Stephens Trash to Cash

Welcome to Trash to Cash, the show that helps you

clear your home from mountains of unwanted clutter, and sells it,

and all the money goes to you and a charity of your choice.

From box-filled bedrooms to jam-packed living rooms,

we're here to prove, with a little bit of knowledge

and a lot of hard work, you can turn trash into cash.

We're in Hounslow in west London, to answer an SOS call

from a couple, desperate to get rid of piles of clutter.

From the outside, this house looks like any other in the street,

but inside, it's a different story. We've had a look round already.

Why don't you have a peek? Come on.

Going upstairs to the bedrooms, we begin with a guest room that

could never be described as inviting.

It's so ram-packed with clutter and junk,

there's no space for a guest, unless they like mess mountaineering.

Across to the front of the house is the master bedroom,

which could also do with a tidy.

But back downstairs, this house shows split personality,

because the living room is - shock, horror! - not that full.

Maybe a bit too much furniture, but on the whole, a good room.

Don't let that fool you. Next door is a workroom stuffed with so much,

you can hardly sit in it, let alone work.

At the back, the cluttered conservatory is hardly a relaxing place to be.

True, but we've seen worse kitchen-diners before now,

in typical busy family homes.

There's nothing typical out in the back garden.

On top of a full garden shed, guess what else they've installed?

A shipping container!

I wasn't joking when I said it was full of clutter, was I?

But who lives in a house like this?

Today's clutter-lover is care worker Lorna Stephens,

who with husband John dotes on their two grandkids.

But Lorna is a lady who just can't say no to helping others,

especially when it comes to taking on their clutter.

Over the last 20 years, this mountain of mess

has grown and grown, but like a magpie,

Lorna just can't say no to anything eye-catching,

until now - the time has come to beat her not-so-little problem.

I'm a collectaholic. I never say no to things - always collecting things.

They might come in useful one day for something,

but I'm never sure what.

It's finally come to the point where we've got to clear the decks.

Oh, Lorna, I'm sorry to say, it isn't just clearing the decks,

-but pretty much every surface in the house.

-Lorna's collecting habit has got out of control,

and now this once impressive house needs a massive facelift.

But reclaiming the space in her home is only half of the story today -

she is hoping we can raise some cash from her mountains of trash.

I'd like to make £400, if we can, from all our unwanted items,

towards the cost of a family trip to Disneyland Paris.

Mum's 90 in May, and has lovely memories of when we went for her 80th birthday.

And we'd like to do something like that for Mum.

We've got our hands full today, firstly to clear the clutter

and create space, and secondly, to raise some cash

for a family holiday, by selling as much saleable clutter as possible.

This is a big house, which means we have a big challenge.

Luckily, to help us today is Lorna's daughter Polly,

who has permission to decide what stays and what can be sold.

Really looking forward to getting stuck into this today.

My parents lived here 25 years, and it'd be good to get rid

of some of the clutter, and get things sorted out.

Polly and her mum work together as care assistants

for the local council, but today we'll split them up to form two teams -

whoever makes the most money at the house sale will win,

but first, Lorna must agree to the all-important Trash to Cash Deal.

OK, so here's the deal - we know you want to raise £400 here today,

but in return for our expertise and advice, I'd like you to make the same amount of money again,

-for a good cause of your choosing. How does that sound?

-It's a good idea.

-Excellent.

But there's one other thing you need to agree as well -

all the items you put out to get rid of, we need to sell,

and if we don't sell them, we give them to a charity. How does that sound?

-That's even better.

-Fantastic.

-Great.

You've agreed to the Trash Cash Deal - Polly,

you're with the lovely Paul Hayes, and you're with me.

-Great!

-Right, guys, let's go.

-Come on, Polly!

She didn't sound that convinced to me, Mark.

Oh, she will be when we win! Between us all, we have to clear out

the clutter to reveal the former glory of this house,

then generate a whopping £800 by selling it all. That's a tall order.

You know as well as I do that one person's clutter is another's treasure.

By the time we've sold to local shops, dealers and the internet,

as well as hosting a grand house sale, we'll make a mint.

We also have handyman Danny Wood

to help us out with anything that needs repairing,

refurbing or revitalising in order to be sold at our own auction.

We're starting in the worst room of the house - the guest room, which used to be Polly's old bedroom.

I think this could be quite nice, but there's loads in here that would be perfect for the house sale.

We're near Heathrow Airport, so that must be a fiver for a start.

-Great pictures... Couple of pounds apiece.

-So many of them!

And some linens as well - always good.

These can be 50p, £1.

They're all clean and pressed, just been put in a box.

The best items in here have to be the cutlery -

you've got lots of different varieties - some Victorian items.

A basting spoon - that one's silver-plated,

we've got stainless steel, chromium plate and so on.

These are all a different type of metal,

and the recycling metals industry in the UK is worth about £5bn a year.

-But I think the best way to recycle this is to find a new buyer for it.

-Yeah! Definitely.

Our team has been on the phone,

and hopefully we've got a buyer lined up, so we'll see how much we get for it.

-Roughly £30-£50 - that sound all right?

-Fantastic!

-Right.

What would you like to see your mum use this room for?

It'd be nice to have it back to be used as a bedroom.

I'll send in our makeover squad and turn this into a really usable room.

There's no doubt about it - this room could be a beautiful bedroom but it's stuffed with...stuff!

I wouldn't complain, Paul. That's potential profit,

and there's plenty more out in the garden.

I've got my beady eye on something that could help me ride to victory.

Now, Lorna, I'm a nosey parker -

I've had a good mooch round, and this garden is full of little gems.

-But these bikes don't look like they are being used. Would I be right?

-Yes...

The blue one's a little cracker. It's a really good bike - good make.

It's a mountain bike, nothing wrong with it. The white one could be tidied a bit - a lady's bike,

very popular, and this is a folding bike - really handy, if you can't park where you need to.

Bikes are big business - every year in the UK,

-we sell four million bikes.

-Wow!

-Think of the money.

Talking of money, we've got a guy coming who'd be interested in buying these. Happy to sell them?

Fantastic. Very happy.

Let's look under this tarpaulin and see what we have here.

'There's more to fire up my interest - two old fireplaces.'

Now, please tell me, where did these come from?

-These came out of the house.

-What's obvious is these are inserted fireplaces,

so not with shelves built in, these are turn of the century -

and you can tell by their squareness - they are moving into the Edwardian era.

If they were more round, they'd be Victorian in style.

-Does that suit the age of the house?

-Exactly.

The tiled inserts are lovely.

Look at some of the crazing on there - really nice.

That's to do with the temperature change as the glaze has changed.

A bit of damage here and there,

but these tiles can be replaced. These are quite saleable.

A lot of people have thrown these in skips - people are restoring their houses, so they do buy these.

My team have been in touch with reclamation yards in the local area, and we found one that's interested.

I have to give it to you, Mark,

the garden has turned into a bit of goldmine, but I'm hoping our silver cutlery from the guest room

will get the cash flowing, as we prepare to start selling.

While we're sorting this out, I'd like a little chat with you.

This is a beautiful house, but it's full of clutter. How has it got to that sort of state?

She doesn't like to see anything thrown away, and other people

give her stuff they don't know what to do with. You wouldn't throw this away, but what do you do with it?

-You give it to Lorna.

-Exactly.

She's a dumping ground for everyone else's rubbish, or clutter.

Yes! And now we need to get rid of it.

Our team have already lined up a potential buyer for this cutlery,

but I thought I'd warn you, the deal is down to you.

It's all on your shoulders.

-Thanks(!)

-Is that all right? I'm here to help.

I'll give you a little tip, actually.

Always start a little bit higher. So we're looking between £30-£50.

If she asks you how much you're expecting, say £70.

And likewise, if she goes in with a price,

try and build her up a little bit more.

-OK.

-It's called haggling. But you'll be great.

-Cool.

Right. Let's sort it out and make it presentable, eh?

I've got a feeling you'll get some good money for that lot,

but I'm hoping we'll get a hotter deal for our fireplaces.

'We're off to a local reclamation yard but on the way I want to find out

'why Lorna's home has got so far out of control with clutter.'

When you moved in there, did you have all this stuff?

Was the house too small for the amount of gear you had or have you been a magpie ever since?

It was a bit tight when we moved in. I'm a magpie. I collect.

"That zip might come in useful one day.

"There might be a zip in that box that's useful."

At a car boot sale, I buy them because I don't like waste.

I don't like things going into landfill.

I'm against throwing away something that might be reusable.

We're not far away from this reclamation yard

so I want to give you a couple of tips when it comes to selling.

Let him do all the talking and agree with everything he says.

Then your best bet is to say to him, "Make me your best offer."

Count to five in your head, bit of silence. Then say, "I thought you'd offer more than that."

Whatever he comes up with, try and push for a little bit more.

Even another fiver, even another pound.

-A little bit cheeky but it should work. Happy?

-Yeah.

We sent you pictures

and phoned you and spoke to you about these. What do you think?

I think the pictures done it more justice than what they are.

They're in bits. You didn't tell me that!

-They're special kit-form fireplaces.

-Oh, good.

'I've heard that before. This trader is a tough cookie.

'Lorna will have to work hard.

'Anywhere around £50 would be a good deal.'

Where did you get these from, out of interest?

We took them out when we took the chimney breasts out to make the rooms bigger.

-They've come from your own house?

-Yes.

What happened to all the other bits and pieces that went with them?

We took them out a couple of years ago,

then I was too ill to do anything about it so they were in the back garden.

Trouble is, it's the other bits that make the fireplace a fireplace.

-All you're trying to sell me at the moment is a couple of surrounds, dodgy tiles and two hoods.

-Yes.

If you look at this one, these ones here are weather-beaten.

-Have they been out in a frost?

-They've been out all winter, yes.

The tiles on that one are nice though.

That's not bad but this one's a little bit weather-beaten.

I'll buy that one off you.

-I'd really like to sell both of them together.

-The pair of them? Blimey.

Buy one get one free. Or, as we call it, BOGOF!

THEY LAUGH

-What are they worth to you?

-A tenner each.

I'd really like to get a bit more than that for them.

This is going to be quite a battle for Lorna.

She's dealing with a tough negotiator here.

She just needs to follow my advice and hold her nerve

if she's going to make any money from this guy.

How's Polly getting on cutting a deal for your cutlery?

Well, dining-ware specialist Kate Dyson has arrived at the house

and she's going through all our silverware with a fine-tooth comb.

-There's some really unusual... mother of pearl, is it?

-It is, yes.

That's an unusual pickle fork and it's got a plated handle.

It's an Edwardian one. It's really nice.

That's a sweet little piece. It's not worth a huge amount

but I think when you add up pieces of cutlery which might be worth

£3, £4, £5, or perhaps a bit more than that,

by the time you've got 20 pieces of cutlery you've made a bit of money.

-Yes!

-At the moment

the big fashion is for teatime and cakes and buns and things.

So my eyes are looking at these cake forks.

These will probably clean up nicely. They're silver plate.

It's great you've found some items you're interested in.

You're not interested in some of them. We can sell those at the house sale.

Working out all of this I've come to an offer price of £50 for what I've got in front of me.

'£50 for those bits and pieces is a great opening offer

'at the top of my £30-50 estimation.

'I hope Polly is going to push her luck, making the most out of this deal.'

OK, could we stretch just a little bit, do you think?

-Up from 50?

-Yes.

-How about 55?

-Sounds fair to me.

-I think that's fantastic.

-Good.

-Let's shake on it.

'£55 is a great price for Polly,

'especially as there's plenty left over to sell at the house sale to make even more cash.'

I think the cutlery sale went really well.

The dealer came and saw what we'd got

and sorted out what she wanted and made us a tidy little sum.

It was good. I learnt a lot as well.

Lorna will have to haggle hard to keep up with her daughter.

I have faith because Lorna is selling her socks off

to make some money from this expert dealer.

He started off at a tenner for each fireplace

but Lorna wants nearer 50 quid the pair.

The question is will she get the result she wants?

I don't want to mess you about. It's quite cold out here today.

I'll give you £20 each for them, take it or leave it.

Honestly, I can't go no further than that.

All I'll get out of that one is the tiles, the hood.

This one here, the tiles and hood are going.

-Have you got a red one, a £50 note?

-Don't do red ones.

No chance of you going up to 45?

-Go on.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

Can we take the dog with us?

'That's great haggling from Lorna.

'She's got more than double the original offer but not the dog.

'Just as well, really.

'We're trying to get rid of stuff, not add to the household.'

Really pleased with the sale.

Really pleased to get the fireplaces to go somewhere where they're going to be reused.

The chat with Mark on the way to find out the best way

to handle the sale and the tips he gave me was really useful.

I was very nervous but it's gone well.

Ah, but there's a long way to go yet.

We're both off to a good start and so far there's not much in it.

Today isn't just about cash.

While we've been busy selling our socks off,

the Trash to Cash clutter busters have been hard at work clearing the house.

Polly's old bedroom is being given special attention.

Even with all that clutter gone,

you can see the room has great potential.

Yep. I can't wait to see what Lorna thinks when it's finished and she has a welcoming guest room again.

This clear-out has been a long time coming so I want to find out

what it's like to see a lifetime of collecting being banished.

How does it feel to be reclaiming your house back from the clutter?

It's amazing. The stuff they've moved and the stuff they've found is scary.

We've got a lot of stuff which I think is just a lot of money waiting to be made.

-Brilliant.

-Have you chosen your charity yet?

-Yes.

-Which one?

-Macmillan nurses.

-Why have you chosen them?

-They were absolutely fantastic.

I've on and off dealt with Macmillan nurses for the last 15 years,

various friends who've had cancer,

and they've always been absolutely brilliant.

When I, a while ago, discovered I'd got pre-cancer and cancer they were fantastic to me.

They've been fantastic to the family.

-Worth every penny.

-Worth every penny, I was going to say.

-Now, you said to me about your mother going to Disneyland for her 90th birthday?

-Yes.

-What's your mum's name?

-Elsie.

-Elsie, you're going to Disneyland.

-That's it, told her.

-Told her.

-Let's carry on looking round.

And you may get there sooner than you think, Elsie.

We're making great progress towards our £800 target.

But we're not just here to make money.

We're also trying to help Lorna rediscover rooms

that have been left forgotten under the mess.

Our team of clutter busters have been clearing out upstairs.

Polly's old bedroom, which was once a bank of bric-a-brac,

has been cleared out. Is it the guest room of Lorna's dreams,

allowing her grandchildren to finally come over and stay?

Tell me about this room before it was de-cluttered.

It was full of loads of things,

a lifetime of collections of bits and pieces.

Cutlery, crockery, bed linen,

carrier bags on the floor and boxes all under the beds.

-What are you hoping for?

-Somewhere nice where my grandchildren can stay.

Are you ready? Open your eyes.

Blooming heck. That is fantastic.

That's absolutely brilliant.

It's absolutely fantastic. Those pictures, they're gorgeous.

-So points out of 100?

-150.

It's really gorgeous. It's absolutely brilliant.

-Fantastic.

-It's lovely, it really is lovely. You can see the walls.

I'd forgotten what colour they were.

-You're all fantastic.

-Good girl. Wonderful.

-It's brilliant. It's fabulous.

Fantastic, brilliant and fabulous. All words I love to hear.

-And all words you don't hear very often, I imagine?

-I'll ignore that.

This room is looking amazing now it's not just filled with boxes

and there are beds that can actually be slept in.

This transformation proves that under the mess and mayhem is a beautiful home.

Yes, but it's exactly that mess and mayhem that's going to make us reach our £800 target

at Lorna's house sale here in west London.

But we've already got a few sales under our belts.

What are the totals so far?

The silver cutlery from the guest room has taken us into the lead.

Polly's canny negotiating made us £55 from a few select pieces,

meaning we've still got more to sell at the house sale.

But we're snapping at your heels, Paul.

We've sold two battered old fireplaces for £45,

meaning there's just a tenner in it.

With loads of the house still to explore,

this is still anyone's contest.

We're in west London today helping Lorna Stephens root through her cluttered home,

turfing out the trash and turning it into cash.

Between us we have made £100 but we're still a long way from our £800 target.

Now, I've got to ask you, Polly,

why has Lorna got a shipping container in her garden?

-Oh, brilliant garden shed. Anything more secure?

-I suppose it is.

It keeps everything dry and it's done a good job

because there's a wonderful cradle here. Was this yours as a child?

It was and I did try to put my daughter in it.

She used to scream the place down any time she went near it.

At days old she would not sleep in it.

I think this is a fantastic example.

It's solid oak, it dates to the late 19th century and it has this wonderful swan neck.

-And it rocks. It's gorgeous.

-These are the legs.

-Yes, and the brace.

It's pretty much complete. The style goes back to Elizabethan times.

This wonderful bobbin-shaped column here,

all these spindles match.

It's a nightmare to repair something like this.

It's solid oak and it's over 100 years old. Fantastic.

-The swan is very symbolic. Do you know that?

-No.

In the British Isles it's a sacred creature that belongs to the realm.

It adds a bit of class to the item.

-That can definitely go.

-Definitely.

-All those bad memories can go.

-Yes.

We also have some things for the house sale. A nice shelf here.

That must be £5 or £10. Polish it up a little bit.

We throw away something like ten million items of furniture a year,

of which three million items are perfectly usable.

They just need a wipe-over.

I did notice actually you've got this table here.

-Have you ever used this?

-We have but it just became excess.

We just didn't need it any more. But it's a shame because it could be reused somewhere.

That's exactly what we're thinking. It's solid mahogany.

It could come up a lovely colour with a polish.

I'll attach these legs to it.

I think for a conservatory or an outdoor room, that sort of thing,

-you're looking maybe £15-£20. How does that sound?

-Fantastic.

Tell me about this card table. Have you ever used it?

I've played for matchsticks on it but never won any money.

-No fortunes won and lost?

-No.

-It's fair to say it's quite distressed.

I'd say so. I wouldn't want it.

Fret not, we have our fabulous handyman Danny Wood.

He can make wonders out of that.

I'll give that to him as a bit of a project, get him to bring it back to life

and it's something we can definitely sell at the house sale.

-Fantastic.

-Sound all right?

-Lovely.

'And outside in the light I can really see its potential.

'Shame not everyone shares my optimism.'

I reckon that could come up really nice.

LAUGHTER

Did you hear that? That would come up really nice?

-Come on!

-What, with a box of matches?

No, with some green baize, it's wonderful. It's a card table.

-Do you need glasses?

-No, I don't.

-That was my grandmother's.

-A restorer's lot.

-Are you taking it to Danny?

-Yes.

-The target was £400 for yourselves and £400 for your charity, is that correct?

-Yes.

-Have you done your half towards the 800 quid?

-Um, no.

-And you haven't either, have you?

-No! Let's have a look in here.

Right, shut this door and keep the warm in. What is going on in here?

-What is with all the material?

-I've collected it over the years.

This pink velvet I bought to make a suit for my wedding

and we've been married 25 years.

All fairly new. Only 25 years!

-Oh, yes. Some of it's older than that.

-Guess what, material is saleable.

Remember the rag-and-bone man? The ragman still exists.

It's big business and a tonne of rags is worth £500-£600.

Every year in Great Britain there's about a million tonnes of unwanted rag

and only 25% of that gets recycled.

That's like throwing away money. I did spot this little baby.

-Geometric pattern on top. What period is that from?

-Art Deco.

We can get rid of Paul Hayes. We'll have you instead. You're prettier. Where did it come from?

-A bin on Portobello Road.

-Look at that.

Look at the way that hinge moves

and opens up what would have been a box of matches.

I think it's lovely, really nice. Very saleable item.

Art Deco is really in fashion.

It's 1930s style but I think it was made later.

Even so it's absolutely lovely.

Now, talking about lovely, in your conservatory I've seen something that I want to convince you to sell.

-Let's go.

-Let's go. Apres vous.

The thing that I spotted earlier was this lovely rocking chair.

They started making these 30, 40 years ago.

It's a copy of a Victorian one. I've sold so many rocking chairs over the years,

always to pregnant ladies. If I see a pregnant lady, they always buy it. That is a smasher.

Look at the top. See these lines? Means it's made of plywood.

These are lines of timber, joined together like a big sandwich.

I know it's not that old. The colour's lovely

and I think we can get this away for between 40 and 50 quid.

-Brilliant.

-Brilliant.

-That's fantastic.

Now, what is the story on this? Cos this is quite unusual.

A friend gave it to me

for the grandchildren

when Laura was about six months old, and she's 14 now.

She loved it when she was little cos it plays a tune,

you sit on it and it plays. It's got a wind-up mechanism.

Never going to get my derriere in there, let's face it.

Nor will she now!

A lot of people go, "Oh, it's Lloyd Loom!" It's not Lloyd Loom.

-No.

-Similar to Lloyd Loom, but not the same.

Underneath, let's have a look.

You've got the little wind-up mechanism.

Feels like it's been fairly wound.

I think this is a job for Danny.

That's a good idea.

A lot of people go, "Throw that away!" Why?

Danny will make this look wonderful and make it saleable.

If it's only a fiver, it's only a fiver.

But if you found a fiver on the floor,

-you'd pick it up, wouldn't you?

-Oh, yeah.

It all adds up, especially as we've got Danny

the handyman to help, who can add value

by just giving things a bit of TLC.

If you have a similar chair to spruce up,

these are the steps to follow.

Firstly, remove all the old fabric and stuffing from the chair.

Next, spray the wicker chair frame

evenly with paint.

And finally, staple newly-stuffed fabric

to the seat of the chair before attaching some trimmings

with a glue gun to hide the joins.

And there you have it. A tired old chair

given a new lease of life.

Well, it looks better than it did,

but I'm willing to bet that our card table will be the pick of the pack,

and if you fancy doing something similar, here's how to do it.

First of all, check all the joints, and carefully remove the beading

around the edge of the table, taking care not to break any of it.

Next, stretch the green baize tightly across the table top,

and attach with a staple gun.

Finally, reattach the beading around the edge to cover the staples,

and clear up the legs and fittings with polish.

Now this could be our trump card.

Well, we'll see about that.

My musical chair will go head-to-head against your card table

during an auction at the house sale.

May the best lot win.

But I don't want to wait to start making money,

so it's time to get another sale under our belts.

I'd love to, but a dealer I was relying on to buy our cradle

has changed his mind.

Hard luck, Paul!

Because there's a bicycle expert coming round

who's interested in the bikes we found earlier.

I think we should be aiming for around the £100 mark,

but can Lorna build on

her earlier sales success and pedal off

with loads of money?

-Come and look at these wonderful bikes.

-Wonderful specimens.

They certainly are.

-Are they the sort of thing you deal in?

-Yes, yeah.

Second-hand bikes, there's always a market.

If I just have a quick dekko and see what's...

Yeah, I remember these.

These are about 30-odd years ago.

-It's more or less an antique, then!

-LAUGHS

-Now then...

-That's a beauty, isn't it?

Well, it looks as though it's been down a few mountains, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-A little bit of wire wool, you think might...

Or squint. It looks fine.

Let's start talking money, Peter.

Right. What were you hoping for? Job lot.

Well, you know, you are a bike specialist.

I think we need to put the ball firmly in your court.

Give us a good offer.

All right. Let's start with 50, shall we?

£50? This could be another long negotiation for Lorna.

I'd like to see a figure much closer to the £100 mark.

So let's see if I can get away with

one of the oldest tricks in the book.

£50 each? So that's 150 quid. I think that's very reasonable.

Very reasonable! What a nice man!

PETER LAUGHS

-There we are, no messing around.

-So...

Good price.

I'll tell you what, 100 quid the lot. How about that?

-I was really hoping for just a little bit more.

-What, 101?

THEY LAUGH

-Try 110.

-One-ten, there we go.

One-ten? Dear.

Go on, then. One-ten.

Thank you very much.

-Peter, you're a gentleman.

-Thanks very much.

Let's have a cup of tea and warm up.

Ohhh, good idea.

What a result!

Lorna pushed the deal to the limit,

and came away with more than my estimate.

Selling the bikes was really quite interesting.

He came and looked at them, checked them all over, we talked about it.

He made us an offer which we persuaded him to up a little,

which he did, and he's happily gone away with the bikes in his car,

which is a good job done.

Lorna may be pleased, but how does that affect our running total?

Well, that £110 is going to make a huge difference to our kitty.

Add it to our £45 from the fireplaces,

and we've made a total of 155 quid.

Cha-ching!

I hate to admit it, but that is quite a lead,

because we only have £55 in the kitty from the sale of our cutlery.

-You're in the lead.

-Yeah, well and truly.

But, I support the underdog, and we've got more stuff to look at.

I think we'll do all right.

You're like a sausage dog, you're so far under.

I'm like a Great Dane...

I'll leave you to talk about yourself, Mark.

-We're going to find something to sell.

-Ha ha!

Team Franks may be in the lead,

but there's no way I'm relaxing yet.

And while there's plenty to pick through, the contest isn't sewn up.

Talking of which,

Lorna used to be a professional dressmaker,

so there are plenty of saleable items

among the disorder and disarray that is her workroom.

Pretty unusual.

OK, so come on, then.

Not often am I confused,

but you've got sewing machines and... don't even know

-what that is.

-A hemming machine.

-No wonder I didn't know!

It's like a proper industrial setup in here, isn't it?

It's my workshop. It's my sanctuary. It's where I do all my sewing,

occasionally make cards.

-You don't throw away a lot, do you?

-Oh, I don't throw away.

What's up the top shelf there?

Cords, flowers, beads, ribbons.

-What's all that?

-Haberdashery I've collected over the years.

Out of all of this, this lorryload of stuff,

what can we actually sell?

All of the stuff in the brown boxes at the top.

One minute, let's see what's going on in the brown boxes at the top.

Whoa!

-Look at this lovely ceiling up here.

-Yes, it's beautiful.

Take this one down.

-That's no good.

-What is it?

-It's called berry ruche.

Yeah?

It's what you stitch in the cushions when you make settees and chairs.

-How many cushions have you made in your life?

-Hundreds.

-Really?

Literally hundreds. And that's curtain edging from many moons ago.

Are you up for getting rid of some of it?

Yes, it's got to go. The time has come.

-It's got to go.

-Fashion's changed.

Knitting, sewing, is really in vogue at the moment,

so it's a good time to sell some of this.

But as a room itself,

do you not think it needs a bit of love?

-Yes.

-Cos it's a smashing room.

-It's a lovely room.

How about we see what the makeover team can do,

and we'll have a look on the day of the house sale?

-That'd be wonderful.

-Are you sure?

-Really good, yeah.

You don't have little pixies come out at night

-and start doing all this work, do you?

-I wish I did!

-I'd be here helping them.

-Unbelievable, isn't it?

Let's carry on looking round.

We're nearing the end of our clear-out, but I'm hoping

I've saved the best till last.

Polly, I wanted to ask about this corner cupboard. Most things in this living room

are quite modern, quite funky.

This is an antique. Where's this come from?

This was in the house

when my parents bought it over 25 years ago.

Now, I've had a word with Lorna.

She's happy to get rid of it.

It's an excellent space-saving device, the corner cupboard.

This one dates - quite early, actually! -

I'd say sort of 1820, maybe 1850s.

-It's almost 200 years ago.

-Mmm.

And it's made from solid oak found in the countryside,

and they'd use the natural resources around to make these,

so they're very provincial items.

The basic idea was, it would sit on a wall about my height,

and in here we'd keep your glassware, your plates,

your things you would need for your dining room,

and it was a great space-saving device.

And what you tend to find is that the front is beautifully varnished

and nicely finished, the backboards are awful.

Cos you never see them, you're not supposed to.

It's meant to be up high, out of the way, and it'd look fantastic.

This is very nicely done, actually. It's made with dowel joints.

-Can you see these here?

-Mm-hm.

That's a little peg there and one there?

That's part of the construction,

they were made almost like wooden nails.

And that's before we had glue.

It's an environmentally friendly way of making an item.

I think you've got a real antique here.

Perhaps we can find a buyer. We'll get our team on the case.

I think value-wise, you're looking at sort of £70-100.

-Fantastic.

-Does that sound all right to you?

-Let's hope we can get that.

-Certainly one to recycle.

I'm sure it'd look fantastic wherever it goes.

I don't care where it goes if it's a nice price.

Don't forget, between us

we're looking to raise £800

for Lorna and her chosen good cause.

Having cleared out loads of Lorna's clutter, time is up.

We've been through the house, saving it from mountains of mess

and declaring this a no-junk zone,

and we'll see more of Lorna's new-look home later.

But right now, it's time to see what we'll actually be selling at the house sale.

So there we are, at the end of the day, and nighttime's upon us.

-It's been a long day though, hasn't it?

-I thought it was a nasty cloud.

-Have you enjoyed yourself, Lorna?

-It's been great fun.

-And you, Polly?

-Fantastic.

-Has Mark behaved himself?

-Yes.

-Has Paul behaved himself?

-Of course!

-Of course I have.

Both teams seem to have got lots and lots of items here, but what have you seen in particular, Mark?

Well, take a look at this. Look, we've got all this material.

-There's loads of it.

-Can you make me a suit?

-Yeah, you couldn't afford it.

And we've got so many zips, look, there's bags and bags of zips,

and Danny has done his magic, yet again, on this chair.

-Doesn't that look nice?

-Fantastic, that.

So I think we've done really, really well today. Beat that!

I think you have done very well, but me and Polly have been especially busy.

We've got some wonderful pictures of cars - great for the grand house sale.

We have a lovely octagonal table and, importantly, look at that.

-Do you recognise this table that you were so quick to scoff at?

-Wow, that's fantastic.

-Not bad, not bad.

-That's all going to go at the house sale. It's going to be a tough competition, I think.

Don't forget, some is going to the house sale, and the rest of it

we're putting on the internet, so we've still got a lot of work to do.

What you have got to do is get the leaflets out, phone your mates,

get everyone you know down for the house sale.

And on that note, put the kettle on, come on.

After our big clear-out, Lorna and the team have been inviting

friends, family, neighbours and locals to the house sale.

And with a whopping £800 to make from just selling Lorna's clutter,

this will be hard graft.

So far, we've already made £210 between us, and we'll be

finding out later how much we've managed to sell on the internet.

But all that matters now is selling as much stuff on our stalls as possible.

It's been about two weeks since we were at Lorna's house and we've cleared out a mountain of clutter.

Now we're going to try and turn that trash into cash.

And this crowd behind me, chomping at the bit, ready to get started,

are here due to Polly and Lorna's hard work in advertising the event.

AND it's been raining, but they're still here.

Raining, it certainly has. What a good turnout considering the weather.

I think it's about time we declared this house sale open!

CHEERING

Nothing is going to dampen the spirits of these bargain hunters,

but I'm pleased to say, with such a big target to reach,

Lorna may have just unleashed a secret weapon.

-Lorna, who's this?

-Oh, this is my lovely granddaughter L-Lolly.

-L-Lolly?

-Lolly.

-Lolly.

-What's her real name?

Her real name is...

Laura Cassandra Lewis Dorward.

-That's easy for you to say!

-But Laura for short.

-What do you want to be called?

-Lolly.

-Lolly.

-Paul, we've got lots of Lolly over here!

-Yeah.

'Well, Polly's daughter might be lending you a hand,

'but her mum and I are at the top of the selling game and are more than a match for all three of you.

'Fighting talk, Paul, but may the best team win.'

Come on, then, spend, spend. What have you found? £100, thank you.

-How much you got?

-£3.

-Perfect. You've bought it. Lovely lady.

Look at that, Lolly. Lolly, Lolly, Lolly.

-'Take that!

-That's your problem, Mark. All wham, bam, thank you, ma'am.

'And all you get is one little deal.

'I like to try and let my sales last a little longer to maximise spending.'

Here we are, you've got some waterproof stuff. Hey, look at that, waterproof pants.

We'll say three quid for them, they're quite nice, aren't they?

This jacket's lovely. They won't miss you in that, will they?

And if we said seven for that, a couple of quid for the DVD, that's 12.

And how about 15 quid the lot, with dive atlas of the world?

-Does that sound all right?

-That's fantastic.

-You've got a real bargain there, actually.

-I know.

-All right.

That's it, that's 10...

-11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-You'll be nice and dry on the way home now.

-I will. Thank you.

-Thank you for that.

'That's how you do it, Mark. While I'm giving you a master class in sales,

'remember my corner cabinet I estimated between £70-100? Well...'

I'm quite interested in the corner cabinet, actually.

It's a bit of quality, that, isn't it?

It was in the house when we bought it and it's moved from room to room. It is lovely inside.

It is quite nice. How much did she want for it?

I dunno!

We're looking about 120, that sort of price, cos it is a nice Georgian thing, isn't it?

-What about 100 and I'll take it.

-Done.

-Thank you very much. Thank you, mate.

-All right, thank you.

-Great stuff.

-Five of the best.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Good luck with that. Do you want a quick lift with it?

'Wey-hey! That's a big old sale, right at the top of my estimation.

'You may have had a hundred-pound lead at the start of the day, Mark,

'but I'd say things just got interesting.

'Oh, welcome back to the competition.'

-Right, you want to buy the box, yeah?

-£10.

-Is that it? Tenner.

-Make it 11.

-No, 10.

-10.50.

-She stands a hard bargain, I know.

-10.

-Give me 10 and a coin.

-No, cos you're getting other stock off me.

-One coin.

-Ten.

-Please.

-Mark.

-Ten-pence piece.

-At least we got the ten.

-A penny'll do, come on. Anything.

I'll see if I can find a penny.

'Third member of your team working out for you, Mark?'

-Anything you like.

-Look, look, penny.

-I'll take a penny. Give us tuppence.

-Give us a penny.

It's important. Good girl, lovely, thank you.

-Here you go.

-Every penny counts.

-Thank you.

-That's beautiful.

-That's a stunning box.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you!

'Don't you worry about me, I'll always get there in the end.

'Well, while you're worrying yourself with pennies, we're getting ready for another big deal.

'A dealer has come to the house, interested in our decorative cradle,

'and Polly's going to see if she can ride the crest of our selling wave.'

We're looking for maybe 80-120, so I would ask over 100 for it, if you can.

-Lovely.

-All right, and then see where you end up.

-Fantastic.

-It's all down to you.

-OK!

-She's here now, I think she's really interested.

-Let's go.

You know what, I think it's fantastic,

I love the way it's put together with this swan neck.

Is it something you're interested in, Jill?

-Yes, of course.

-Is it something you wanted to keep yourself?

-No, I'll trade it on.

-Trade it on, so you have a shop?

-I have a shop, yes.

-Right, fantastic.

Now, Polly, you know a lot about this crib or cradle.

What do you remember about it?

-Well, I don't remember being in it.

-No?!

But apparently I was and my daughter hated it when she was newborn,

screaming the place down, wouldn't go in it at all.

So we didn't even try with my son.

But I would like to see it moved on to somebody who's really going

to appreciate it.

-So, yeah, it's great.

-How rare are these items? I take it it's around 1900.

-1910.

-They must be rare, I've not seen one with this canopy before.

I've not seen one with a swan's neck, but they normally have some kind of animal.

Right, OK.

They have to have something to hang the canopy on, you see.

Talking money. Ooh, that's a difficult one.

I was thinking about 120?

Now, I've got to trade it on, so I'd be more looking at about £80 really.

-Can you meet me in the middle?

-I'll give you 90 for it.

-Does that sound all right to you?

-That'll do. Thank you very much.

-Do you want to pay cash or do you want us to send you a

-bill?

LAUGHING

'We must be storming into the lead,

'£90 is exactly what I'd hoped we'd get for it.

'And I even threw in a joke for free!

'It's a joke if you think you're going to win, Paul.

'And don't forget, when it comes to selling and the gift of the gab, I rock.'

-Who wants to buy a rocking chair?

-Oh, yeah!

-You want to buy a rocking chair? We've got two.

-How about we auction it off?

-Oh, I don't know about that.

What's the most you can possibly afford? Go on, make an offer.

-Tenner.

-No.

-What's the most we could afford?

Club together, girls, come on.

You're like the Beverley Sisters, you two, look at you.

Try it out, it rocks and everything.

-Isn't that comfortable?

-Yeah, I might go to sleep, here.

Don't you go to sleep there! We don't want squatters!

'I thought you were looking for a sale, not renting it out by the hour.

'I am! And I was hoping to get at least 40 quid for it.'

Between you, you must be able to do better than a tenner.

-How much do you want for it?

-Tenner each, 20 quid, how's that sound?

-Oh, I don't know.

-15's rubbish.

-15...

-Could go halfway, 17.50?

-18 quid.

-17.50!

-I was no good at school, 18.

-Go on, then.

-18! Lovely! Good girl.

Beverley Sisters, aren't they? How lovely, thank you.

'That was hard work, but at least it's something.

'It seems I've got a lot of catching up to do.'

Do you know, it works and it's right twice a day.

-How about £3?

-Yeah, fine.

-Does that sound all right to you?

-Yeah.

-That's 50 pence. Is that fair? What's your name?

-Oxy.

-Oxy?

-Artsie.

-Archie.

-Archie!

-Archie.

-That's a nice name.

Give us your money, honey. What's that for? Is that all you're paying?!

-Interested in the suitcase.

-Ah, now, then, Polly, you know all about this.

-When's the last time you used it?

-Oh, I think it's been used once but it's been stood around for ages.

-But it's got a lovely handle on it.

-There you go, look at that.

-There you are.

-Very useful.

-These are expensive to buy, aren't they?

-They are.

-So what shall we ask for that?

-£5?

-About a fiver.

-Is that all right?

-Fine.

-Sorted. Thank you very much.

Here's your plane now coming over. If you run, you'll just catch it.

Thanks very much.

'The house sale is in full swing

'and things are flying off both of our stalls, but I'm sure I'm in the lead.

'Not for long, with my young apprentice around.'

Hello, Aaron, how much are you going to give for the box?

-Uh, £3.

-£3. Would you go a little higher?

-Four.

Four? Going to go any higher?

-Do you really need any change from a fiver?

-Do you need any change?

-I'll go five.

-Good lad!

-Well done!

-Put it there, top man.

Here you go, have the box. Well done, Aaron.

How much for these?

-Oh, they've never been worn, so... £2?

-OK, that's all.

Well, do you know what you've got there, actually? Those.

You've got a piece of celebrity memorabilia.

These belonged to Jeremy Fisher from Beatrix Potter...

-THEY LAUGH

-..and these were the ones that he lost while he was swimming.

All right? But they're worth every penny of £2, I think, there.

All right? You can have a minnow for your supper.

THEY LAUGH Excellent.

-That's lovely, thank you very much, sir.

-Thank you very much.

'£2 may not be a lot, but every little helps.

'Especially as between us,

'we're aiming to make £800 for Lorna and her good cause.

'Don't forget, making money isn't the only thing Lorna needed help with.

'We've been helping her get her house back

'after 20 years of clutter collecting

'and reclaim rooms that have become too full to function.'

'Lorna once made her living as a dressmaker,

'but recently, her workroom became almost impossible to move in.

'I can't wait to see the look on her face

'when she sees how it's become a tailor-made sewing sanctuary.

'There's still money to be made from this crowd of customers,

'and I think it's time to turn up the heat on this selling showdown

'and see who can become the oracle of the auction.'

Now then, everybody, thank you for coming here today.

We have one item that's been lovingly restored.

This poker table, or card table,

believe it or not, was a complete wreck.

But our fabulous handyman, Danny,

has turned it into a very useable table

suitable for those long winter evenings.

Nice game of cards, game of chess, that sort of thing.

But I want a little experiment, we'll have a bit of an auction.

So, I'd like all the ladies here

just to raise their right hand high in the air, please.

All the ladies, high in the air. OK, that's how you bid. OK.

-LAUGHTER

-All the gentlemen, the left hands in the air, please. Nice and high.

Everybody. Nice and high, OK.

So, without any further ado, I'm going to start this auction off.

Anyone want to give me a fiver for this poker table?

-Me!

-Right, there's £6 there at the front, £8 at the back, madam.

Anybody else, £8, the lady at the back.

Come on, let's make it a round tenner.

-Tenner at the front, here. Have you got a tenner?

-No.

-LAUGHTER

-But my mum does.

-Aaron...

You can pay me in bubble gum. Anybody else, now?

£10, there, with the gentleman, that's great. £12 to the lady.

Want to make it 14, sir? £14.

£12, this lady here.

Anybody else, then? OK. Is that all right with you?

-That's excellent.

-That's going once...

Going twice... Sold to the lady in the red coat.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

You can buy anything.

'£12 is a bargain for a cracking games table.

'You may be right, but I'm next with Lorna's newly revived musical chair,

'that I'm hoping to get at least a fiver for.'

Lorna, what about this chair? We need rid of this.

-Shall we see if anyone wants to buy it?

-Good idea.

Hands up if you want to buy this lovely chair.

-There are two of 'em.

-After a pound.

-A pound, right. You're two?

-Two, yeah.

-Listen carefully.

CHAIR PLAYS "JINGLE BELLS"

-Three.

-Three.

-£4, madam?

-£4, yes.

-Four, five to you.

-Five.

-Five, five, six, six?

-Six.

-Six, seven, seven, seven...

-Seven.

-Eight. Come on.

-Yeah, all right.

-Nine to you, nine to you.

-Nine.

-Ten to you.

-Come on. Please.

-All right, then. Ten.

-Ten.

Anyone want 11?

-No?

-No.

-No, get it for me, Mum.

-"Oh, Mum, please."

-£10.

-£10, going once...

Going twice...

Sold to the lovely lady, there.

-APPLAUSE

-Hooray!

Round of applause for the lady.

There we are, darling.

Lovely.

Thank you very much. Look at that, money, money, money.

Open the box, in it goes. Wa-hey!

'Another tenner for the musical chair. That's music to my ears.

'Success in the auction, but we've also been selling

'some of Lorna's unwanted clutter on the internet.

'So which team has made the most wonga on the web?

'We had some pans and a dresser to sell.

'While I'm hoping a tea set

'and some old clothes will do the business for me.'

That's both of the handyman items sold.

-We did well, didn't we?

-We did.

-How much you make?

-£12.

-Is that all?

-What about you?

Tenner.

Well, when we left here the other day, Lorna and Polly,

our team put some of your items

on the World Wide Web, and those items are now sold.

So, would you like to find out how much we've raised?

-Yes, please.

-Mark should have an envelope for us.

-There you go, Paul.

-Who wants to be first?

-You can go first.

-We can go first, OK. Here we are...

So, Paul and Polly made £75.

-Fantastic.

-From internet sales.

-Very good.

-Do you want to swap?

-No, it's all right, actually.

They must have left a 1 out,

cos it says Mark and Lorna made £40.

-CHEERING

-Almost twice as much.

-What's going on?

I think we've definitely got the wrong envelopes, but there we are.

Guys, we need to do a final push, get rid of this stuff,

otherwise it's going to charity, so let's get cracking.

'Now everything must go, and if there's stuff left at the end,

'it'll go to charity,

'so as we lower prices, the customers can bag a bargain.'

-A pound, please.

-A pound, there you go. It's all got to go.

How about a fiver, the lot, together?

I've got two quid left.

James wants a clock for his bedroom.

Can I have it for £2?

I think you can. What else do you want?

Having a look at this lovely necklace, she was. Trying it on.

-Are you going to put that in for the £2?

-We'll put it in for £2.

Lovely, thank you very much.

-How many more can I give you?

-That's an absolute bargain.

In the box it goes.

Just in time, now, for the last bargain today.

You can never have too many. That's a nice one, isn't it?

'Between us, we're desperate to turn Lorna's trash into an enormous £800.

'And things are still flying off the stall as the sale surge continues.

'Oh, this is getting close.

'Polly and I started off the day £100 down on Mark and Lorna,

'but with strong sales throughout the day, we've made a comeback.

'This can go either way.'

Come on, fill your boots. We need to sell it.

Come on, spend some money.

1960s, isn't that fantastic?

Come on, get some money out. You look like a rich lady.

I'll tell you what's really nice is that little Art Deco box, there.

I think that would look really nice at the front of the church.

-Is that how you'll use it?

-Yeah, for our communion table.

And that can be yours for a fiver.

I was thinking about £3.

Yeah, sounds good to me.

-A fiver sounds better.

-Yeah, a fiver.

Oh, thank you very much.

If you buy that you'll make me the happiest bloke in England.

-Yeah? Sold.

-I love you.

They were a fiver but we're doing a good discount now

for anybody wearing glasses.

Keep the change. Thank you very much for that, so kind.

I'll throw you in a bit of celebrity memorabilia,

that was Cinderella's shoe. And you will go to the ball. How's that?

Time up. Our sale is officially over.

'We've all sold our socks off today, but there's nothing more we can do.

'The items left over will be going to Lorna's local charity shop,

'cos don't forget, it cannot become clutter again.

'We're going to find out who's made the most money today

'to be crowned the king and queen of the clear-out.

'But what does Lorna think of her new-look work room?'

Lorna, I've just dragged you to one side briefly to take you inside

and see what our makeover team have done to your room.

Now, can you remember what it was like before?

Scout jumble sale, after they've finished?

It wasn't that good.

It wasn't, you're right. It was full of everything.

-Clutter, dumping ground.

-It certainly was, wasn't it?

It's quite a hard room to make over but I think they've done a good job.

-Do you want to come and have a look?

-Yes, please.

Right, close your eyes and I'll lead you in. This is trust. Come with me.

Trust, trust, trust.

Keep 'em closed, keep 'em closed,

keep 'em closed, keep 'em closed.

Open your eyes, see what you think.

She's bound to say something in a minute.

My God, this room is amazing.

-(Thank you.)

-That's absolutely amazing.

-A bit better?

-Oh, it's lovely.

Your team are brilliant. This looks absolutely fantastic.

Wow.

And we can do this, look, we can actually dance through the room.

-We couldn't do that before, could we?

-No!

And look at the storage up there.

-Lovely, isn't it?

-A bit better?

-Oh, it looks brilliant.

-A workbench you can use.

-Yes, that's fantastic.

-A rug.

-A rug to stand on.

I'm a size 17-inch collar,

could you knock me up a little shirt, please?

Yes, what style would you like?

-You a happy bunny?

-Very happy.

-Come on then.

-Absolutely brilliant. Fantastic.

-Let's crack on.

'Now that is a transformation,

'and Lorna will be able to get back to her dressmaking again,

'so as far as saving the house from the clutter is concerned,

'I'd say we've got it all sewn up.

'But we've also been busy around the entire house.

'The conservatory was nothing more than a glorified dumping ground,

'full to the brim with bric-a-brac.

'But with a bit of a tidy-up, you can see what it is again.

'The shed was so stuffed full, you couldn't find anything,

'but now, order prevails.

'And that's not all. We've blazed a trail

'tidying this house from top to bottom.

'We've cleared out the whole place

'and given Lorna the guest room of her dreams,

'so her grandchildren can stay. She's got space to live in this house again.

'It's amazing what a good sort-out can do.

'But now, it's the moment of truth.

'Have we made our whopping £800 target,

'to be split between Lorna for a family holiday and her chosen good cause?

'And importantly, which team has grabbed glory

'and turned the most trash into cash?'

There we are, that's the selling done.

-Have you enjoyed yourselves?

-Brilliant day.

-Fantastic.

-Has he behaved himself?

-He's been wonderful.

-Makes a change.

So, we need to find out exactly how much we've raised, so...

-Count of three, Paul?

-Ready, Mark?

Three...two...one, let's go.

Really?

Fantastic!

How marvellous is that? Amazing.

I know you wanted to raise £400 for yourself

and £400 for the charity.

You've actually made, today, £978 and three pence.

-Wa-hey!

-Isn't that marvellous?

-I made the three pence, Paul.

Yeah, but don't forget

that your charity will receive £489 and two pence

and you will receive £489 and a penny.

-Every penny counts.

-Every penny counts. Have you enjoyed yourself?

We have. Now we've thawed out we're feeling a lot better.

And, Lorna, please remind me of the charity you've chosen.

-Macmillan Nurses.

-What a brilliant charity.

They've been absolutely fantastic to us.

-Excellent. They do a great job.

-They do.

-Polly?

-Put the kettle on.

'A few weeks later, and Lorna's reflecting

'on what a difference the clear-out has made.'

It's been a fantastic experience

and been a real eye-opener into what's worth money

and what's not, into what people will buy

and how much they'll pay for things.

The makeover rooms have been the icing on this cake.

They've been brilliant.

The spare bedroom now looks like a spare bedroom,

my workshop's now easy to use

because everything's tidy, and in boxes, labelled.

It's really quite nice.

'Well, it seems like she really has

'got her hoarding habit under control.

'But the most rewarding part of the experience

'is being able to help a charity close to her heart.'

I'm absolutely delighted.

Really excited to be able to give a bit back to help other people

get the same sort of care that I had.

I was really pleased to receive the care I had.

And I'd like other people to receive the same amount of care

and the same support.

'It's absolutely fantastic to be here today to meet the team.'

It's really good to see their faces

when we tell them how much we've raised and how we raised it.

Because turning out the house and getting rid of stuff

we didn't need's been really good.

To turn it into money to help Macmillan Nurses

has just been so good.

Do you know what? We've had a ball here in Hounslow

and we've rescued Lorna's house from all that clutter

and made some cold, hard cash.

So join us next time when we'll be rolling up our sleeves

and turning trash into cash.

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