Farmingville Family Selected for TV Show

Camera crews camped out for seven days at the Farmingville home of Victor and Shari Pittaro for a taping of the TV show Clean House.  A yard sale was held and recorded earlier this month in which many of the family's belongings were sold or put up for auction.

Clean House is a home makeover and interior design show, which has been airing on the Style Network since 2003.  The show brings a cleanup and renovation crew to the homes of families who need help decluttering their homes and their lives. 

"This is called Clean House New York ... They cleaned up all the homes in LA, so now we're moving to the New York area," said John Hein, manager of programming for the Style Network. 

This was the first time ever that an episode of the series was filmed in New York. 

"It's been great so far," said Hein. "The family is amazing; lots of interesting stories came up.  They all have big personalities."

The show has two new co-hosts, Nina Ferrer and Michael Moeller, designers who teamed up to clear clutter and design new spaces. Hein said the network is hoping to infuse "new life" into the show by coming to New York.

The Pittaros' excess belongings were sold at the yard sale to raise money for a makeover on their home.  The show's production budget then matched up to $1,000 of the yard sale proceeds to be used on renovations, as well as supplying all paint and labor.

Clean House executive producer, Glenda Hersh, explained that the Pittaros reached out to the show because they were overwhelmed with raising three kids plus working full-time.  "The house just got away from them; they needed help," she said.

Hein said, "We find the best mix of story and clutter."

Victor provided the episode with a compelling angle, because of how attached he was to his collection of eagle items, and how hard it was for him to let go of the bulk of the almost 200 patriotic pieces amassed.

"The eagles are a collection he's had for many years.  He really loves them.  It got to be a little overwhelming.  It got to be not just collectables, but lots of little chotchkes," Shari said.

A deal was struck that allowed Victor to keep eight of his most prized pieces.

The entire collection of Eagles went for $130 at the auction, and was won by Christopher and Joy Diaz of Farmingville.  Joy, who loves going to garage sales, and her family were then approached by the Clean House crew to possibly be featured in an upcoming episode of the series.

"I'm pretty sure we have more stuff than this," said Joy confidently.

The good news for Victor is that it looks as though he may have a chance to win back those eagles.

The show featuring the Pittaros will air sometime in October.

If you have a messy home then go to mystyle.com.  There are still a few slots open for this season.