Would anyone employ a declutterer?

[Darkestseasonofall]

Whenever I read a thread on here about someone drowning in clutter and desperately trying to sort it out I'm almost foaming at the mouth wishing I could go to their house and help.
I absolutely love sorting, organising and streamlining. I seem to be good at it as well.
I'm wondering if I've missed my niche, could I set up a sideline doing this for people? I'd probably do it for free to be honest but is there a business opportunity here?

My good friend has just launched a business doing this and she offers interior design advice too if needed. She's just been through my house suggesting different storage solutions and small changes to each room to make a big difference overall. I'm paying her for it.

I would like to hire one for my aunt. But she would be incapable of doing the hard part, which is deciding what should go. She just cannot let go of any object that wanders into the house. It's sad.

I wouldn't consider myself massively organised. I'm a member of a few organising and cleaning groups on Facebook. I see how people's homes are and I realise I am. I have a lot of stuff in terms of plants and home decor but what I don't do loads of is keeping stuff I don't use. I'd lve to see what people's homes look like who think they are disorganised. I wonder if you actually are or if it's just in comparison to Instagram homes?

I paid a declutter to come help me. She's lovely. I have ADHD and my house is a nightmare.

She was great, but it was quite pricey (nearly £40 an hour) so I couldn't afford to do it very often.

I was looking into hiring someone pre-Covid.

My main concern was that part of the reason for my clutter is physical limitations. What I really need is to sit and just answer questions while someone else does all the lifting and vending and sorting, but I feel guilty asking someone to do that. It feels like I should pitch in. Several of the people I was researching also had messages on their websites that it reduces costs to make a pass through your clutter first which is obvious, but also makes me think that tackling my pantry might be more than they want to take on.

I’m about 2 rooms away from a Kim and Aggie special. I just can’t throw stuff away. I make plans to, but it gets a bit overwhelming and I give up.
My sister came round and did my wardrobe with me, and I got rid of 3 bin bags of things. I would never have done that on my own, and I surprised myself about how straight forward it was when somebody else is telling to get rid.

Mind you she’s not very sympathetic and was basically howling with laughter at some of my clothes.

Cost would be a factor for me, but I’m also a bit scared that you’ll make get rid of everything.

If you are in the Midlands, I’ll be a client & give you a reference- would pay too!

You'd have to factor in travel time and the time it would take to get to the tip, too.

A friend of mine has been doing this for about 10 years, I've not spoken to her recently but I do know a few people tried to use her as a cleaner to basically just go and tidy all their shit up.

I would be good at this too, perhaps a partnership? . As an extra perhaps offer to eBay anything necessary and split the profits? People who have clutter must be ebay goldmines. I eBay everything!

I once contacted a declutterer I'd seen on social media - she was £400 a day! Too expensive so I said no thanks.

I love the idea of someone selling the clutter on EBay after helping you sort it. I need that person!

Yes! Take my stuff and eBay it. I have no time to do it, it would be a godsend

I would employ someone, partly because I have way too much 'stuff' that I keep "just in case", and partly because having only one functional arm, moving stuff to get to other stuff is an utter pain.

What has stopped me for the most part in the past was money, then there's embarrassment. I have a blood disorder and my head starts spinning if there's too much going on, the thought of someone asking me to qualify my choices relentlessly would just be too much. There is also a part of me that fears the cleared space that would be created if all my unused 'stuff' was gone. I grew up in a very full house, and much as I admire and even dream of a lovely spacious home, I know that I would feel very lonely if it came about.

I know someone who did exactly this as a 'Winter' thing to replace her lessened garden work, and she very quickly had full diary.

My friends teenage daughter is an absolute Ebay whizz and we all give her our unwanted stuff to sell for a commission. So although I hate ebaying I could always outsource that to her.

I'm hearing you all loud and clear about the added value service of taking stuff away, I'm near a tip and a huge charity depot so would be able to offer that service, but realistically I'd probably charge more like £25 an hour to cover the time and cost of disposing of the things.
For pp who said they are physically unable to help due to disability I'd make it explicitly clear that I'd be willing to do the heavy lifting, so maybe that's another USP.

Oh god I would love this, I dream of having a clutter free organised house but just never manage to do it. So much stuff I want to eBay too but just know I’ll never get around to it!

I did a few years back, I was in a bit of a low point in my life and just couldn’t seem to get to grips with it myself. I’ve moved since then, and my life has changed in lots of ways and whilst I certainly haven’t kept up the levels of organisation and tidiness she put in place I have never gone back to the mess of back then!

I'd want to see photos of your house to help me decide

But you're not allowed (as a business) to take things to the tip - the Council will make you pay for a licence. And could you even fit things into your car?

You need to be a registered waste carrier. Finding someone who is willing to take your stuff away and won't fly tip it is part of the battle.

Valid points about the waste removal, I hadn't thought it through.

I've a big car so I could possibly take the charity shop bags but the waste, no.

There are lots of people advertising on my FB as licensed rubbish removers who can bring those giant bags to fill, or charge per black bag. I guess I could be the conduit between client and rubbish remover. Or if we had a four week schedule as an example, we could stack the rubbish somewhere then dispose of in one go. I guess it would have to be decided on a case by case basis.

Any other sticking points I've missed that are glaringly obvious?

I'd pay someone to help me to declutter but couldn't give them freedom with my things.

Wow I qould love this. My brain is so scatty I suspect you being a mh professional would make a huge difference. I need a system ti help maintain order too.

I sadly have no money and am not i south wales. But I do love your idea!

I looked into it and they charged £30+ per an hour and it’s not like I only have a small amount to declutter!

@BloomedAgain if you don’t need emotional support with decluttering you could hire a PA for much much less who help unwell/disabled people with whatever they need help with including decluttering, cooking or cleaning

@Darkestseasonofall you can’t just drive to the tip with the rubbish, running a business is different to sorting your own house out and being allowed to dispose of your own stuff