Neat

I love this show and it's host, Hellen Buttigieg. She manages to confront people's messes without judging and mocking them too badly. She is not hyper or hammy and does not focus on flamboyant, superficial interior decorating with gaudy fabrics, glue-gun hems, nonsensical plywood jerry-rigs, destruction of major parts of the home's architecture and (this one always makes me cringe) painting over wood and Formica cabinets and furniture with wall paint like the other home makeover programs. Instead, she seems to actually care about figuring out what the people need (and are capable of using) in order to create thoughtful and functional improvements for their spaces.

Some psychological aspects of chronic hoarding are revealed as Hellen helps the subjects understand why and how their clutter develops and teaches them ways to fight it. When I watch, not only am I inspired to chuck out some junk, I also get the feeling that the show is actually helping people and making their lives better and happier. That's kind of rare for television! Plus, I get a little schadenfreude bonus, as the producers manage to find pack-rats with truly astonishing volumes of crazy clutter, making my own squalor seem tame in comparison.