By this time, you’ve probably seen at least one show documenting the life of compulsive hoarders.
If you’re a hoarder, there are a number of different ways your disorder may manifest itself. You may have hundreds of outfits, many of them new and still bearing tags, making a home for themselves on your bed, your kid’s room, or in your living room. Perhaps you also suffer from compulsive shopping and can’t stop buying. Or there could be someone you’ve lost whose things you just can’t bear to get rid of.
Your home might be cluttered with piles of gifts, knick-knacks, awards, and other nostalgia — or simply bags of garbage. Maybe you’ve got some food in the fridge that expired months ago. Perhaps you’ve resorted to sleeping on the couch or the floor because there’s no more space on your bed. More than likely, you avoid having people over because of the condition of your residence.
In extreme situations, you might face eviction or visits from Child Protective Services. And hopefully, you know you need help, or at least someone in your life wants to get it for you.
I’ve seen these types of homes portrayed in both A&E‘s Hoarders as well as Style Network‘s Clean House, and although the starting point is the same, the route to the end — and the portrayal of this stifling condition — is very different. (Note: I have not seen TLC‘s Hoarding: Buried Alive, although I know it is somewhat similar to Hoarders. This article compares Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive in a pretty comprehensive way.)
I experienced hoarding firsthand before it earned a place in the pop culture lexicon. My grandmother was a hoarder, and it took our entire family months to rid her three-story home of food, trash and memorabilia when she moved into assisted living. The term “pack rat” was an understatement. We sort of joked about how to possibly fit decades worth of stuff into a one-bedroom apartment, but deep down we knew it wasn’t funny. It was a compulsion. And, of course, my mother fears she has tendencies of it, and so do I. Where do you draw the line between hoarding and saving? Between clutter that exists because there’s not enough room, and clutter that exists because it makes you queasy to part with things?
Taking on a similar tone to that of Intervention, Hoarders is no-nonsense when dealing with this sort of thing. The close-up camera shots, the lack of an upbeat soundtrack, and the simple, matter-of-fact text that appears on the screen are all sobering reminders that hoarding is a serious matter. Whereas Clean House, in the other hand, is bright and bubbly, sending in a team of quirky, jokey characters to fix “the mess.” Hoarders treats the resident’s condition — rightfully so — as an illness, calling upon appropriate professionals (who often specialize in compulsive hoarding and other obsessive-compulsive disorders) to assist. Clean House employs designers, craftspeople, and TV personalities to give their home a makeover and brush over serious psychological issues.
Sure, when (former host) Niecy Nash would come over to the house in question, she’d take five minutes on the couch with the family to figure out what was going on. More often than not, she’d put in her two cents about what was crazy or creepy about the residence or the relationship. But the mood was playful, and the cleaning of the home became a bargaining game in which the owners gave up a few key pieces in order to gain something new that the family needed. They also sold their belongings at a yard sale and the Clean House cast matched whatever they earned, putting it towards new stuff — a fresh coat of paint, a table, a couch, a bedroom set. Not that this isn’t a very generous thing for the producers to do. But will this new house just become another hoarding ground later if the issues are not fully addressed? (Some might also argue that the two days’ worth of “drive-thru” therapy presented in Hoarders is not enough either, and I agree. However, this article points out that its participants are offered six months of treatment after their visit.)
I have yet to watch Clean House with new host Tempestt Bledsoe, so I’m uncertain if she’s just as nutty as Niecy, or if she seems to portray the gravity of the condition they’re helping to fix. But even without Niecy’s shrieky mock-accusations, I can’t help thinking that Clean House just treats a hoarder’s home, not the mental condition that caused it to reach a level of despair.
The other thing to consider, too, is that Clean House first aired in 2003, way earlier than the other types of authentic hoarding documentaries. Perhaps, since it wasn’t as acceptable to publicize the condition at the time, Clean House really did just start as a show that helped messy people remove clutter and give their homes a makeover. Maybe it’s only when looking at the two shows side by side does one actually draw the comparison.
Have you watched one or both shows, or Hoarding: Buried Alive? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose 
on Feb 11, 2011 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
In all fairness, there have been “where are they now” episodes of Clean House that go back and see where people are long after their appearance on the show. My memory is fuzzy but quite a few are still in good condition.
*POST AUTHOR*
That’s a good point. I also wonder if people can “turn down” a visit from Clean House for a “Where Are They Now” show, or if they’re obligated to participate once they’ve been on the show.
I’m also curious, now that I think about it, whether viewers want to “catch” people reverting back to their old ways … It makes for more dramatic tv. Sorta like when an old Biggest Loser contestant gains all the weight back and gets a “surprise” visit from Bob or Jillian. Are people more interested in watching Where Are They Now shows with a positive or a negative outcome?
very insightful comments.
Well, I may be a bit biased here, but I don’t think battling clutter has to be deadly serious. As a doctor, I liked to laugh with my patients no matter how serious their condition, so I have no problem laughing with someone who has too many beanie babies.
To the point about Hoarders, that show deals with people on the far end of the clutter spectrum. They do have a real psychological issue which is why we consciously avoid them on our show. We know our limitations, which is why we try to find families who do have issues with clutter but are still highly functioning and able to be helped.
And, though TV might have you believe we are only there for 42 minutes, we actually spend a week with the family. So, while I understand that the comedic tone may have you skeptical that we can actually help these people, I think we actually do a pretty darn good job. Again, I am probably biased. ;)
But we have done close to 50 follow up visits and even I was surprised that over 2/3s of them had kept it clean. It wasn’t necessarily immaculate, but they had not relapsed to their cluttered ways. I think it speaks to the fact that, sometimes, people just need a fresh start and we try to give it to them. And have a little fun while we do it.
Anyway, this is a long winded way for me to say, thank you for watching! ;)
*POST AUTHOR*
Wow, Matt!!!! This is awesome. Thank you for reading the article and for your thoughtful comments. It’s cool to find out more about the behind-the-scenes aspect of your show. I appreciate your taking the time to write! :)
I watch both shows, and I have some personal experience with hoarding in my family. I would have to say in my opinion that I totally agree with Matt in that there seems to be a very broad spectrum in the realm of hoarding and that Clean House seems to stick with the families that have seem to have gotten too busy and overwhelmed or that haven’t done a good enough job of organizing and assigning household responsibilities. On both shows, people are asked to give up personal affects and its very clear that on Clean House this is done by simply negotiating for a newer/larger/more needed item, and in my opinion, I think most of the time the person is probably asked by producers to feign resistance for entertainment’s sake. On Hoarders, I have seen a woman unable to part with a rotted pumpkin that sat on her floor for years, to the point that she was picking the seeds out of it as the Hoarders crew were shoveling it off of her floor. If you watch both shows, you will see that there is a dramatic difference in the level of problems they each deal with. People on Hoarders are usually loners, with little to no social life and clear psychological problems (I have watched and discussed this with my husband who is a clinical psychologist) I actually think its kind of ridiculous to group them together.
If Clean House (my fav. show) IS just another Hoarders type show, they certainly seem to make faster progress with the clients. The people on Hoarders seems to have much deeper psychological issues, although some on Clean House may not be able to be helped, in Niecy’s words.