Small Business Saturday

American Hoarders: Small Business Gives People Second Chance

Craigg Strauss and his team are the men responsible for cleaning up what hoarders leave behind. He got into the business after his first customer - his father was a hoarder.

Not everyone bounces between being an insurance salesman and an auto mechanic before taking their career in a completely different. But then not everyone is as diversified as Craig Strauss. Strauss, 61, is the CEO of Skokie based American Hoarders. As Skokie Patch has previously reported on, Strauss’ business is a service where he and his colleagues go into people’s homes and clean out what at times appears to be a hopeless situation; excess amounts of material (some might say junk) pile up to the ceiling, or, in some instances, people collect their own urine in glass containers by the hundreds. In one extreme example, a recently deceased woman was living in a home so filled with debris that there was not an access point to get to the body…

• Videos (2)

Best of Skokie Patch Anniversary Celebration: Wednesday

A weeklong journey starts through stories popular among readers.

To celebrate Skokie Patch’s one-year anniversary, each day this week we’ll highlight stories with mass viewing at the website. Part One: Hoarding Cleanup - It's Personal Patch followed Skokie native and owner of American Hoarders Craig Strauss as he cleaned up people’s homes and attempted to rescue hoarders from their possessions. Strauss said he had firsthand knowledge of the problem, describing his father as a hoarder.  In most cases, hoarding is a psychological disorder that's characterized as an inability to throw away items, experts said. The collection can include the person's urine, animals and even something as obscure as toasters. Read more: The best stories from Skokie Patch’s first year.

• Photos (1)