Anyone employed the services of a professional "de-clutterer"?

[car25]

Since being pregnant and having my little one, now 2 years old, I have found I have not thrown much out at all, but have still collected stuff at a great rate - it has now come to the point of no return, but I'm finding it really hard to even start to de-clutter with a toddler racing around. Has anyone had an experience of professional de-clutters and are they any good, or should I just ship my toddler out to her grans whilst I get on? I feel like I'm being dragged down and drowning in "stuff" and probably will need a skip!

My sister used one. It's a good career for mumsnetters otherwise thinking of cleaning or pub work - better paid. She found it really helped get the place tidied up - she is on her own with small twins.

It sounds like a good idea. How much does it cost?

Alternatively you could do a tiny bit each day. Grab a bag and throw away 27 things one day, in a FLYlady style approach, the next day grab a bag and stick 27 things in a bag for the charity shop. Then repeat!

I'd love to do this.

I am ruthless when it comes to clutter, b/c I gew up in a large space and now live in a small one, which sort of makes me crazy, hence, I keep the clutter to a minimum.

But what if you had clients who refused to go along w/your recommendations and made your life hell?

what if this de-clutterer throws out stuff you still want/need? Afterall, it is easy to slash and burn when it is not yours. Unless you can live with this, there is no getting away from dreamteamgirl's method to start with (which is the bulk of the work really).

My sister's one was a vicar's wife. My sister had to make the time commitment and in a sense they did it together. My sister got someone to mind her twins for a whole Saturday and I think the lady arrived on a Friday night (my sister paid her hotel bill obviously better if you can find someone local) and then she gave advice on shelving, means of storage etc, they went through piles of packed up stuff that had never been sorted; lots and lots of trips to charity shops that day with my sister doing it with her. It kind of forced her to get on with it. They didn't do everything but it seemed to solve her problem and in fact it helped her decide to move to a bigger house a very few months later which kind of defeated the purpose of tidying at the old house but she was glad she did it. I can't remember the cost. I thought it was far too expensive. Might have been £1000 in al but that's a guess.