sex education matters.
"I'm all for..."
"I definitely had friends who swore they weren't having kids just wind up pregnant. Some of them have grown into it and some haven't."
"I'm all for people changing their minds. We grow up. Follow your heart. But be careful it's not just FOMO or boredom or something."
Nonplussed2
Such introspection is definitely valued! More people should think like this.
"This could all be prevented..."
"I feel that if more people actually paused and took a second to ask themselves, “Is this really what I want? Or is it because society/family members expect me to?” there would be a shift in the number of people having kids - for the better. It isn’t good for anyone involved to have kids and then later realize it’s not for them, after the kid is here."
"Those people likely won’t be great parents, and they risk their kid feeling unwanted. That could all be prevented if more people just stopped to think about what they actually want in life, whether or not they are suited to handle the challenges of raising another human being, and cared less about what society or family expects of them."
zzz06
It should be presented as a choice rather than an expectation.
"I had parents that..."
"I am not neurologically suited to the role of being a parent. I had parents that should not have had any kids, let alone 5, so I am firm on this point. I cannot be a good parent, and in my opinion if you can't be a good one you shouldn't be one at all."
TemporaryProduct928
And if you grew up in a home with apathetic parents you don't want to live out that same apathy with your own children.
"Make sure..."
"Make sure you can afford them."
No-Consideration6589
Important point that it's more than just affordability — children can be emotionally taxing and you have to be capable of dealing with that.
"I wish people didn't see it..."
"I wish people didn't see it as "the next step" in life but just as a thing you can do if you have the desire and means to."
itsmyfrigginusername
That, and not seeing it as somehow being selfish when you choose not to have kids.
"Too many people..."
"Make sure you healed your trauma and generational trauma before even thinking about them. Too many people get children to fill an emptiness… turning the child into their own doll/therapist and then get upset when it becomes a person and not a mirror image."
kamalaophelia
Understanding and facing generational trauma is so important. Being able to have the courage to heal yourself can then make having children something you might consider.
As you can see, having kids is not an easy decision — and no easy task. It's always worth doing some soul-searching before you decide to have one, but life is of course much more complicated than that for some.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!