Professional declutterer, any thoughts?

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I'm seriously considering becoming one...
Has anyone used one? Or would anyone like one but doesn't for whatever reason, what's stopping you? How much have / would you pay?
Any opinions welcome

There's one fairly local to me and honestly I struggle to tell the before from the after photos. I could do a better job myself. I would not pay for that service, you'd have to be bloody good at it!

www.netflix.com/gb/title/81094723?s=i&trkid=13747225&vlang=en&clip=81298616

On Netflix.
Get organised with the home edit

Watch this 👆🏻 it's fab !

I would love this service! I am leaving my house after 20 years of family life and clearing it out is a nightmare!

I would like someone to come weekly for 2-3 hours on a Friday over a few months or something and not do it all at once, as I don’t have the energy for a ten day overhaul nowadays!

Also op, I would suggest checking the rubbish and recycling rules where you are. The recycling rules are quite strict in some areas and it’s really time consuming if you have to sort out and take a skip of mixed rubbish to a recycling centre ifyswim and don’t use a skip hire service that dumps everything in to landfill or whatever? (If that is still allowed.)

Sounds like a great idea for a business if you have loads of energy, have good people skills and a strong stomach! I think you might have to have quite strict rules about what is decluttering and what is cleaning though.

Best of luck with it!

In a work capacity I’ve used members of this trade organisation to support clients.
www.apdo.co.uk

I meant to add, with success. But it’s horses for courses, the person needs to be ready and interested in engaging in the process.

Wow, thanks for all the replies!

I'd happily do the charity shop runs, but not rubbish or recycling removal, the fees to be a licensed waste carrier are far too high locally to make the figures work.

I'm a mental health professional looking to diversify, but I couldn't really advertise that as I'd not be indemnified to provide any mental health support. But I'm generally kind and compassionate so hopefully people would find me easy to work with.

Would people pay maybe £40 or £50 an hour for the service?

I use a declutterer. She helped me get my house ready for sale then to pack and then to organise things at the new house. She is now helping me go through a storage unit.
It's like how you use a personal trainer - sure we can do it on our own, but we don't. Paying someone means the day is dedicated, they keep you going and mine will then sell my stuff on eBay.
She also works with hoarders through the council. They have a psychological disorder- you don't just go in there and clear stuff out. But for health reasons they need something to be done.

I think this could be a good business idea.

I think the thing to do is work out what you can offer that the person doesn't already have, eg strategies, lasting power and methods to sell stuff on afterwards. Sounds as though you will need to be doing this with the homeowner so doesn't save them time as such?

I think £50 an hour is reasonable. I'd probably want a three hour chunk of your time and in my head I'd feel like I'd pay £200 for that. You're not in West London are you? 😂

Lots of people do it for free on the basis that they put videos on YouTube/ TikTok and they get income from that.

Interesting business model to think about!

We're heading into a major recession, no one is going to have the money for something unnecessary like a professional declutterer.

You need something more recession proof to make money.

Totally untrue. Maybe true for some but I have a lot of clutter and I definitely want rid. It’s affecting my mental health but I’m overwhelmed by it. OP - I’d be interested but no idea on costs. My cleaner is £15 per hour if that helps!

I’d also benefit from some help selling a lot of the items on eBay, I’d happily pay someone to do this and hopefully therefore make back the money!

Like all businesses, it's only a good business if its:
(1) Profitable (that is, cash positive very early on)
(2) Scalable (that is, you can grow it beyond your own labour)
(3) Sellable (that is, you can sell it as a going concern with an established client base and a brand and a presence in your chosen market at the end of your time)

It won't be a good business if you end up working your arse off for depressed hoarders who really don't want to get rid of stuff and who can't or won't pay you properly for your time.

For these reasons I would:
Align yourself with a house-moving or retirement company; only offering your services to them or their clients. Talk to them first: understand your customer. Your customer may not be the messy individuals - it may be the services that the messy individuals are taking in parallel.
Take on contractors, determine how they get paid and what cut you take first
Talk always with your clients about the end-game. Your ideal situation, for example, might be to be bought out by a retirement company or house-moving company if the service proves itself to be profitable and useful to them.

Business. It's basically understanding your customer, grit and commonsense.

Hello, I’d love the details if you don’t mind PMing me please!

We're heading into a major recession, no one is going to have the money for something unnecessary like a professional declutterer

People still move in retirement, die and move house

I’d pay for it too. And I don’t think it’s an “unnecessary” service either. I have osteoarthritis and it would really help me!

Also, with a recession, maybe a lot of people will decide to downsize and need to clear out?

I trained as a counsellor then thought about moving into this area.

Hoarding is a mh issue, but even clutter at a lesser level usually has some emotion or history attatched.

So I'd suggest doing some training, I think it would help you get custom and really help your clients therefore leading to more business.

I cant see that people would pay £40-50 an hour for this.

The lady I use in London is £110 for 3 hours.

There is a very interesting book about the emotional side of clutter, written by a woman called Helen Sanderson who is a professional declutter and psychotherapist. Can't remember the name of the book but if you Google her name it will come up.

Yes. 100% yes. If you need a trial client please let me know. I have used one in the past but due to covid never managed to continue. She has since retired so I need a new person!

Was thinking today I needed one. My shite is not possessions, it’s shite I haven’t had time to deal with because juggling work & severely disabled child for too many years.

I think I paid £250 or thereabouts for a day (think it was 6 hours or so)

I have used a professional declutter to help me sort through our play room; organise the utility room, set up my office with systems to keep on top of home admin and work paperwork.

I think the usefulness is partly that sense of perspective from someone else. No one in my house is interested in keeping on top of the stuff that we seen to accumulate - so it was either I hire someone - or we just drown in tat and I feel resentful! So I did it.

Ultimately she made our house and our stuff look much nicer - only without buying anything.

So yes I think it’s a good business idea.

I think you must feel able to deal with some tricky people though. Especially if they’re bereaved etc.