Trash or Treasure?

"I find a lot of good stuff on the side of the road. You'd be surprised what some people throw away." - Augustine, 68 years, on Hoarders

I was watching this show called Hoarders the other day and was completely disturbed by it.  I realize that it's a disorder of some kind - to keep so much stuff that you can't walk around in a house - but I was appalled.  Some woman had two dead cats in her house  She had thought the cats had ran away, but they had been dead for years so they were in like freeze-dried condition.  As a child, her son had heard cockroaches crawling at night and had to sleep with a fan directed at him in order to keep the roaches off him; he had been removed from the home and never returned.  The bathroom ceiling was falling down onto the inoperable toilet with feces in it.  There was no water and the city was threatening to condemn the property.

I'm sorry, but really?  R E A L L Y???

Who are these people?  How does one get this far into filth and not notice it?  Is it a slow process?  Does it start with small clutter and then turn into packed tooms and overstuffed closets?

I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.  I often put things on our street marked "free" just to see what will happen.  Seriously?  A highchair, clothing, carseat, bouncer, and toys all disappeared within hours.  While most of the things were in good condition, I think some was questionable. A carseat?   
 
But I guess, as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.  If my husband has any say in it, everyone else's trash will be our trash, too!  
 
On that note, I should get ready to clear out more things.