Thu, Mar 22, 2012
26-year-old Amie Ormand is a self-confessed shopaholic whose compulsive consuming is not only taking over her home, but is threatening her relationship with her fiancé Ali. Amie just can't stop spending and buys something new every day - whether it's online or on the high street - spending up to £200 a week. And while over half of the 2,000,000 tonnes of new clothes that the UK buys annually gets thrown away, Amie never lets anything go. Now she and fiancé Ali are literally drowning in heaps of clothes - her hoard takes over most of the upstairs rooms, including Ali's office - and they desperately need to clear their house. Amie's hoard includes; 106 dresses, 142 handbags, 50 pairs of jeans, 140 pairs of shoes, 7 digital cameras and a rowing machine. And when they are all laid out in a warehouse for Amie to see, it's a tough dose of reality. The huge piles are easy pickings for antiques and artefacts dealer Nick Allen who uses all of his selling know-how to shift Amie's collection, including setting up a pop-up shop so Amie can sell her clothes back to the people of Exeter. But with interiors expert Abigail Ahern needing over £2000 for the redesign of the house, Nick is under pressure to dish out some tough love to help Amie succeed in parting with her fashion hoard and make some much-needed cash. Will Amie finally let her emotional attachments to her clothing go and raise the money needed to transform her house into a home fit for newly-weds?
Thu, Mar 29, 2012
59-year-old widow Sylvia Stewart is struggling under the remnants of decades of out-of-control shopping. A self-confessed bargain hunter, Sylvia can easily spend up to £1000 per week, often buying multiples of the same items if it's at a good price. She estimates that she has spent around £100,000 on her hoard - amassing everything from furniture and ornaments, to dried flowers and empty milk bottles -but what used to give her pleasure has now turned into a living hell. Embarrassed by the state of her house, and with her son David desperate for his mother to change, Sylvia is determined to turn around her home and life. Sylvia's hoard includes: a 3ft-deep pile of used packaging and wrapping paper; over 100 unopened sewing patterns; hundreds of pens and balls of wool; thousands of books and magazines; over 500 packets of washing powder, and nine household irons. For antiques dealer Nick, the huge quantity of inexpensive household goods is a concern and he worries whether it will make enough to pay for interiors expert Abigail's makeover. Things soon look up when Nick discovers some potentially high-value antique furniture and jewellery in Sylvia's collection. But a trip to an auction house proves challenging for Sylvia who struggles to see her belongings sold. Can Nick and Abigail stay firm and help Sylvia finally get her life back?
Thu, Apr 5, 2012
Young I.T. professional Stuart loves to buy the latest must-haves. An avid collector of all things electrical, he is obsessed with having the newest gadgets, boy's toys and designer clothes. From stereos and computers to smartphones and TV's, Stuart has invested thousands of pounds in equipment and clothes he has only used and worn a few times. Stuart's modern Manchester apartment which he shares with girlfriend Anna is packed to the rafters with his hoard, and Anna is forced to keep her belongings in a tiny cupboard. His spending is out of control - they have had to borrow money from Stuart's parents in the past - and Anna worries that Stuart's costly habit will lead them both into financial trouble. Luckily, Nick and Abigail are on hand to bring Stuart back to reality and put his and Anna's relationship back on track. When Stuart's hoard is unpacked and laid out in the warehouse, the scale is astonishing. Filling 250 square meters, his collection includes: 100 designer bags; enough toys, comic books and magazines to fill a skip; a mountain of old games consoles and computer software; and a complete professional photographer's kit. Abigail plans to give Stuart and Anna a cool, New York-style loft living space - and hopes to get £3000 to achieve it. Nick's idea to get as much money as possible for the redesign involves selling Stuarts old toys at a toy fair and setting up a shop full of Stuart's electrical items. But Stuart's constant haggling over prices - particularly over his brand-new, unopened iPhone 4S - frustrates Nick, who worries that Stuart isn't learning any lessons. Can Nick and Abigail convince Stuart to let his hoard go, get a grip on his spending and give him and Anna a home fit for a modern couple, or will old habits die hard?
Thu, Apr 12, 2012
Behind the façade of a well maintained Cheshire two-bedroom apartment lives 59-year-old Ray Byrne, an out-of-control collector who is literally trapped by his own possessions. Ray has managed to collect everything over the years, from old clothes to retro gadgets and broken electrical equipment. But with not much space to keep it all, his hoard has taken over nearly every corner of his home. His living room, bathroom, balcony and bedroom are largely inaccessible because of the amount of junk, and he has been forced to sleep in a cramped corner on the living room floor. Embarrassed by the situation, Ray's friend Julie is one of the few people who comes to his flat and she is desperate for him to get help. It's a shocking sight for Nick and Abigail, but they are determined to try to give Ray his life back, When Ray's hoard is taken to the warehouse, the scale of it is immense. Filling the space of three tennis courts, it includes: 1km of electrical cables; half a tonne of old clothes; two dozen TVs; 100 hi-fi separates; 70 odd speakers; and a mountain of old and broken computer equipment. The hoard is vast and contains mostly low-value items, so Nick will have his work cut out for him if he is to make enough money to pay for Abigail's redesign - a gentleman's club style interior which she hopes to get £2000 to complete. Luckily the discovery of some potentially valuable vintage cameras, telephones and military memorabilia gives Nick high hopes. Ray is ready to let a significant amount of his hoard go, so can Nick and Abigail to deliver and help Ray get his home and life back on track?
Thu, Apr 19, 2012
Joy is a 57-year-old retiree who has an obsession with collecting vintage toys, games and dolls. With two of her bedrooms and her study packed to the rafters with stuff, Joy keeps on adding to it, and now her home would put most toy museums to shame. Six years ago, Joy's husband Dennis convinced her to turn her compulsive collecting into a business and open a shop. Sadly a year later, Dennis became ill with terminal cancer, and even though the shop had to close, with the entire stock coming back home with her, Joy continued buying more toys and dolls on a regular basis. Now ready to move on from the past and focus on a more positive future, Joy wants to put a halt on her collecting. She is hoping to become a foster carer, but her house needs to look more homely for this to happen. Enter Nick and Abigail, who will help Joy get her life back on track. When Joy's hoard is taken to the warehouse, there are enough toys to fill an entire floor of famous toy store Hamleys. The collection includes: over 500 Barbies; 250 teddy bears; hundreds of toy cars; thousands of doll parts including legs, heads and arms; and finally the dolls themselves - over 2000 of them. Nick's keen eye soon spots some rare and possibly valuable dolls within Joy's collection, so hopes that he can make enough to fund Abigail's redesign - a glamorous and whimsical Victoriana theme which she hopes to get £2500 to complete. Things begin well when Nick puts Joy's old selling skills to use on a stall in London's Portobello market, and a trip to a vintage toy auction proves particularly fruitful. Can Abigail match Nick's success and bring Joy's home back to its best?
Thu, Apr 26, 2012
42-year-old lab technician Barry Phillips is literally drowning in the remnants of his hoarding. An avid collector of all things TV-related, including hundreds of DVDs, VHS cassettes and TV memorabilia, Barry's harmless hobby has now become a living nightmare. Barry's living room, bedrooms, conservatory and even hallway are all crammed high with his hoard making it almost impossible to entertain guests. Now with the support of his brother Mark, Barry has called upon Nick and Abigail to help him get his life back, in what looks to be their toughest challenge yet. It takes the team three days to transfer Barry's hoard to a warehouse, and the scale is truly shocking. Covering more than the area of two tennis courts, it includes: over 4500 CDs and 3500 VHS cassettes; 50 vintage radios; hundreds of unopened Dr Who toys; and enough books and magazines to open a library - including over 5000 copies of the Radio Times. Abigail plans to give Barry a retro bachelor retreat design scheme that will inspire him not to re-clutter his home again, and she needs nearly £3000 to achieve it. But with Barry initially showing little signs of wanting to let go of his hoard, Nick will have his work cut out for him if he's to make enough money for Abigail's redesign. In a bid to remove his emotional attachment to his hoard, Barry goes to see a hypnotherapist, which, along with the support of his brother Mark, gives Barry the impetus to finally part with some of his collection, but will it sell? First up, Nick takes Barry to a Dr Who convention in a bid to shift Barry's huge memorabilia collection, and enlists the help of Dr Who number 6, Colin Baker, to help them sell it. Then Nick puts his bargaining skills to good use and gets a handy sum for Barry's vintage radios and family silver. It's an emotional journey, and Nick and Abigail have done their best to get Barry back on track. But will Barry stick to his side of the bargain and keep his house in order for good?