Diogenes Syndrome Cleaning in Paris 2nd Arrondissement
When a flat in the 2nd arrondissement disappears under years of hoarding, the volume is never the only difficulty. Everything has to be sorted before it can be thrown out, thrown out before anything can be cleaned, and all of it done in an old building where the staircase sets the pace.
Défi Clean works in Paris 2e on homes so full that the rooms can no longer be walked through. What we talk about here is the state of the property and how to take it back in hand, never the person living in it: diagnosis belongs to health professionals, and our job begins at the front door.
- Studios, flats and attic rooms on the top floor
- Personal belongings sorted before anything is removed
- Thorough cleaning of surfaces once they are clear
- One point of contact for the family or the deputy
Hoarding, clearance and cleaning are three different things
Hoarding: what you actually see
- Belongings kept for years with no sorting possible
- Whole rooms that can no longer be reached
- A hallway reduced to a path between two walls of objects
- Bathroom fittings out of use because nothing can get to them
Clearance: what it settles
- It gets the volume out; it makes nothing clean
- It is measured in cubic metres and in trips up and down
- It means dismantling any furniture the staircase will not take
- It comes before the cleaning and never replaces it
Cleaning: what it uncovers
- Floors and skirting boards nobody has seen in a very long time
- Ingrained surfaces that need going over several times
- Smells that only lift once the surface itself has been treated
- The real condition of the property, finally visible
What a building in the 2nd imposes on the job
Less than a square kilometre, and a building stock that is almost entirely period: in the 2nd, the difficulties are concentrated in the stairwells. Around the Bourse, the place des Victoires or the rue Réaumur, staircases are narrow, landings are short and there is often no lift at all. The former servants’ rooms on the top floors, common towards Gaillon, add a narrow door and a spiral back stair. A volume that would come out of a suburban house in one morning needs smaller containers and far more trips here.
The street outside counts as much as the staircase. Around Montorgueil the streets are pedestrianised and extremely busy; in the Mail and the Sentier, the pavement belongs to textile deliveries for much of the day. Parking the vehicle is therefore arranged in advance, as is the route through the communal areas. And in a tight courtyard where windows face each other, discretion matters to the family every bit as much as the final result.
How a hoarding job unfolds
First conversation
You describe what you can see, without having to put a label on it. We ask about the floor level, the shape of the staircase and which rooms can still be used.
Visit or photographs
The assessment is done on site where possible, otherwise from a few images. It looks at the volume, how high the clutter reaches and the state of the surfaces underneath.
Agreeing what is kept
Before the first bag is filled, a clear rule is set with the occupant, the family or the deputy: what is set aside, what is shown before a decision, what goes straight out.
Sorting and clearing
Work moves room by room so that the flat becomes usable again as it goes. Documents and personal items found along the way are gathered in one identified place.
Thorough cleaning
Once the volume is out, floors, walls, skirting boards, kitchen and bathroom are dealt with. The worst-affected surfaces usually need going over more than once.
Final walk-through
The flat is walked through with you or your representative. Any further treatment is proposed at that point, on the strength of what has actually been uncovered.
What decides the scale of the job
No serious estimate can rest on the word Diogenes alone. Two flats described in exactly the same terms can call for very different resources. These are the points we note every time before putting a proposal together.
- The floor area and the number of rooms genuinely affected
- How high the clutter reaches, from a layer on the floor up to the ceiling
- How much has to be sorted compared with what can go unexamined
- Whether there is organic waste, food or soiled bedding and clothing
- The state of the kitchen and bathroom underneath the clutter
- The floor level, the width of the staircase and whether there is a lift
- The distance between the front door of the building and the parking spot
- Whether the occupant is there during the work, which changes the pace entirely
That last point is decisive. When the person stays in the flat, sorting happens at their pace and the work is broken into stages. When the property is empty, between two occupants or as part of an estate, the job runs far more directly. The quote always distinguishes between those two situations.
Related pages for Paris 2e
This page covers homes made hard to move through by a large accumulation: sorting and clearing come first, cleaning the surfaces afterwards. Depending on what is found on site, the request sometimes belongs to a neighbouring service. Each of these pages covers one specific case in the 2nd arrondissement.
Frequently asked questions — Diogenes cleaning in Paris 2e
Do you make any judgement about the person living in the flat?
No, and we are not qualified to. Diogenes syndrome is a term used in medical and social work; we use it here because it is the word families search for. What we assess is the property alone: the volume built up, whether the rooms can be used, and the state of the surfaces.
What happens to a personal item found under the clutter?
It is set aside. Identity papers, official letters, photographs, jewellery, notebooks and bank documents are gathered into one clearly marked container and handed to whoever is following the file. The rule about what may go out unexamined is fixed before the work starts, never during it.
Can the occupant stay in the flat while the work is done?
Yes, and it happens often. Sorting then moves more slowly, with regular checks and breaks. The work is split into stages and the quote allows for that. Nobody is presented with a fait accompli in their own home.
How do you handle the neighbours in an older building in the 2nd?
By keeping the job as invisible as we can. Trips out are grouped together, communal areas are protected and then cleaned, and equipment is never left on the landing. Telling the concierge or the managing agent beforehand heads off most of the friction.
Do you work at the request of a deputy or a social worker?
Yes. Families, court-appointed deputies, social workers, landlords and managing agents are all regular points of contact for us. One person follows the file, so nobody has to explain the situation again at every stage.
How do I get an estimate?
Through the contact form, describing the property, the floor level, the access and the rough volume. A few photographs, however imperfect, are worth more than a long description. The quote separates sorting, removal and cleaning.
A flat buried under clutter in Paris 2e?
Describe the state of the property exactly as you find it. We assess the volume, the access and the cleaning required, then put together a clear proposal, without judging the situation.