There’s a reason that your mother always told you to clean your room. She had no desire to look at your disgusting space and wanted to avoid slaving over your messes. Most of all, she wanted you to pick up, clean up and throw out unused items to avoid ending up on the reality TV documentary, Hoarders.

As a self-proclaimed clean freak and sufferer of allergies of all kinds, this show captures my worst fears. It features everything from mounds of dog hair to ceiling-high piles of toys. There’s even a couple with dozens of cats and no, not all of them are alive. You may find yourself grimacing, but trust me, there’s something disturbingly intriguing about these collections.

Expert organizers and psychologists come in to meet the perpetrators and clean both house and mind. The documentary series attempts to, not only help these poor people, but understand and explain why they hoard. At first it’s easy to look at the featured homes with disgust, but the show does an excellent job of making sense out of the compulsive disorder. After a while, I found myself pitying and sympathizing with the victims.

At the end of each successful case, the camera shows the before and after. There’s something refreshing about watching the piles disappear in those shots. Even if you’re generally a messy person or pack rat, after a few episodes you’ll be wildly raiding your closet, desperate to dispose of clutter.

Netflix This: Hoarders

What Do You Think? Discuss.