Has anyone hired a professional declutterer?

[1000umbrellas]

In the wake of Marie Kondo there seem to be quite a few people who've set themselves up doing this. Has anyone on here used one? Were they any good? Was it really embarrassing having a stranger going through your stuff? And how much time did it take?

Anyone?? [watches tumbleweed roll by] I've been seeing a few news stories about people who've set up doing this but don't know anyone who's actually hired one.

I was just googling one today! Obvs that’s not much help to you, but I’m watching with interest.

I know one, but don’t think I’d ever want to have someone going through my crap telling me to fling it.

A close friend of mine did employ one and found it really beneficial. I’ve never been to her house, she always comes to my house or I meet her at her parents so I guess the house was pretty bad.

I’ve not done it, but I can see how it could be useful if you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. They are also not emotionally attached to your possessions which helps.

No but I do dream of it...

I broke my leg leaving hospital with newborn, had a toddler of 18m and had to move into a new house. Everything had been packed professionally but in such a rush, so no chance to declutter.
I hired 3 people to basically show me everything as they unpacked it and remove anything unwanted.
It wasn't a company I just posted work offer on a facebook page and three ladies from a church charity group came. I paid them and they also took the surplus stuff.

I am a KonMari Consultant. I have 3 older kids and I had struggled my hold life to be tidy. I was ashamed to have people over in case they judged me. I read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" by Marie Kondo and followed through. I now have a beautiful tidy home which take a maximum of 10 minutes a day to put straight. I would never have thought it possible.

I trained to be a professional organizer because I wanted to help others avoid the stress and anxiety I have felt my whole life.

It is much easier to work with another person and the speed with which you can transform someones home and life is breathtaking.

How much do you typically charge?

What do they add over and above you looking at everything and making a decision on your own?

Do they just make you focus and spend the time that they’re there actually doing it - making you get on with it?

I charge £39 an hour. London rates are higher about £50. The amount two people can achieve in a day is transformative. People often say “how well they slept” after only one session. Compare that to a lifetime of clutter.

It’s tempting.

Oooh that’s doable money!

@WellTidy I think the problem is that people find it hard, and can’t decide easily. I find it quite easy- I’m moving countries at the moment and I’m finding it easy enough to sort into charity shop/sell/recycle piles but I know lots of people struggle.

I’ve helped friends declutter and I give them the Paddington Bear stare when they insist they need something really random that I don’t think they do.

As a home Organizer I am there to show you how to declutter and to motivate you to keep going. As a KonMari consultant I follow a specific order - clothes, books, paper, komono(miscellaneous) and sentimental items. As you work through the different categories you hone your ability to choose what to keep and what to discard based on what “sparks joy”. I am involved in every part of the process: taking stuff out of the wardrobe, bagging it up , folding it and hanging it back up once you have been through it all. I will ask you relevant questions if I sense your ambivalence over something. So I am coach, friend, devil’s advocate, cleaner all rolled into one. It is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done. Helping people who have been struggling sometimes for years transform their home is fantastic.

Do you take the stuff away as well? I find getting rid of the stuff harder than deciding it needs to go, but that probably because I always want it to go to 'a good home' not landfill.

People struggle to discard “stuff” for a multitude of reasons. I will gently question a person to try and understand why they are hanging on to something. Often just letting them talk about it is enough to allow them to let it go. Your friend is very lucky to have you to help her.

Most Organizer will have a license to take stuff away. I am happy to drop stuff off for clients at the charity shop. I have found if it is left sitting around people will often take stuff out. Other Organizers think it is part of the process for people to get rid of it themselves. I know some Organizers won’t take stuff away because people ring them up and ask for things back - I think those people are borderline hoarders which is a very different group of people. I have never had a client ask for anything back.

@Patricia01

I charge £39 an hour. London rates are higher about £50. The amount two people can achieve in a day is transformative. People often say “how well they slept” after only one session. Compare that to a lifetime of clutter.

£15 an hour here... £50? FIFTY?

APDO Association of Professional Declutterers and Organizers recommends minimum of £35 an hour.

@Patricia01

APDO Association of Professional Declutterers and Organizers recommends minimum of £35 an hour.

I don't but I follow the style sisters and I dream of the day they can come and sort of my house !

Just tidy up yourself and throw stuff out.

I have decluttered a lot of homes over the years I sell and dispose of unwanted items. It’s great fun however I mainly do it as a hobby now. I charge £300 per day for two people this includes cleaning as we go. It’s a pretty great feel good thing to do !

My partner cannot get rid of anything. But he knows exactly where everything is. Luckily he has his own home and very little stuff in mine. I have decluttered every time I've moved but still have stuff i feel an emotional attachment to.

Hi,

I do this! Happy to answer any questions.

I don't work in the UK but I typically charge €130 per 3-4 hour session.

My clients hire me because me being there means they have to be accountable and Get It Done in that time slot. They find it useful to talk through why particular items are hard to let go.

My 'thing' is that I teach my clients to tidy up and stay tidy - worst business model in the world really but after we finish working together we should never need to meet again

Many people can do it alone and do a great job, but just as many need a bit of extra support, mentally or physically, literally another brain and another pair of hands. Equally some people prefer and are motivated enough to exercise alone, but some prefer / need a personal trainer.

I pride myself on being empathic and never judging - as a reformed messy person I understand exactly how and why life gets in the way and how hard it can feel to claw your way back to a semblance of tidiness.

Most frequent end-of-session comment from my clients? 'I feel like the light at the end of the tunnel's just a bit closer now'.