Hi! I am Tania Reid and am a specialist clutter and hoarding practitioner, in Melbourne. I started For the Crowded House in 2012. It’s now 2019, I has facilitated over 440 hoarding training days across Australia, and most of my time is spent with people in their own cluttered and hoarded homes.
After 13 years in the community sector, I decided to take a leap into the unknown world of business owner and follow my passion to support people feeling stuck or overwhelmed by clutter or hoarded items. Some people call themselves collectors, finders/keepers or hoarders.
I help with the ‘head’ stuff (the psychological difficulties) and the practical – reducing the acquring, organising, sorting and discarding! I use a blend of traditional ‘talking therapy’ with arts therapy.
In 2014, I self-published the first children’s book that explores how clutter and hoarding can impact on children. It’s called “An Ordinary House”.
February 2014 -The book was launched by the eminent Dr Chris Mogan & Annika read the story to us all.
In November 2015, after 12 months collaboration with La Mama’ Birdcage Thursday was born! The first Australian play exploring hoarding, helpers, hope, family dynamics and evictions. Here’s a 3 minute video snippet from the play, click on image below. If you are interested in finding out how to bring it to your organisation or town, just contact me.
I presented again at the Hoarding and Squalor conference in Sydney, June 2016. Here’s my bio and I discussied how the community sector and the arts can facilitate a greater understanding and support for workers, clients and housing providers involved in cluttered homes.
The practitioner and the artist.
Theatre guru Sandra Fiona Long started a dialogue with hoarding practitioner, trainer and author Tania Reid from For the Crowded House in 2014. They meet in a café and discussed the ethics, myths and hopes for all involved affected by hoarding. Believed to be the first Australian production about hoarding, ‘Birdcage Thursdays’ was performed in November 2015 at Melbourne’s the Big West Festival, to sell-out crowds. Set to a physical rhythm of telephone calls, bird calls, lawn balls and agitated sinuses, the set was “ a simple but touching set of cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. The boxes move with the story, at times shielding or blocking the performers from parts of the audience. It is a lovely work with a purpose” (http://www.planetartsmelb.com/125843 December 2, 2015, Galvin).
“Do not disturb” was featured on ABC 500 words project page.
If you are interested, here are my academic Qualifications:
- Certificate IV Training and Assessment
- Bachelor of Arts – Psychology and Sociology
- Masters of Arts Therapy
- Diploma of Community Development
- Diploma of Management
Call Tania to discuss on 042 777 0510 or
email forthecrowdedhouse@gmail or fill in below.