Get Your House In Order - TV review

If ever there was a 'let's jump on the bandwagon' reality series, well Channel 4 has come up trumps with the perfect example,

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It's Get your House in Order and combines the nation's thirst for 'do it up' property programme's with Cash in the Attic and for good measure an attempt to cure the householder of a problem which the show claims has become a major issue in society, hoarding.

Last night's second episode saw self-confessed workaholic Sylvia Stewart battle with her will to cram every nook and cranny of her lovely Dorset modern detached family home with stuff.

Over the years she has spent some £100,000 on things she just did not need. Everywhere the cameras went there was clutter, almost ceiling high in some rooms.

In the dining room, breakfast room, conservatory, lounge, although viewers did not get shown much if anything of upstairs, were crammed with unused goods, including nine household irons, furniture, toys, hundreds of books, 500 packets of unopened washing powder, plus hundreds of pens.

There was nowhere in the house the lady could even sit to relax.

The programme just like every other property and antique dealing offering on the box also wheel out its expert team, featuring interior designer Abigail Ahern and antique dealer Nick Allen, never heard of either of them before.

However, it is narrated by the familiar Lancashire voice of Miss 'Little Voice' herself, the actress Jane Horrocks who guides viewers alongside Sylvia's roller coaster of emotions from the point of asking for help to clear the house to the shock of seeing all her worldly goods fill up a huge warehouse, and the denial of letting her cherished property go to auction for rock bottom prices.

When the packers arrive in a removal lorry armed with boxes to take away most of her stuff Sylvia was not too bad, but she had a look of horror when she was taken to the huge warehouse where the team had organised her wares in all their glory for her to view.

They sorted the items into categories including a three-foot high pile of used gift wrapping and packaging, a mountain of electrical goods and enough fabric, sewing patterns, rolls of wool, to literally open a her own craft shop.

And this is where the experts with the help of Sylvia's son David had to do some hard talking with her as it started to sink in that she could not return the goods to her home which had been stripped down to the bare essentials by the crew, ready for designer Abigail to begin the revamp.

The presenters wanted to see up to 95 per cent of it disposed of at auction, charity shops or just simply sent to be recycled.

But more drama and tears were to follow when they got to the auctions at Maidstone Market where Sylvia, a widow, was forced to face the fact that although she had paid hundreds of pounds for many of the items over the years, they currently had very little value and many were sold for as little as £1 to dealers.

In the end she relented and also sold a valuable collection of Thompson mouse furniture and bespoke jewellery which combined with the auction proceeds covered the cost of doing up the de-cluttered house.

She did seem much happier, although one wonders whether the programme makers could have also recommended professional counselling to deal with emotional issues surrounding a failed earlier marriage which she believed led to the hoarding, and feelings of depression.

Hopefully, her now lovely home will stay in good order.