Moira MacMillan is known as the chicken lady due to the number of hens on her property.

Hidden among piles of furniture, boxes, and unread magazines in her Melbourne unit she died alone with only her hoard of possessions for company.

For daughter Giovanna Walker, going through her estranged mother’s things was weird — not only because she didn’t really know her mother, but also because of what she found.

“We were estranged. She passed away and she wasn’t found for three weeks ... she isolated herself so much,” she said.

“She was found among a house full of stuff. It’s like she sealed herself off and just existed.”

Among the items in her small crammed unit Ms Walker found thousands of white bread tags, empty tissue boxes and years of unopened magazine subscriptions.

Having grown up with her hoarder father Gordon, Ms Walker said following the pattern was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Giovanna Walker said learning to talk about hoarding has been therapeutic. Pictured is her flat before she became a minimalist.Source:SBS

Ironically, years later the Melbourne woman now lives as a minimalist but admits the path has not been an easy one to follow.

“I was genetically cursed because I had both parents that were chronic hoarders,” she said.

“It’s a process ... I’m still going through it.”

Ms Walker’s story features on Insight tonight which explores the national problem of hoarding, which is estimated to affect up to 600,000 Australians.

Following her parents’ divorce, Ms Walker was brought up by her father in a house full of records, cassettes, instruments, tools, books, clothes and mattresses in Sydney.

As a child she was embarrassed about her home and never invited anyone over. The kitchen was crammed, the floor piled high with books and DVDS and they always ate off their laps.

Giovanna Walker said she was following a hoarding pattern.Source:SBS

Ms Walker admits it affected her so much she struggled to meet people and make friends.

She said her parents’ hoarding stemmed from mental illness and trauma and it was only after cleaning her father’s house when he passed away 18 months ago that she finally changed.

“Growing up I was told it was my job to clean, but it was a losing battle,” she said as her scientist father kept bringing more and more stuff into the home.

It took a team of nine people three days to clear his home of around two tonnes of rubbish.

“It was hideous,” she said.

“The benchtops were full of stuff, the oven door even had stuff resting on it. The cook top was full of pots and pans.”

Among the items was a decomposing rat whose corpse had been there for months. She also found bags and bags of shopping which had been there so long it had long gone off.

However it was only after both her parents passed away and she had gone through the process of sorting out both their houses that she was able to talk about how the trauma of hoarding affected her.

Giovanna Walker said she now loves her minimalist life.Source:SBS

“It was really hard growing up,” she said.

“I couldn’t make friends, couldn’t invite people home, it was really isolating. I was embarrassed.

“I was socially shy and made it made it incredibly hard to meet people which is hard for a young kid. I felt trapped and ashamed. It was a heavy burden emotionally.”

Now working as a part-time tour guide in Melbourne’s Prahran markets, Ms Walker finds it easier to meet people. She’s also travelling and has started writing a food blog.

And keeping a tidy house with minimal furniture is an absolute must.

“Socially I’ve really learned to open up and just want to show people that you can come out the other side,” she said.

“It took me ages to go through all dad’s stuff and even longer to let it all go. I even sold mum’s engagement ring.”

However Ms Walker said she simply wanted to show people by going on the show and talking about hoarding that there was nothing to be ashamed about.

“Looking back I see how I could have ended up and thought this is not where I want to be,” she said.

“I’ve gone thought it, I still am, but you don’t have to be ashamed.

“Also hoarding doesn’t discriminate, dad was a scientist and a smart man who used to work in a pristine lab yet hoarded at home. It didn’t compute.”

Ms Walker’s story is not unique.

Moira MacMillan knows she is a hoarder but is attached to her possessions. Picture: InsightSource:SBS

“Chicken lady” Moira MacMillan also reveals how hoarding has affected her life and how she finds it hard to let go of her things.

Surrounded by furniture, boxes, books and other goods, her home is so crammed the woman from the NSW town of Bungendore barely has a place to sit down.

But she always has room for her hens who she is happy to let inside.

She tells Insight she knows she shouldn’t have them inside because society says so, but she doesn’t have the heart not to let them in.

She also knows she is a hoarder but can’t get rid of anything.

Moira MacMillan's home is so full she has little room to sit. Picture: InsightSource:SBS

“That’s what happens with anyone who hoards,” she tells the show.

“It just builds up and you don’t get around to clearing it because everything has a use ... that’s the problem.

“I am ashamed. I am really ashamed of it and it is also a health risk to other people.”

Professor Randy Frost said hoarding was a complex disorder.

“Anything that is owned by someone who suffers from hoarding disorder feel like it’s part of them,” he said.

“To get rid of it feels like you’re cutting off your arm.”

Hoarders airs on Insight, tonight at 8.30pm on SBS.