To ask you how a professional declutterer works?

[Merryoldgoat]

Help me. I’ve had a really hard term and I’m overwhelmed and not coping with house and work and kids and life.

DH pulls his weight completely - it’s just there isn’t enough time.

I think the first starting point is a big declutter and I’m thinking of hiring help. But how does this work? Do they go round with you asking questions then do the work? Do they categorise then ask you to sort through?

Would appreciate anyone who has used a service to give some guidance.

Wow! How much does it cost

see I am a doer in stages and its what works for me. I did buy and read the Marie Kondo book but I knew that the do it all at once thing would not be a goer. my approach is more eating the elephant. I think it is important to find your style.

I NEED to know how much this cost too!

My kitchen was a 5 hour job and cost £405

They'll also provide all kinds of storage and labelling solutions which are extra

My refresh last year was £400 that was a half day and I think a full day was £650

I fully intend to get another refresh in the next few months

If you want to waste money, have at it. It’s so easy. Just start, you don’t need to pay anyone to help you get rid of things you don’t wear or need. Go for it, it’s fun actually. I did my whole house 3 years ago. It’s freeing.

That’s cheaper than a skip!

That depends. I got an 8yard skip which was huge and was £250 and could have it for 2/3w. After that was £10 a week

trash /boken went in and things useful were out on free on locks Facebook or taken to charity shop

even things I put in the skip thinking rubbish , at times people would rummage and take them out and to their home

fine by me. More room for more crap

£250 is def worth it

just set aside a weekend

I got in a declutterer who is fantastic, but she does it because she likes it and doesn't need the money so was cheaper than most (£25 an hour).
She would take a car load away of things that can be donated to charity shops and find new homes for them every time she is here.

Between visits, I bought a load of moving boxes and I just filled them with anything I wanted her to take away, then when she was here we focused on an area and did a couple of hours as that's as long as I could do in one go.

So, one time it was the kitchen cupboards that contain crockery as I had way too much which we sorted and pared down to something more reasonable (I had enough cake plates to run a teashop, now just have enough for the occasions I'd use them for).

I found knowing she was coming encouraged me to get more done in between her visits, because I knew if I could sort it out and get it in a box, she'd take it away that day.

Worth every penny, but most I've seen charge more like £40 or more an hour.

I think they all work differently though, because she wouldn't do it without me there to agree/disagree on what to keep or get rid of, so if I'd had the energy I could really have done it all myself in the exact same amount of time.

Spend less time on here and you might get some decluttering done.

You could list on olio as a big bundle for someone to resell

If you don’t have an emotional attachment to items and it’s more just a time issue, would a professional declutter really help? You’d have to set a block of time aside to work with them and could probably just do a lot yourself in that time (I do get people who find it hard to throw things away could benefit from these services). I have been watching the minimal mom for a few years, and have completely got on top of my house from following her. Dana from a Slob Comes clean is also brilliant.

I find Olio really useful for decluttering - people on there seem much more reliable than on Facebook free pages. I just put a pile of stuff on and they collect it.

There is literally a pricing section on that website!

www.declutterandflourish.co.uk/pricing

If you’re short on cash ask a friend with an organised house to help you. I’ve done this a few times with friends as I weirdly enjoy it (!) much easier when you can have a good chat at the same time. Key is to have an EXIT for the stuff that same day. Eg boot open of car if you have one to put charity/tip stuff straight into. Small pile for selling but take the photos and measurements straight away on to your phone and get your friend to ask you the next day if you’ve put them on Facebook /ebay. Anything not sold in x weeks goes to charity. Just focus on one room per week if busy so not overwhelmed.

Yes!

this is exactly my problem!

I did have a bit of success when I decided to
look at donating to a charity shop as like giving them the money I would have raised by selling the stuff myself, so just cut out the middle man. However most charity shops around where I live are so bloody fussy it’s ridiculous. And I now have expensive handbags (for example) sitting on marketplace.

I could do with doing a car boot sale but I’m not physically able unfortunately.

I must admit, it’s cost that puts me off. But recently I saw an ad for a lady who offers all sorts of services, from decluttering to pet sitting, and her rates are about a third of some of the other companies I’ve researched. The second barrier is DH. Hates what he sees as being judged. When I had a deep clean done, I had to pretend I had won it in a prize draw! He definitely wouldn’t want a stranger in the house, sifting through all our accumulated stuff!
What I find difficult is resisting the urge to go through every last tiny thing - I end up taking ages to do one drawer, for example, because I start reading old letters or looking at photos etc. And I have a tendency to do what pps have mentioned which is just to move stuff somewhere else, defeating the object. Lack of storage space doesn’t help this one bit! I reckon that’s the area I really need help with. We have a unit of storage cubes in the lounge but DD16 chucks all her snack wrappers etc in them. Honestly, I sometimes feel like I’m living in a warehouse. Carrier bags & piles all around! I am going to start thinking that if I stop buying so much tat & things I don’t need, we can save for a lovely holiday. Haven’t been abroad since 2018.

Pricing is here and really transparent. She was adamant it was transparent!

https://www.declutterandflourish.co.uk/pricing

If you don't have headspace I'd suggest a Slob Comes Clean. Her method is about doing it in situ. Marie Kondo is great, I benefited a lot, but it requires focus. A Slob Comes Clean is all about working with what you have.

You may need to do some self examination to get past mental blockers. The "I should sell it" one is huge. I take a budget that I would pay to get my space clean and allow myself to repurchase anything I got rid of that I actually need. I think I have spent £5 over fifteen years. Given the amount of extras I had to buy because I couldn't find something, I'm quids in.

I've been decluttering for over ten years. Once I was so ahead I started on the loft! But now my bedroom is bursting at the seams with clothes that need an edit and I have to do that again.

I’m sorry but this is the kind of minddet that doesn’t understand what it’s like to genuinely not have the time to devote to things like this and why parents like me and my husband are sinking some days.

I cannot do this with kids in the house, especially the little one. He’s autistic and a bloody wrecking ball (albeit a cute one). Half an hour spent somewhere not completely supervising has led me to needing to replace carpets this month.

I had a tummy bug a while
back, stuck on the loo and he’d eaten all of the yoghurts in the fridge (12).

He woke up early the other week and found the kitchen spray and sprayed it everywhere. He’d never shown any interest in spray bottles until then.

I now have a locked cupboard but he still needs supervising.

I don’t have the kid-free time to devote to them so I appreciate it’s easy for some but it’s not for me.

This is why I think the Dana White Slob Comes Clean method would work for you. It's no mess. Have a look at her YouTube.

MY LOFT IS EMPTY yes i am yelling because I am so proud of this.

Waste of time and money unless you keep it up, often it just goes back to the way it was.

You can do.it yourself OP.
You don't need to pay anyone.
Just make different piles as people said, and throw things out often that you don't need or want or it builds up.

Absolutely get why 'just doing it by yourself' is not an option right now. At least half of my clients are not hoarders, they just don't have the mental bandwidth/time or energy to add another big job to their list. None of my clients are 'lazy' or 'not trying' hard enough.
We all pay for all sorts of services that can make our lives easier, this is just another one. What I and other declutterers provide is a time you've booked out that in the nicest possible way, forces you to focus and not get distracted. We keep you on track! As you are not a hoarder or overly attached to stuff you would get a lot done with a declutter very quickly imo. Particularly the sort of declutterer that someone has provided a link for above as an example.

Lot’s of really good advice.Following

I think it's rather sweeping to describe it as a waste of money. The process done well is more complex than just getting rid of surplus stuff.