Stream These TV Shows When You Need Cleaning Inspiration
If you're in a cleaning, tidying, or organizing rut, let the pros on TV inspire you anew.
Laundry piling up? Dishes in the sink? You might feel like you have too much cleaning to do to relax, but why don’t you turn on the TV for a while? Hear me out: Maybe the key to your tidying motivation is streaming some straight-up organizational content. Just like with home renovations, there are loads of great shows about cleaning that can give you some inspiration. Here are some of the best.
Home Edit
Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin bring their Home Edit to your home by bringing it to celebrities’ homes—and filming it. They help celebs like Reese Witherspoon and Khloe Kardashian organize their homes with their signature approach to form and function and their focus on color-coordinating.
Where to stream: Netflix
Swedish Death Cleaning
Swedish Death Cleaning is a growing trend centered around preparing your home for your eventual demise. As macabre as that is, it's been cropping up more and more in books and now even on TV. An organizer, designer, and psychologist from Sweden help Americans sort out their homes and lives, offering tips for you to do it yourself along the way.
Where to stream: Peacock
Queer Eye
Since it's triumphant relaunch in 2018, Queer Eye has delighted audiences over eight seasons with expert-driven makeovers that span from home to personal style. For home inspo, watch design expert Bobby Berk's renovations and tidying, which can get you in the mood to turn your own space into something magical.
Where to stream: Netflix
Hot Mess House
Organizing expert Cas Aarssen is big on the belief that each person’s own organizational style should be embraced, so whether you prefer your stuff hidden or organized visually where you can see it, she has custom tips. She shares those with families on her Discovery+ show and features a variety of homes and room types, so whether you’re a visual organizer with a cramped office or a parent who favors an out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach in the playroom, there’s inspo for you here.
Where to stream: Discovery+
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
There’s a reason this show has been a huge success since its 2019 debut: Marie Kondo, creator of the infamous KonMari method, utilizes a pleasant, optimistic approach to organizing and decluttering. If something doesn’t spark joy, you toss it. If it does, you keep it. Her light personality and focus on happiness might be just the encouragement you need to tackle that junk drawer.
Where to stream: Netflix
Worn Stories
If your closet organizational issue is that you have a hard time letting go of belongings, you’re not alone. It might just help you to see the value other people assign to their clothes, which is what Worn Stories provides. It doesn’t necessarily have tips for decluttering, but it can help you contextualize your own hoarding and decide what’s really worth keeping after all.
Where to stream: Netflix
The Minimalists: Less Is Now
Another documentary that offers helpful insight is The Minimalists: Less Is More. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus use their film to advocate for a challenge—throw one thing out on the first day, two things the next day, and on and on for a full month—and speak to other people whose lives have been meaningfully changed by embracing minimalism. Maybe you’ll join them in shrugging off your material possessions for good.
Where to stream: Netflix
Hoarders
This show has been around for ages and focuses on people whose homes have been completely overtaken by hoarded clutter. That may not describe your situation, but the therapists and organizers who intervene on Hoarders share helpful tips, and the stories of perseverance are inspiring.
Where to stream: The Roku Channel (13 season), Hulu (10 seasons), and Discovery+ (four seasons) have the most to choose from