Family bonding experience - ‘THE TV SHOW THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES!

Getting their house in order achieved some spiritual healing

- Rebekah Hebenton

When Toni Helleur signed up her family for new Three show Sort Your Life Out NZ, she hoped host Kanoa Lloyd would help her and partner Lio Tafolua regain control of their overflowing family home. But that was just the beginning of the life-changing process.

“It was quite a healing thing for us for a number of reasons,” tells Toni. “We didn’t realise how unhappy all the clutter was making us. It didn’t feel like our home anymore.”

Between them, Toni and Lio have five kids – Toni’s son Javan, 24, and Lio’s daughters Cassandra, 28, and Olalini, 27, from previous relationships. Together, they share sons Roman, 10 and Tristan, nine.

It was confronting for the large, blended family to see the contents of their home laid out in a giant warehouse and having to reduce it by half. The process was difficult and brought up many discussions that the whānau would never have had if they weren’t forced to consider why they were holding on to certain items. Among those pieces was some heartfelt memorabilia.

Toni sadly lost her dad Murray last year, and one particularly poignant moment came when she and her family had to discuss whether to keep or donate Murray’s tie collection. A keen footie player, Murray had kept a tie from every rugby club he’d ever played for.