Busy moms and dads have a tough job keeping track of the kids and keeping the house clean too. Sometimes that last part gets lost in the shuffle, and before you know it, your home is a total mess.

There are people in our society who just can't cope with cleaning and ultimately develop an even bigger problem; it’s called hoarding. The images are difficult to look at, piles of papers, boxes of junk and empty containers.

It's more than a mess. It's an example of hoarding, a mental disorder that seems to prevent a person from getting rid of stuff.

“I just didn't take care of things,” hoarder Jim Curlee says.

Jim is a single father who has lived alone in his South Bend home for 12 years. At some point, his clutter got way out of hand.

“It was a mess. It was being filled up and consumed by piles of papers, things I just carried in and put down haphazardly and never moved,” Jims says.

It affected his quality of life, his relationships with his friends, his daughter and his granddaughter little Portia who just turned one.

“My daughter said 'y'know Dad, your house is maybe unsafe or dangerous to her. She just can't come in the house,'" Jim says.

That was a wake-up call, and so, with his blessing, Jim’s daughter sent pictures to a national cable TV show. “Hoarders” exposes the cluttered lives of people who have this serious problem.

Not long after Jim’s home was selected, the crew moved in.

“They rolled up with these three big blue trucks. And it was just unbelievable to see. I think we filled two-and-a-half of those trucks,” Jim says.

We just got to work. Because we knew we had two days and we wanted to get as good a result for Jim as possible,” professional organizer Wendy Taddeucci said.

Taddeucci is a professional organizer from LaPorte who helped out on the show. She's still working with Jim to help him reach his goals.

“With Jim, he holds on to things because he doesn't want to lose the memory,” Taddeucci said

She's helped a number of hoarders clear their piles of junk, and she's heard every excuse.

“I've heard if I throw this away, this is my grandma's and if I throw this away, I feel like I’m throwing grandma away,” Taddeucci said.

‘Wendy is a great help with it. She's a terrific support and a lot of motivation,” says Jim.

So how is Jim doing now? In one word, terrific.

“One of my joys is to walk across the kitchen floor. I couldn't do that because I had a pile of stuff there. I had to step around and lean over. Even as tall as I am I had trouble reaching the bottle of vinegar from the cupboard,” Jim says. “I'm not finished. I probably will never be finished, but I’m going to keep working."

With a clear goal and clear space in mind, Jim is really working hard to keep from hoarding again. Click here to see Part 2 of Jim's story, and find out how his life has changed now that his house is tidy.

There may be a little hoarding in all of us, from your computer files, to your garage. Part 2 will also help you to see if your mess is getting out of hand, and how to fix it.