TOM UTLEY: Every marriage is made up of a hoarder and a de-clutterer. I've long resisted Mrs U's urge to bin my stuff, but now she's on the offensive!

When my scholarly journalist grandfather died in 1974, my grandmother determined to get rid of his enormous library. But then nor, for that matter, could I willingly get rid of most of the other belongings I've accumulated over the years: old favourite sweaters, now so moth-eaten as to be unwearable; two semi-functioning steam irons, only slightly leaky ; an electric tiller for the garden, used only once because I found there was no room for tilling between Mrs U's shrubs; dozens of chargers and leads for electronic devices that gave up the ghost long ago. Former X-Factor contestant Stacy Solomon hosts Sort Your Life Out which follows the efforts of families with shockingly cluttered homes to get rid of possessions they don't really need Oddly, however, my wife doesn't seem to share my practical view of the need to cling on to stuff that may turn out to be useful one day. Until now, I'm happy to report, I've successfully resisted Mrs U's urge to get rid of most of my stuff. For those who have never seen it, the programme is based on what may sound like a deeply unpromising formula for gripping telly, as it simply follows the efforts of families with shockingly cluttered homes to get rid of possessions they don't really need.