Helping Homeowners Make Less of a Mess

Trish Suhr of "Clean House" says the show makes viewers feel less guilty about "just having a few extra dresses hanging in the closet." (Style Network)

Discussion Policy

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Don't be fooled by Trish Suhr's honey-soaked Southern twang. The peppy, Kentucky-born co-star of the Style Network's "Clean House" is ruthless when it comes to ridding people of their clutter.

Last week, Suhr, Niecy Nash and the rest of the "Clean House" crew revealed the latest "Messiest Home in the Country," the Cincinnati home of Sharon Baglien and daughter Brigitte. Wow, was it bad: rooms impossible to walk through, hundreds of items with price tags still attached, rodents in the basement. The yard sale was held in a warehouse because there was so much stuff to get rid of. Tune in Sunday at 1 p.m. for the special two-hour episode to feel better about your own clutter.

I bet many of us would be shocked to see how others live. Do messy people seem like regular folks?

Yep, they do! I would love to say that there's some formula for what a clutter bug looks like, but they're just as everyday normal as you or me. You'd probably even think, "This person seems neat as a pin." And then you walk through the door and think, "How are you even living like this?"

How does it get that bad?

Some people get overwhelmed. Some just give up. We've encountered everything from people who live with actual live monkeys to triplets who acted like monkeys.

It can be hard to throw things away, even when you know you should.

We all will justify all day long about the goofiest things in the world that we think we need to have. I, myself, kept a prom dress for 10 years. Where did I think I was going to wear that again? I finally donated it to an organization that rents prom dresses to girls who can't afford to buy their own.

CONTINUED 1 >