Guilty pleasures are things that people enjoy but then feel guilty about enjoying. Many people have them. Guilty pleasures can be eating unhealthy junk food for a snack, listening to Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” on repeat, or maybe catching every episode of “Glee.” My personal guilty pleasure is watching “Hoarders” marathons.
When you think about it, guilty pleasures are kind of warranted because we go through life trying to always do the right thing: choose the healthiest food, watch intelligent TV, just to name a couple. After a while, the “right” thing gets boring and you need to try something new to add some spice to your life.
I don’t spend my time watching the History Channel all day or catching every documentary that PBS airs, but I rarely let myself get sucked into any kind of reality TV. I don’t try to keep up with the Kardashians and I don’t ever GTL (Jersey Shore). So after a long day, I just like to come home, plop on the couch with some chips and flip to “Hoarders.”
You might think that “Hoarders” is just another trashy TV show, but it actually has a good effect on me. Whenever I watch the show, after I see how cluttered and dirty other people’s houses are, I get the urge to organize my house. It’s a win-win; I get to relax for a while and then my house gets cleaned.
I also like the message that the show gives. Hoarding a massive amount of things is really a psychological disorder and it’s important to get those people help. If there are huge piles of stuff in the house, that’s dangerous. The person living there couldn’t be safely removed if they needed medical attention, or they could be crushed by the stuff toppling over. It’s really a health hazard and the “Hoarders” crew brings in the necessary help to get their life back on track.
I’m not a big proponent of reality TV, but if you’ve never watched any of it maybe give “Hoarders” a try. You might be surprised to find that you can’t always judge TV shows by their reputations.
