Stacey Solomon and her Sort Your Life Out team left an East Sussex family in tears with a heartfelt tribute to their late grandmother
Stacey Solomon and her team worked their magic on the East Sussex home (Image: BBC)
BBC Sort Your Life Out viewers were moved to tears by a heartwarming tribute to a beloved late family member.
Host Stacey Solomon and her dedicated team descended on a family in East Sussex to help transform their bursting-at-the-seams converted bungalow.
The household was headed up by single mum Nadine, who had called the property home since her teenage years, sharing it with her own mother.
Having brought up her four daughters there while also caring for her late mum, three generations of the Jamieson women had amassed mountains of DVDs, clothing and fine China for Stacey to work through.
Buried amongst the clutter, she uncovered 106 animal ornaments, 87 board games and over 1,000 pieces of Nadine’s China, reports Kent Live.
Reflecting on the belongings filling her home and how cluttered it had become, Nadine became emotional as she explained: “I’ve lived in this house since 1988 and it’s pretty much still in the condition it was in 1988.”
Her eldest daughter Merle chipped in: “It was a small crowded house but it wasn’t cluttered back then.”
Former NHS nurse Nadine tearfully continued: “Mum was the second parent. She was our rock and she was just our rock and made it so special for the girls.
“She started to need care in the last four years of her life, and I became full time carer. And that’s when I think it started to change.
“I didn’t have the time or energy to focus on the house because I had to focus on so many people.”
She added: “I need to have a home again and start living again.”
She heartbreakingly went on: “It’s a place I don’t want to be in. There’s no joy to come home to because you know what’s surrounding you.”
After the challenge of letting go of 40 years’ worth of possessions and memories, the family were left touched by a special tribute to Nadine’s mum.
Coming back home after Stacey and her team, including guest star Zoe Sugg, worked their magic, they saw a special memory of Nadine’s mum.
Nadine had earlier explained how her mum’s chair held its place of honour in the living room, with her old combs and hairbands still on it.
Instead of having the objects still there, Stacey, having transformed the living room to a brighter, emptier space, decided to embroider Nadine’s mum’s comb and headband and radio onto a little cushion.
She said: “I know how important Nan’s comb and headband and radio were to you, so instead of having them sat precariously on top of the chair, ready to fall at any minute, I thought, we could put it into the pillow, and then you could always look at her favourite things but keep her actual favourite things safe away.”
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Nadine’s daughter Merle commented. Breaking down into tears as she saw the cushion, she added: “That is too much.”
“It’s making you emotional,” Stacey replied, as Nadine’s daughter Beth also wiped back tears.
After seeing the response the family had to their new home, Stacey shared: “I think that might have been one of my favourite reactions ever.
“Nadine has, for the last 20-something years, just been looking after everyone around her.
“She’s been raising her kids, looking after her mum, putting all of her energy into everybody else.
“And now finally, she can bring some of that energy back to her, and she just deserves this so much.”
Nadine emotionally added: “Dreams come true.”
Sort Your Life Out is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.