A cleared space is a lovely feeling. This is my way of helping it stay that way: a system built around you, your home, the things that make tidying hard, and the things you love, so keeping it up stops being a boring chore.
I don't just clear your space; I set it up so it stays that way.
Why things creep back
A fresh start on its own is not the whole answer. Without a way of keeping it up, things tend to get dropped wherever there's room, it gets harder to find what you need, so another gets bought, and the clutter can build again. What makes the difference is a way of keeping things easy that fits you: your space, your style, your hobbies, the things you love doing.
a fresh start, on its own
1things may not have a place yet, or not one that fits how you live
2so they tend to get put down wherever there's room
3it gets harder to find what you need
4so another one gets bought
5and the clutter can build again, with money spent on the way
a fresh start, with a set-up around you
1things have a place, close to where you use them
2so putting it down can be putting it away
3you tend to know where it is
4so there's less to buy twice
5and the cleared space has a better chance of staying that way
So Sorted for Good starts with the system, not the shopping. Together we come up with a way of keeping things easy that is tailored to you, taking into account what you like, your style, your hobbies, the things you enjoy, and the space you have. Sometimes that means a new piece of furniture. Often it means what you already own, living somewhere better. It has three steps, and we do them together.
step one
The homework
We work out what would make your life easier: what you use, where you use it, what gets in the way, and anything that makes tidying harder, like low energy or pain. Then we design the set-up around that. Sometimes the answer is already in your home, moved to a better place. Sometimes a small space calls for one piece that does more than one job, and those are often things people don't know exist, don't know where to find, or mean to order one day and never do. So I can take that part on. I keep a growing list of pieces and gadgets that make things easier, so the looking often starts from things I already know. I put together a short list that would work for your space and your budget, comparing prices as I go, and once you choose, you approve the price and it's ordered, delivered straight to your door.
First, the homework: we design the set-up, and I hunt down anything it needs.
step two
Built together, or built for you
If something has been ordered, it arrives at yours and we build it together in a session. Or I build it for you: if a disability, pain, or a day spent in bed means assembly isn't yours to do, you say where it goes and I do the rest. That part matters more than it sounds. A flat-pack in the hallway can wait months for its moment, especially when energy is short or pain makes fiddly assembly unkind. Either way, the new set-up is standing, in place, in the space we cleared, before I leave.
Then we build it together, or I build it for you, in your home, in a session.
step three
Putting it down is putting it away
My favourite kind of set-up is storage that lives exactly where you use things. Picture one piece of furniture with three jobs: a dinner table, a craft desk, and the craft storage, all at once. When the crafting is done, everything drops back into the space it came from. One small movement, the same effort as leaving it out. Tidying stops being a chore and becomes part of doing the thing you enjoy.
And it stays easy: putting it down is putting it away.
What it costs
Designing the system is part of our sessions. Working out what fits you and your home is how I work anyway; it isn't a separate charge.
Finding and planning, when the set-up calls for something new: £20 a half hour. Finding a short list of pieces chosen for your space, your style and your budget, talking it through with you, and ordering. My discounted rate (£40 an hour), since there is no travelling, with a ceiling we agree before I start, often an hour or two, and I check in before going past it.
The pieces themselves: at cost, delivered to you. I look for the best deal I can find, you see the price and give the go-ahead before anything is ordered. No mark-up.
Building and placing: part of a normal session at the usual rate of £45 an hour. Rates are on the pricing page.
What changes, day to day
Not a different life. A few small moments that stop being hard.
You reach for it and it's there
The scissors are with the craft things. The craft things are where you craft. No hunting, no second pair bought in the meantime.
Tidying is one movement
When you finish, everything drops back into the space it came from. The same effort as leaving it out, so it happens.
Opening it up means doing something you enjoy
The set-up is built around the things you love doing, so the tidy corner is also the good corner. Keeping it stops being a boring chore.
Two things people ask
Do I have to buy anything?
No. The system comes first, and often it's made from what you already own, moved to where it's used. Looking for a new piece only happens if you want it, and you see the price before anything is ordered.
What if I'd like the set-up but there's no money for furniture?
Then we design it with what's there. Time spent looking is only charged if you ask me to go looking, and I hold a small number of reduced-rate slots each month if the sessions themselves are a stretch.
If you're asking for someone else
A lot of the time it's a partner, a parent or a daughter who gets in touch, wanting the fresh start to hold this time. That's what this is for. Everything is agreed with the person whose home it is, at their pace, and the set-up is built around what they enjoy rather than what anyone thinks they should do. There's more for you on the page for families.
Who this tends to help
Anyone whose space keeps un-tidying itself, and anyone for whom energy, pain or low mood makes "I'll sort it later" the hardest part. It fits alongside any of my other services as the natural next step once a space is clear.
