RETIRED GP Charlotte Jones is hoping to declutter her home - with a little help from the BBC and members of the public! Dr Jones is among a number of families taking part in a new BBC One series entitled Cash for Trash. The programme will be presented by Lorne Spicer who, with her team of experts, will help people recycle, refurbish and repair the clutter in their homes in order to raise money. The deal each family has to agree to is that half the money they raise will be for a personal project while the other half will be donated to a good cause of their choice. In Dr Jones' case, money raised will be divided between a snorkeling holiday with her four children and four grandchildren who live in Indonesia, Sweden and Australia, and the other half will go to the international charity, Médecins Sans Frontières. Eighty year old Dr Jones became interested in the programme after receiving an e-mail from the charity Sumatran Orangutan, which was founded by her daughter, Lucy. "I had moved from a much larger house, which had an attic and 37 years' accumulation of things and although I had sold some of them I still had lots of clutter," she said. Dr Jones e-mailed back saying she would like to take part in the programme and was subsequently visited by a film crew who spent a day interviewing her and decluttering her home at Ty Gwyn on the New Dixton Road. When it came to nominating a charity, Dr Jones says she would liked to have supported the Sumatran Orang Utan Society, which helps rehabilitate and raise public awareness of the endangered species, but was told she could not do so because her daughter is a director. So she chose the international charity Médecins Sans Frontières instead. "I had always hoped to work for them but I either had four children to bring up or a practice to run and then was too old! So I support them with money instead," she says. Now successfully decluttered, Dr Jones is looking forward to the sale, which takes place this Sunday, February 10th, from 9.30am, when the whole event will be filmed for the programme. A fantastic variety of items will be on sale, ranging from an ancient warming pan and coffee table to hundreds of books. The BBC will be putting up a marquee and other items will be housed in the coach house in the garden. Antiques experts Paul Hayes and Mark Franks will be on hand to put a price on Dr Jones' unwanted goods, and a handyman has repaired and refurbished items so that they can sell for the best price. "Anyone who wants to can bring stuff to add to the sale - half of it will go to Médecins Sans Frontières and I will try my best to keep a tab on what the other half fetches to give back to people to use as they want - but if it's total chaos, I can't promise! Anyone "We want as many people as possible to come along to the sale - they may even pick up a few bargains!" said Dr Jones. If you have any items you would like to add to the sale, contact Dr Jones on 01600 714550 before February 9th.
