Niecy Nash was in the neighborhood, and people were pretty excited about it. Nash, host of the Style Network series "Clean House" was standing in the driveway of a Niu Valley house on Saturday wearing a lei po'o of silk flowers instead of her trademark single bloom.

In a quiet suburb that doesn't get much celebrity action except for Beth Chapman's occasional prance around the block with her trainer, it was a big deal. People were lined up on the sidewalk, quiet and well-behaved, but pretty dazzled by the spectacle.

The house "Clean House" was cleaning didn't seem particularly horrific. In fact, it was nice in an unremarkable way; certainly not the kind you would pass and think to yourself, "Ay, you folks cannot cut the grass every once in awhile? And what is leaking out of those boxes?!"

If you haven't seen the show (which seems impossible since it's on almost as much as "America's Next Top Model") the premise is that Nash, a comedic actress, host and all-around big personality who sports luxurious hair extensions, perfect '80s-style red fingernails and a sassy smile, brings in a crew of "experts" (some are just actors happy for the gig) to clean, organize and most importantly, GET RID OF the crazy things people collect.

And people do collect some crazy things. A garage full of broken computers. Rooms full of clothes that never made it out of the shopping bag. Beanie Babies by the hundreds. Buss-up furniture scavenged from the side of the road. The show taps into the contemporary American disorder of hoarding, of out-of-control consumption and the obsessive love of inessential objects used to fill emotional needs.

Nash unburdens the families of the stuff they've collected and the chaos that comes with the mess. Get rid of the Beanie Babies, make room for real life. Her brilliance is that she is relentlessly honest in the most compassionate way. She has the demeanor of a seen-it-all nurse telling a patient they're gonna be OK but maybe if they lay off the smokes and the Big Slam breakfasts they would feel a heck of a lot better.

The items for sale in the Niu Valley yard didn't include great treasures or fabulous bargains. An old VHS tape for five bucks? Hmmm, for that price, what's on it? There were lots of T-shirts on hangers, and a pair of barbecue grills, which elicited the cry of one woman to her husband: "Ay, what you like buy dat for? Rusty on the outside, dirty on the inside. We get that kind already!"

The local house seemed pretty tame compared to the Mainland ones they've shown in past seasons. There are certainly blatantly un-clean houses of epic proportion on O'ahu, and we all know just where they are, right? Go, Niecy, go.

Too bad participation in "Clean House" is voluntary.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.