After seeing a couple of community members struggle to find information about Hoarding and Clutter assessment checklists, I have compiled an easy to access post with a list of freely avaliable lists, mostly in PDF format, so you can download them and print them if you would like.

All Copyright and the such is with the authors of said lists, who are credited where able.

The best lists avaliable are from FREE sources that do not contain ads at all.

They can be useful for a personal sanity check, but they will not suddenly cause the hoarder to realise something is wrong, or be able to justify legal interventions. Only professionals have the capability to do that.

You can use these lists to help describe to people who are relevent in your situation*,* such as CPS, therapists, and authorities, what the status of the home is, and what PPE must be worn within it in order to enter safely (suprise: PPE is often needed at a lower hoarding level than you may expect)

>It should also be noted that there is NO SINGLE STANDARD LIST OR RATING SCALE. These lists are all for different purposes, and as such, it is acceptable to utilise a few to get a well rounded look at what is occuring in the home. Some capture the functional impact of clutter, others are scales of visual presence of clutter, and others consider the behaviours behind the clutter accumulation. The medical grade lists are still in development in line with diganostic practices of assessment and the upcoming DSM changes (A study about the development of this can be found freely avaliable here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2914137/

From the Philidelphia Hoarding Task Force website www.philadelphiahoarding.org

Clutter Image Rating Scale (Frost) (Note, this scale is currently being debated and re worked, and is meant to not be used as an exact 1:1 of what a home interior looks like, but instead a generalist example of exessive stuff in rooms to compare)
HOMES Assessment (Bratiotis)
Initial Benchmarks (Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force)

Hoarding Rating Scale Assessment Tool (Frost)
Activities of Daily Living for Hoarding (Frost, Steketee)
Saving Inventory-Revised tool (Frost)
Saving Cognition Inventory (Frost, Steketee)
Home Environment Index (Frost, Steketee)

From the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) all avaliable in English, French, Japanese, German, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, and Italian

Safety checklist for entering hoarded areas: https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/resources/clutter-hoarding-scale/

Clutter Quality of Life scale: https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/resources/icd-clutter-quality-of-life-scale/

Collecting, Compulsive Acquiring or Hoarding Behavior? (FS-109): https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/resources/collecting-compulsive-acquiring-or-hoarding-behavior-fs-109/

Characteristics of Individuals Affected by Chronic Disorganization (FS-003): https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/resources/characteristics-of-individuals-affected-by-chronic-disorganization-fs-003/

Tips for Communicating with Individuals Affected by  Chronic Disorganization (FS-007): https://www.challengingdisorganization.org/resources/tips-for-communicating-with-individuals-affected-by-chronic-disorganization-fs-007/

International OCD Foundation:

Does My Loved One Have Hoarding Disorder (HD)?: https://hoarding.iocdf.org/for-families/does-my-loved-one-have-hoarding-disorder-hd/

How HD Affects Families?: https://hoarding.iocdf.org/for-families/how-hd-affects-families/

How to Help a Loved One with HD (this is a safe one, it will not tell you that its your job to fix, and the first step is to actively reduce any accomodation/accidental assistance provided to the hoarder that enables their behaviours. If you are under 18, this section does not apply to you, as you a child in this dynamic and can not fix anything an adult is forcing you to engage with): https://hoarding.iocdf.org/for-families/how-to-help-a-loved-one-with-hd/

Other well researched and thorough sources

FootPrints - Through the clutter - A South Australian handbook and assessment tool: https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0042/475998/lga_h-and-s_sa_flyer-1.pdf

Harm Reduction and Uniform Inspection Checklist: https://www.centerforhoardingandcluttering.com/uniform-inspection-checklist-2/

These were done on the full sized lighter hot press 150gsm Arches drawing paper, which I absoloutely recommend as a mid priced alt to using thicker water colour hot press like I used to. Incredibly easy to work with.

Graphite used was a mix of Langridge graphite powder, Caran d'Arche grafwood (pencil and the thick blocks), and Faber Castel Matt Pitt Graphite.

I matted them myself to give hanging protection. Would recommend matting and archival foamboard as an alternative to framing, its much cheaper and still provides protection for the paper.

Around 1/3rd of the works I'm showing are graphite based, but these were the most fun for me to do.

I'm noticing a big sentiment in comments about how evaporative cooling is not effective in high humidity. This is a dangerous sentiment, as it may discourage people from using it, even if it simply less effective than it would be when humidity is lower.

Europe so far did not even reach the threshold for a Wet Bulb Event (although I'm sure it may soon enough), meaning that evaporative cooling was still viable, as proven by the multitudes of people here describing using their swamp coolers.

People becoming obsessed with humidity are running the very real risk of ignoring the dangers of dry heat, which still absolutely can kill, and insidiously too.

In both wet and dry heat, the main thing that kills people is when temperatures generally do not drop at night, and people do not force their bodies to regularly lower their inner temperatures. (source: https://www.abc.net.au/emergency/how-to-cope-during-a-heatwave/102552780 )

A good post here recently talked about making sure you cool your body down properly before doing things in the heat. No joke, this is how we can still work and play here in the tropics. You genuinely need to force your body to cool down, sometimes several times a day, and evaporative cooling is the best way to do this if you do not have air conditioning.

How else do you people think we can live in places that have weeks of 35C+ with 80-90% humidiy? You need to do more than just thinking "oh i need a wet towel". You need to consider adjusting your whole lifestyle during these periods. It will save your life.

Here in Australia, we prepare for the summer in the same way some may prepare for the winter. You need to adjust your mind set to doing this too. If you can't or won't, life will not adjust to your lifestyle, you will simply suffer.

edit: It should also be noted that the whole "wet bulb event" and "not safe for life" standards are based on what a human in full sunlight would be unsafe withstanding. The study that showed these conditions have been occurring in places like here in Australia since 2019, AND...

"Moreover, extremely hot yet dry conditions are found to be just as deadly as hot and humid conditions.''

AND

"Adaptation initiatives against extreme heat and humidity are extremely important, including ensuring people have increased access to shade, buildings designed with cooling considerations, fans and interventions such as skin wetting."

https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/deadly-heat-stress-conditions-already-occurring

Alright so youse up north are getting a taste of how bad it can be, and its humid too so not fun not fun.

I have lived in the tropics and subtropics all my life, and heatwaves are something we are used to here, AND because of that fact we take them very seriously. So much so that excessive heat exposures are a workplace health issue, specially on mine sites.

So lets assume you don't have air con to retreat back into. In deep humidity, this is a killer. Add that to having temps that don't go below 20c at night? Heat stress is inevitable.

Now, being a ratbag as a kid (and as an adult), I figured out how to survive such conditions along with the rest of us. So, let me list out some of my top tips for remaining cool.

Get the basics right first!

• Do not let the heat into your home. Keep the windows (and doors if possible) open at night to let the cool air in, and close them when the sun rises to keep the hot air out!!
• If you have a well insulated home for the winter, then congratulations! This will also work to insulate you against the heat if you set yourself up properly! Do your best to maintain a cooler indoor temperature from the overnight air by running fans near windows and doors to push the hot air inside the house OUT. You need to be physically cycling your air (this is also generally good for your lung health). It will remain cooler during the day when you close up everything before the heat hits. Keep running the fans indoors once your place is cooled down to keep the air circulating.
• Ensure your windows and doors are shaded INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. Nail some shade cloth to the side of your house if you can, or jam a thick piece of fabric into the top of the window and pull it down to the bottom, on tje outside. Use thick block out curtains. If you can't do this, get creative. Cheap reflective films are available for windows, but some aluminium foil also works just as well. Its gonna look like a meth lab but who gives a fuck.
• Don't fucking work in the heat. Sit your arse down and stay inside.
• If you need to go outside, cover up in the lightest cotton you have. Keep the sun off you at all costs! Not just "sunscreen" I am talking looking like Steve Irwin in a long sleeve. Big hat too. Always wear a fucking hat.
• Stop wearing excessively tight or heavy clothing. There is a reason sarongs exist
• Do not excessively drink water! You can absorb properly 200ml every half an hour or so. So aim for that minimum. Accompany this with salty foods!
• DO NOT COOK INSIDE. Do not use ovens, stove tops, whatever. Hell if you can eat sandwiches that dont need cooking for the heat wave, even better. Otherwise, use a BBQ OUTDOORS.
• Know what the signs of heat stroke are! Know what symptoms mean you need to call an ambulance! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-07/heatwave-illness-and-how-to-protect-yourself/106205872

Ok so now how do you stay cool indoors with no air con?

• Stop moving around so fucking much. Ever wonder how kangaroos can survive the desert covered in fur? because they only do their main movements at dawn and dusk.
• Buy a good fan. Not a rinky dink one. I am talking something that you may see in a workshop if you can afford it. Mine cost me around $60AUD from a hardware store. You want to not just push air out, you want it fully replaced and circulating around the rooms
• Shower with your clothing on. Get it all fucking saturated. I do this on bad heat days multiple times a day. Use wet towels for pets and infants (also be very very careful with infants). Wet cloth + fan = actual cooling if you are in the shade
• Use ice bricks! Freeze water bottles or even just random bowls of water if you need to. Wrap them in a tea towel and put them on your body as you rest/sleep
• Sleep with a bucket of water in your room. Use it to keep the cloths used to keep you cool, damp as possible.

The more obscure ways to cool down

• If your local public transport has working air conditioning, go take it somewhere random. Enjoy the view. Its how I used to stay cool as a kid, just sat on the train going back and forth for one ticket
• If you have concrete or tiled floors in your house or in the shade around it, spray some water on the ground and go lie down on them. Those are excellent heat sinks and absorb body temp so well it can be dangerous in cooler months to do this
• Spray some isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol on your skin and put it in front of the fan for a major chill (doesnt last too long lol)

Edit: some extra tips I use and forgot to add

• Sleep in a hammock or on a cooler surface such as cooler timber or tiled floors. Use some pillows to support your joints but try and have large parts of your body touching the cool surface. As Solo_camping_girl said from South East Asia, cool air falls hot air rises, so sleep at a lower level
• Sleep outside if it is safe to do so where you are
• Do not drink alcohol or highly caffinated drinks. Teas are better because there is more water in them than coffee.
• Any electrolyte drink you like the taste of is fine to use, but do not only exclusively drink these. It is better to drink water and eat salty foods because there is a greater variety of mineral types in food.
• Sunscreen is a must, BUT IT DOES NOT PROTECT YOU FROM THE HEAT. I don't know where people have gotten this idea from. Sunscreen protects you from experiencing physical burns from the UV of the sun, and subsequently skin cancers. You likely can check and see that the UV rating is not that much higher in a heat wave in your location. You need to stop the sun from physically touching your body!! Seek shade, wear LIGHT COTTON all over your body, wear sunglasses, wear a HAT! I often use a light cotton shawl under a cap and it covers my head, neck, back, shoulders, and much of my body and i can wear less clothing because of it

A MAJOR note about trying to cool off in bodies of water! I've swum in many wild bodies of water here in Australia, and you must be aware and safe!

• Do not go into water deeper than your knees or thighs if you can not swim or are not a strong swimmer! Do not wander further into deeper waters and try and avoid entering any body of water you do not know the full depth of at every level
• Be very very cautious about any currents in the water. These currents can suddenly spike without warning, and they are generally a good indicator of deeper parts of the water. If you are caught in any current, be it inland river or a rip tide in the ocean, DO NOT FIGHT THE CURRENT. Float with it and kick along at a 45 degree angle out of it to either the side of the river, or until the tide stops pushing you out and then swim back when there is no resistance to it. The waves can help bring you back in.
• If at all possible, go to a monitored body of water where there are life savers, or go to a man made pool or such.
• To check the depth of a body of water, walk a few steps in with a long stick and poke it down ahead of each step you take. This will help you determine the depth of the water, if there are loose rocks or unstable surfaces, and if there are any deep holes to avoid
• Do not put your head under any body of water you do not know is hygenic or safe
• Do not swim with too many other strangers or people around you, this can both warm up the water and also if panic occurs lead to rushes and drownings
• Do not enter the water if you are too exhausted! Heat exhaustion will reduce the amount of effort you are able to exert in the water!
• Do not save someone in a drowning situation unless you are trained to do so, or have access to robust flotation devices! A drowning person is a dangerous person for the untrained rescuer! They will clambour up on you and push you under in absoloute panic. It is a genuine primal response that we can't control. When I was taught the basics of rescuing, we were advised that if this happens its perfectly fine to slap the person lol. even just a boogie board or simple life ring can be the difference between life or death for both of you.
• Do not leave children unsupervised in the water. Do not even take your eyes off them. Have them wear the most garish bright obscene coloured swimming clothing possible, it makes them much easier to spot.
• Learn the absolute basics of CPR, even just a video on how it works is good to start with
• Treat any wound received in a public or wild body of water with upmost care. The chance of secondary infection is high. Wear water shoes if possible

It's had glass damaged from transit over the years as it passed between family members. However the frame itself has remained sturdy.

It's carved/routed from a single piece of wood. He was a carpenter in England during WW2.

They really do just be selling mitre boxes and mat cutters to anyone these days.

My art looks at issues through playing with ornament and commemoration, so of course framing was going to end up on my radar eventually.