Despite numerous complaints from residents and visits by the town council over the years, one elderly woman living at Yishun doesn't seem like she's going to stop cluttering her HDB flat and the corridor outside anytime soon. 

In year 2020 alone, the Nee Soon Town Council had to "intervene and clear up the area" outside her unit five times.

Fast forward to this week and nothing much has changed – this elderly woman seems to have accumulated even more clutter than before despite frequent feedback from neighbours and the town council's intervention.

When an AsiaOne team visited this elderly woman's home yesterday (Nov 18), the clutter outside her unit had just been cleared by the town council once again. 

The elderly woman, who is in her 80s, was busy sweeping the stairs in front of her door with a broom.

There were only a few cardboard boxes and sundry items left outside but a quick peek into her home shows the living area piled high with plastic stools, more cardboard boxes and other random items. 

When AsiaOne approached her, she was initially hostile and suspicious but after a few minutes, she opened up to us and proudly showed off her plant collection.

In a mixture of Mandarin and Teochew, she explained why she accumulates clutter: "I collect all these things to occupy my time. I don't want to think about the past."

She later revealed that her husband left her many years ago, and then rambled on about other matters.

As we were talking to her, passers-by would turn and stare at her home, with some giving her and her place a wide berth.

Old habits die hard

However, her neighbours know well enough that this state of 'cleanliness' won't last long.

Hazlina Abdullah, 52, who lives on the same block, told AsiaOne that no matter how many times the mess is cleared, the problem will always resurface again within the week. 

"It's not that the town council hasn't been helping. They help a lot and a representative came and helped to clear the area. But it will keep happening again and again, it won't stop," she told us exasperatedly. 

And this isn't a recent problem, she said, sharing that the clutter issue has been around for at least 10 years. 

"12 years before, it wasn't as bad as it is now. Now, it's really really bad," she lamented. 

And it's not just the clutter at the HDB corridor blocking the way — Hazlina said the mess also attracts rats and cockroaches too. 

"The rats keep coming up, you know. We made a complaint to the town council also and then they put a rat trap there," she said. 

Another resident, who lives a few doors down from the woman, faces the same issue too. 

"The rats came into my washroom, they made a hole and came in. That is why I was so frustrated and had to complain to the town council," said this neighbour, who declined to be named, to AsiaOne. 

"I thought it was only me, but then I found out that the people on the other floors had also complained about rats." 

Apart from pests, this resident also said that the woman dumps items outside her neighbour's homes too. 

"These items are all hers," the resident told us, gesturing toward a pile of boxes outside her unit. 

This neighbour shared that she had tried to clear the mess but whenever she did so, the woman would question her: "Who said you can take my things?" 

'I pity her'

On another note, this neighbour said the woman does not sleep in her own home at night, and it's all due to the clutter in her house. 

"She doesn't sleep inside her own house, she sleeps underneath the block," the resident said, adding that the woman could often be seen sleeping on the chairs and tables at the void deck. 

"Sometimes I pity her, you know. She will be sleeping there...then I tell myself, what kind of life is this? You've got a house and you sleep on a table, it's not comfortable."

Another resident Steven Mydin who lives a few blocks away, posited another reason why this woman collects so much stuff.

"Poor lady, you know, she's not working, she collects these to sell and earn some money to survive," the 70-year-old man elaborated. 

"So far, I know that she keeps her place clean, there's nothing wrong."

Cluttering habit a social issue

Speaking to AsiaOne, the Nee Soon Town Council shared that they are aware of this issue and that the property team will continue to monitor the situation and conduct the removal of items placed at the common area. 

"We understand that the cluttering habit is a social issue and have been working closely with the grassroots and welfare organisations to reach out to the resident and provide assistance.

"However, the situation has been challenging for the town council, the residents committee and the neighbours."

Earlier in July, this same woman hung plastic bags filled with aluminium cans and plastic bottles on a tree in front of her block.

ALSO READ: How to de-clutter your home, one room at a time

melissateo@asiaone.com

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