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Do You Have the Messiest House?
Posted By janice on May 21, 2009
As I watch Clean House’s The Messiest Home in the Country, I feel the pain of the married couple featured in tonight’s show. The husband is a packrat, who brings all sorts of junk and trash he finds with the intention of selling it on e-bay. The husband also has several hobbies, all completely different and all “requiring” a pile of various equipment and stuff. The wife had a large book collection, stacks of games, leftover merchandise from a home decorating business, and scrapbooking stuff.
As the show’s stars worked with the couple, the couple seemed to hold onto more things than they gave up. In fact, the show’s staff had to rent a warehouse to hold all of the plastic boxes full of the items they kept. In the end, any items not used in the decor of the house were kept in the plastic totes and neatly stacked in the renovated attic office space. The couple saw their newly decorated office stacked with the tote boxes. They realized how much stuff they were holding onto. It was a tough message.
Sometimes we hold onto too much. I remember a woman who admitted to being a hoarder telling me how she couldn’t evacuate for a hurricane. She couldn’t decide what to take with her and what to leave behind if she evacuated. Since she could not decide, she stayed home during the hurricane.
As you go through your home, look at your stuff like it was on a national TV show. Suddenly, you may decide what is really important and what is not. If you need help dealing with your feelings, find a therapist. To help you with the stuff, find a professional organizer through the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. These organizers are certified to work with hoarding issues.
I hate, hate, hate this show! I hadn’t watched it until the episodes this week. How awful! I realize it makes for “good t.v.” – but I thought the cast was cruel and heartless! I almost couldn’t watch. Those poor families are humiliated. I think they’re more likely to start hiding their clutter rather than keep those homes looking the way the show left them. Ugggg. I thought it would be a bit more like Clean Sweep, but YUCK! Almost nothing like Clean Sweep.
Hmmmm…ask me how I really feel! ;)
-Ami
p.s. And that southern girl who does the yard sales is just a nightmare all on her own!
I know what you mean! I kept thinking how that couple shouldn’t have been making those decisions on what to keep and what to toss without some help from an organizer. That’s probably why Clean Sweep was so much more successful in changing behaviors. Everytime I watch this show, I feel like the people are left twisting in the wind. The show is a great way to learn how NOT to work with your organizing clients.
Great post mate! Where