Gift recycling – are you a fan?

How fast did November go by? Can’t believe it’s December already and the seasons’ festivities are almost upon us. December is a busy time for us declutterers as it starts to dawn on people what needs to be done to prepare for that ‘perfect’ day.

It would be so nice if our homes were visitor ready year round but invariably they’re not and we always have a flurry of new clients wanting to declutter so they can feel proud of their homes when family and friends come to visit. Whilst I’m a big fan of November being the best time of the year to declutter, decluttering in December presents options to think a bit differently.

As a declutterer I have close encounters with people’s bad shopping decisions time after time. For me, if you’ve bought it, not used it and often can’t remember even buying it, it’s a no brainer to let it go to someone else who can enjoy it. For most of the year the options of where to offload your stuff are fairly standard:

• family/friends (but please make sure they actually want your stuff so you’re not just involved in the great clutter pass the parcel game)
• Ebay/Gumtree/Facebook selling sites
• charity shops
• Freecycle

But in December there are lots of brilliant ways to pass on your stuff and feel your impulsive purchase was not wasted. It’s called gift recycling. To be fair, it’s something that many people are uncomfortable with but as we all work towards a society with less waste it’s worth thinking about. December is a time for reflection on the year past, thanking those who’ve helped us and for thinking about those less fortunate. There are infinite opportunities to give gifts and extend kindness

• teachers, TAs, lunchtime assistants, lollipop people (I’m pretty sure they’re not called lollipop people anymore so if someone wants to enlighten me I’d be grateful!)
• toy appeals
• food banks
• secret santa gifts
• school fairs
• bottle tombolas

There are lots of possibilities. This list only scratches the surface. All you need to do is a good search around your home, look in drawers, wardrobes, in your food cupboards, in the loft, spare room. Gather your unwanted things together, make sure they are in date/not too dusty/still in fashion and gift away. Let the guilt go – despite your worst fears Auntie Beryl isn’t going to pop round and demand to know why you’re not wearing your Britney Spears slippers but someone somewhere is going to be delighted with them! And you are one step closer to that clutter free home. It’s a Win Win situation.

When does ‘stuff’ become clutter…?

 

One man’s clutter is another man’s treasure. Defining what counts as clutter is a personal thing – no general rules need apply here.

For example, we may have a client who collects a certain kind of ornament. To one person that would be considered clutter as it takes up space on the sideboards that could otherwise be clear. But to this client they are treasured possessions that are dearly loved and cherished and they are quite happy to give up the sideboard space for them.

Defining clutter is much more about how the ‘stuff’ in your home makes you feel. Let me ask you a few simple questions:

• When you walk into your home do you feel instantly relaxed and comfortable?
• Do you enjoy having people round?
• Can you always find what you are looking for?
• Do the possessions in your life bring you joy?
• When you look around at the things you own, can you honestly say you use, need or love everything you possess?

If the answer is NO to any of the questions then you have some clutter in your life.

If you do not use it regularly, need it sometimes or love it all the time, it is time to question whether it should stay.

Why not try your own attempt at decluttering asking yourself these simple three questions for each item.

Remember – start small and you will be surprised how quickly you will gain momentum!

If you need some help with the decluttering process follow us on Twitter @Clutterfairyuk and Facebook for more helpful tips on how to beat the clutter for good. Better still, if you are in Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire or North Wales, give us a call and we will gladly come around and help!

A Clutter Fairy – what exactly is that?

As I was looking around at stuff I wrote just after I set up the business 5 years ago, I came across this and I’m happy to say, absolutely nothing has changed (except the age of my kids!)

Hi, I’m Lesley Spellman, wife, daughter, friend and mum to three kids 15, 12 and 8. For a lot of years I spent my time at home raising my lovely family and trying to create a happy place to live and was more than content. Then, I woke up one morning and thought maybe the time had come to do something a bit different. Back to work? Hmmm? No Friday coffee, child care in the school holidays, getting bossed around – maybe not. So I then moved swiftly onto the option of setting up my own business. Advice from friends was always to do something I was passionate about. In the passion stakes my home has always been high on the list – it needs to be welcoming to me as well as others, it needs to be functional and it’s a bonus if it is beautiful. I love being with people, talking to them, finding out about what makes them tick, and hopefully in some cases helping them. Oh and I’ve always been a control freak…

With my passions in mind and my controlling nature in check, I set up my professional organising business, The Clutter Fairy. It’s the perfect name for my business– it encompasses to a tee what I aim to do for people – whilst providing a constant source of amusement to those who know me well. Lesley Spellman and Fairy- not a likely combination!

Most people have clutter in some shape or form – it’s hard to juggle all the demands made on women in twenty-first century life– but wouldn’t it be lovely to have someone wave a magic wand and make it all go away? But what takes people from moaning at the school gate about their clutter to picking up the phone and calling me? It’s all about the extent to which it is getting them down.

Every client has a different need – at one end of the scale I have clients who want to declutter, have a good idea of what needs to go and just want someone to keep them on track and ensure the job is done thoroughly. By booking an appointment, it reaches the top of their to do list and the job gets done. At the other end of the scale, I have clients who are completely overwhelmed, often to a point of depression, have no inkling of how, why, when or where to get started and are desperate to make a change. They have read all the books, watched the TV programmes, bought the storage solutions but are still knee deep in the stuff of life. That’s when they start searching for an alternative and hopefully find The Clutter Fairy.

So what does The Clutter Fairy do? Well, first and foremost it’s all about trust. By inviting a declutterer into your home you are laying your whole life out to bare. I visit the client’s home, we chat about how the clutter came about, we have a look at each room in the house, see if any of them work well, assess which are the main areas of concern and then chat about how the job can be done and how long it is likely to take. By the end of the initial consultation, the trust is established.

Once we get started together, we work methodically through each room until it’s complete. I challenge items I feel may be questionable. If you don’t use it often, need it sometimes or love it all the time, it’s up for question. But ultimately all decisions about what stays and what goes are not mine to make. We sort things into categories for rehoming – different room, charity shop, family or friends, ebay, recycling. Very little ends up in landfill. And the key to decluttering success is getting the stuff out of the house on that day.

Once a room is clutter free, it’s time to start organising things into a system that works with your lifestyle. If you have five school age kids and work full time, your needs are going to be very different to a retired couple or a student. While we are working together we talk a lot about habits, changing them if necessary and chat about some strategies that will make things easier to manage long term.

I love my job. I love the difference that I can make to someone in as little as a few hours. As trite as it may sound, with every bin liner that finds its way out of the front door, I can see a weight being gradually lifted from that person’s shoulders. Decluttering is not rocket science – it’s a straightforward process of change but sometimes you just need a helping hand.

Ten months down, two to go…

I shared with you at the beginning of 2014 that my two best friends decided to go without buying any clothes, shoes or accessories for a whole year. I knew it would be tough for them. I never had any doubt they would do it but I thought they would be chomping at the bit to be out there shopping on New Years Day but it seems as if it has been more profound than that. Here’s a Q and A with Mary:

What have you learnt most from your ten months of abstinence?

I’m now a firm believer in “Less is more”. It’s so much easier having less. It takes less time to get ready to go out. I don’t spend hours agonising about what to wear as I have limited choice. I have got rid of loads of stuff that I don’t need. It makes things so much simpler.

You used to love to treat yourself to something new for special occasions. Has that been the hardest part?

Dressing well will always be something that is important to me but I previously mistook that for wearing something new. This is a real eye opener for me. Last year, I would always buy a new outfit for a special event. Now I am getting so much more value out of the clothes I have and allowing myself to enjoy them more.

You used to spend a lot of leisure time shopping. Has the shopping ban made you change behaviour?

I embarked on this challenge at at time when there were some big changes to my family life. I wanted to make sure I didn’t fill my newly found spare time shopping. I wanted to do other things, more rewarding things. This process has helped me so much. I have joined a gym, started singing, got my chickens at last and have been much more focused in running my business. I don’t need the boost I felt from retail therapy any more. I have learnt to address my feelings instead of covering them up going shopping. I am focusing on my needs now too as well as the rest of the family’s and that’s made me a more confident person. I am in a much better place emotionally than last year because I have faced change head on instead of hiding behind a clothes splurge.

Have you saved money?

I’ve not really kept count but I’m sure I have. But for me, it wasn’t just about that – it was a personal challenge and has become a journey.

Would you recommend this to anyone for 2015?

I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone brave enough to do it. In fact a couple of friends are giving it a go on a month by month basis. Good luck to anyone who wants to challenge themselves.

Curtailing the clutter in your kitchen

Increasingly, the kitchen is the hub of the family home, so it needs to function like a well oiled machine. But what’s the secret ingredient?

For me it’s accessibility and compromise. (I know that’s two ingredients, but both are essential)

It’s YOUR kitchen so you need a system that works for YOU. If you are a simple cook that relies heavily on convenience, don’t fall into the trap of being aspirational – you just don’t need all the latest gizmos and gadgets. But if your cooking is Michelin star worthy, then you’re going to need more than just a knife and a chopping board to see you through. But keep in mind your kitchen isn’t a tardis – it’s only got so many cupboards so that’s where compromise comes in.

Having the well organised kitchen of your dreams is a fine art but here are just a few ideas to make yours work better for you.

– Have all your heavy pots and pans right where you need them, adjacent to or underneath your cooker.

– Don’t mix food and non food together. Pots in one area, cereals in another. It helps create a more hygienic workspace.

– Whilst lining up cans and bottles in your cupboard may seem OTT, it allows you to see exactly what you have and helps avoid overbuying.

– If you’re not lucky enough to have a carousel or Le Mans unit in those awkward corner cupboards, try to recreate one with two plastic boxes, one in the corner and one in the front. Put seldom used pots and pans in there and it will make accessibility so much easier.

– If you are planning a kitchen from scratch, incorporate plenty of space for recycling so it’s not littering up your kitchen floor.

– If you’re struggling for space, use your walls – storage in between your wall and base units can eradicate the need for a utensils drawer.

– If you’re a cook, those spice racks with space for six spices isn’t going to cut it so make your herbs and spices accessible in a cupboard. If they are at low level use a marker to write on the top of the spice so you can see exactly what they are from above as well as at eye level.

– Shelves often adjust in modern kitchens so choose shelf heights that are suitable for your needs. If you can’t fit that oversize wine glass in the cupboard and it ends up in with the dog food, think about swapping the glass for a smaller one.

– If you don’t have space, don’t bulk buy. If your shelves are not high enough for a 750g of cereal, buy a 500g one instead. Don’t even think about decanting cereals into plastic containers unless you are super organised or live alone. It will just never happen.

– If you’re a cook that likes to have things to hand, bear in mind that a wall cupboard is not TOO far away from the worksurface and can help create a more streamlined space.

Finally, do a good declutter. Very few British kitchens have ample space. If you haven’t used that gravy separator for 5 years, it’s time to say goodbye!

The ecstasy of the purchase

So I shared with you back in January that my two best friends were embarking on a “Buy nothing for a year campaign.” They’re kindly sharing their thoughts on the process with me as I have an insatiable interest in what makes people shop to excess and the effects of that excess on the home. So far so good they’re both sticking to it. Well done, girls. Let me tell you it’s nothing short of a miracle with these two!

So in 13 weeks, a very admirable absence of banned purchases, but there are a few notable developments. Katie is doing a textbook move by replacing clothes and shoes with things for the house. In the strict rules of the game that’s permitted, but it begs the question, is it a clothes fetish that’s the problem or actually the desire to buy ? Is it all about retail therapy regardless of the category? I’m not saying retail therapy doesn’t have its place – I fall for its charms on an all too regular basis. But does retail therapy actually make us feel better and how permanent is the high that accompanies it? What gives us that boost is an individual thing – it can be makeup, shoes, craft items, magazines, DVDs, underwear, candles and the list goes on. But does the purchase of things really lead us to sustainable happiness?

Mary has done some self diagnosis on what might have driven her desire to buy. She was born on Christmas Day and as well as the obvious factor of her birthday potentially being swallowed up by the merriment of Christmas, it has also meant that all her acquiring as a child was focused on one day. Could this contribute to an excessive desire to acquire? It’s an interesting thought. People often express pity for those with a birthday around Christmas time but why?

The rules of the game are providing laughs and debate

– can you accept a clothing gift from someone?

– when you need a uniform item is that allowed?

– if you get a gift voucher can you spend that on clothes?

This blog is designed to get you to think. I’m not a psychologist but work daily alongside people with psychological issues leading to excessive acquisition. I find people’s emotional drivers fascinating. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

What’s the best home improvement you can make?

 

Ideal Home Show 2014

I had a really interesting day at the Ideal Home Show at Earls Court in London on Friday. I was delighted to be asked to be an expert declutterer in the Anglian Home Advice Centre. I chatted to lots of people about to embark on extensions, big interior design projects, new house builds and so on but over and over again people were admitting to having a real problem with clutter. So, as I looked around at the high tech storage solutions, beds that morph into home offices, furniture designs that promise to ‘ declutter in one step’ (with a cupboard – how does that work?!), I think I could challenge the big players at the show with my offering. A session with the Clutter Fairy is effective, straightforward, efficient and definitely cheaper than an extension!

In a decluttering project, storage and what form it needs to take should be investigated late. All too often I hear of people about to embark on a declutter who first pop off to IKEA to buy extra storage. Not necessary! Declutter first – identify what you are going to keep, gather like with like and then see if you have gaps in your storage. At that point you will know whether or not you need anything, whether it is utility or something more aesthetically appealing, what the dimensions should be and whether it needs to be divided into sections and so on.

Decluttering is a cathartic process – you will never be disappointed; you will always get a great result. Your rooms appear bigger, you have more space, you can find what you need, you save time searching for things you’ve lost, you save money not shopping for things you already have. Need I go on?

All too often, we spend vast amounts of money, time and effort trying to create the perfect space in which to live. Whether you want a storage box or an extra room, if you don’t clear your clutter it will never be enough. Maybe that perfect home is already there; it’s just buried knee deep in stuff you don’t need. So, give it a go, invest in the best home improvement you’ve ever made and allocate time to a declutter or go one step further and ask for expert help to guide you through the process. You know where we are!

 

Me at the Anglian Home Improvement Advice Centre

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decluttering – a New Year’s reality check!

It’s that time of year when the world and his wife are talking about decluttering. Newspapers, magazines and blogs are all trying to motivate us to live 2012 clutter free. Now, motivation is key to a successful declutter, of course, but alongside that you need education on how to tackle the job and a big dose of realism.

As a professional declutterer one of the key skills I need is honesty. I am honest with my clients and I will be honest with you.

So here’s the reality – if you have quite a lot of clutter in your home, it probably didn’t build up overnight; it took months, maybe even years, to get to such an unmanageable level so it shouldn’t be surprising that it will probably take more than just an hour or two to sort through and get your space back to the way you want it to be. There, I’ve said it – it’s not a “Ten minutes a Day for a Clutter Free home”, it’s not a trip out to buy a gorgeous storage unit from Ikea, it’s not about a labelling machine or post it notes. If you have a lot of clutter, it’s going to take time to sort it.

And time is not all you need. More than anything you need focus, determination, motivation and a huge amount of energy. Clearing clutter is emotionally and physically draining if there’s a lot of it.

The ideal scenario is of course to get a professional organiser to help you. What they will try to achieve is a balance between your vision and the amount of stuff you are willing to get rid of. If you have said you want a minimalist home with clear surfaces more akin to an edition of Ideal Home and you only have one carrier bag ready for the charity shop then it’s time for some questions to be asked. A professional will keep you focused, motivated and above all entertained throughout what can be a mind-numbingly tedious job at times.

If a professional is not an option for you try to bear in mind the following.

Having well meaning family to help can be, in my experience, a disaster waiting to happen. A daughter, a mother in law, even a husband is not impartial. If someone has been living with the fallout of your clutter they are likely to harbour a small amount of resentment and perhaps may struggle to understand the  psychology behind your attachment to your things.

If you are going to go it alone you need to be realistic about time. For me an averagely cluttered room takes between four and six hours to declutter, reorganise and the final vitally important part – discarding the stuff to charity, an eBay seller or the tip. And that is based on me working with a client at a reasonable pace.

Be prepared with bin bags, transport to take the stuff away and plan to avoid any distractions (kids, phones, facebook, loose women etc)

Remember it will get worse before it gets better. All that stuff in those drawers and cupboards is going to have to come out to get sorted before it can go back in.

Stay focused on your goal. Don’t move from room to room. If something belongs in the kitchen, for example, put it in a box labelled kitchen and move it later with other things that you find along the way.

I could go on and on but after what might appear to be a very negative blog, I want to end on a positive note. All that is standing between you and a home that you want to be in, where you can find what you need and above all can be proud of, is time, energy and focus. And we’ve all got a bit of that stored somewhere!

Good luck and if you have any questions, let me know.

One way to make an impact on your clutter in less than an hour.

Pride of place in lots and lots of lounges up and down the country are shelf upon shelf of videos. Barney,  Bagpuss, Loveboat, Jane Fonda, Ivor the Engine, -there they are in all their glory reminding us of a bygone era. The one thing that isn’t there is something to play them on.  And how many can you get on a shelf ? Ten maybe or fifteen if you’re lucky because they are huge, cumbersome things. They were a brilliant thing to have (in the eighties and nineties) but now in the teenies (?!) they are defunkt having been replaced by their size zero counterparts, DVDs (and they won’t be long for this life either.)

It’s hard, I know, to get rid of  a collection of things that has a) cost alot of money b) brought the family alot of pleasure and c) has sentiment attached to it but nevertheless they should go, they really should – you need to try and overcome the obstacles of cost, usefulness and sentiment. So look at and focus on the positives.  Yes, they did give your family  pleasure and you do look at some of them and go “aah” so you can safely say that in most cases you have had your ten pounds’ worth out of them. If you’re still struggling to get out the black bin liner just think about the space. You will free up lots and lots of space. Most homes also have more than one CD and DVD rack – maybe you will be able to amalgamate them into just one now that you have those free shelves.

A word of warning, charity shops will be unlikely to want your videos. Foreign charities might so go down that avenue. And beware of the blank video cassette. It may just have a wedding, birth or graduation on it so check carefully!

So, if you have a free hour in the next couple of days, do yourself and your home a favour and get rid of some videos. You know you want to!

How to deal with Christmas Clutter – New Year, New You!

You’ve had a lovely relaxed Christmas at home but reality is looming. The Christmas decorations are boring you now and as you look around your house you are wondering where the hell that toy mountain in your living room is going to go, what you are going to do with the novelty pressies you gave your husband that seemed like a laugh at the time and which drawer you can shove the jumper from your auntie that she is going to expect to see you wearing.

Sound familiar? Depressing isn’t it?

In short, you need to find a place for everything and hopefully at certain times of the week have everything in its place.

Not rocket science, I know, but you are going to have to let some of your stuff go to make room for the new stuff. So it’s time for some serious decluttering but you have little or no idea where to start.

You’re not alone, That’s why professional organisers are more and more in demand with each passing year. In the UK we love to shop but are less eager to see perfectly good stuff go to waste. If you want to get organised, check out the tips below and you will be well on your way to a calmer, more inviting home and hopefully a less stressed you!

Have a plan of attack. Choose a room, drawer, wardrobe and stick to it. Don’t get waylaid putting stuff back into other rooms until the end.

Use it, need it, love it? If you don’t use it regularly, need it sometimes or love it all the time, it’s time to question whether it should stay.

Be realistic. It’s taken months or sometimes years for the clutter to build and it will take time and effort to sort it out. About 4 or 5 hours decluttering a day is more than enough.

Choose your destinations. Know beforehand where you can offload the things you choose to lose. Choose a charity shop you feel passionate about and where it’s easy to park. Know how your local recycling centre works. Make sure your sister, mum or friend needs, will use or love your cast offs. If you plan to sell, find someone to do it for you or ensure you have the tools and the time to do it yourself.

Get started. There’s no easy way. Tackle visible clutter first on surfaces or the floor to give yourself space to work. Then work clockwise around the room until it’s done.

Colour code. Use different coloured bags for different things so you don’t get confused. You can go through a lot of black bin liners in a day. I use blue for Charity, green for recycling, clear for family and friends etc.

Out the door. Plan to offload everything on the day you declutter. That way there’s no chance of it reappearing. I have never had a client with regrets.

Keep a vision. However you envisage your newly decluttered space, keep that firmly in your mind all day long to keep your motivation high.

Save storage till last. Don’t buy storage until you have fully decluttered and are ready to organise. That way you can get exactly what you need.

Organise for your lifestyle. Choose a system that works with your lifestyle. Be realistic and don’t micro-organise. Then sit back and take it all in!

Call in the professionals. If you really can’t see yourself ever getting there alone, call in a professional. We guide you through the process psychologically and practically and keep you focused until the job is done

Hopefully by now you should have some empty drawers, cupboards and shelves to store your Christmas goodies. Oh and don’t let guilt get the better of you. If you are never in a million years going to use or wear that Christmas present, take it back, sell it or regift it. Someone else will love it!

Just one last little Clutter Fairy tip – next year, tackle the decluttering before Christmas – it makes a massive difference!