Why do people Dismiss Clutter Coaching?

• They mistakenly think that they have to have someone telling them what to keep and what not to keep
  

- yet this is legally - and morally - dangerous. How can they know the financial or emotional value of everything you own or everything ever made in this world?

If you are comfortable with someone coming into your home and making judgements on your belongings then fine, but you won't find that type of help here. What to you may be a last letter from a loved one may be a worthless scrap of paper to someone else. How can they make that decision for you, and who are they to tell you what the emotional value of it is? Clare's had enough clients in the last 10 years to know that those who have had someone tell them what to keep and what not to keep have always regretted it, and if anything it's made them keep even more things for fear of loosing precious belongings - AGAIN - at the hands of a stranger.

Whenever Clare has someone contact her saying they 'just need someone to tell me what to keep and what not to keep' she always says that they can save a fortune with her free advice in this instance.

Get a skip, throw it all away, start again and when the clutter returns (because it will), get another skip and repeat the process.

This 'advice' is usually met with horror and cries of 'I can't do that' to which Clare responds:

so what makes you think me coming to your home and deciding for you is any different to getting a skip and throwing it all away? I don't know you, I have no idea what your life story is and I have no right to make judgements on your belongings. To me it is all worthless belongings that I'd probably throw away.'

It is then that they start to realise this approach doesn't work (!).

• They mistakenly think that they have to have someone in their home, seeing their clutter to help them
  

- yet you can follow a recipe successfully without having to have the chef who created the recipe in your kitchen. You can learn to drive without the driving instructor putting his hands on the wheel, gears or pedals. Some people take longer than others to get the hang of cooking or driving, yet they're both skills you can learn - if you're determined enough to commit to doing it regularly and learning from your mistakes.

Whenever you're learning a new skill, YOU have to be the one doing the doing, understanding the what, why and how in order to be able to have and use that skill beyond the learning stage. Clutter Clearing is exactly the same. Clare guides her clients through the Clutter Clearing Process, on a regular, weekly basis so that they learn that skill quickly and easily. She answers your questions and queries at the exact time you have them and ensures YOU get the skill so that YOU get back control yourself.

• They mistakenly think that if they have someone in to help them declutter and organise for a day or two, they'll then be able to maintain it themselves
  

- yet if you're not involved in understanding the how or why stages of the process, how will you know how to maintain it? You'll still have the old, 'bad' habits that got you cluttered in the first place, and your home will be organised in a way that would work for someone who isn't you and may interpret your needs differently to how you do. Just as two identical homes are decorated and organised differently according to the needs of the owners, your home needs to be crafted and created by you because you're the one who is going to live and use it. It takes time to create a masterpiece.......

• They have a very limited budget for getting help
  

- this is a very common problem. People desperately want and need help to either get started or completely declutter yet have a limited budget. This is especially true when we want to get help without partners knowing.

When people have limited bugets yet know they need the 1-2-1 help and support, I recommend the following options:

• Give me a call. We can spread the payments so that you can get the help as soon as possible and spread the payments to make it affordable. e.g. for the 12 Week Success Club Package payments can be spread over up to 6 months.

• You can get access to the Clutter Clearing Process via the eBooks, DIY Kit, and the Clutter Clearing Community has training videos that you can watch and follow as well. This may be a more cost effective solution to at least get you started while you save for some 1-2-1 coaching.

• Ask friends and family to buy you Clutter Clearing gift vouchers for your birthday, anniversary, Christmas etc.
  

• Plan a budget for the next few months and see how much you can save. When people have experienced clutter returning or growing, it's because they're accumulating more things than they need by buying and bringing them into the home. This is often due to impulse buys that don't get used - money spent that could otherwise be saved.
  

• They are worried about risking money in case it doesn't work

- you don't need to - all the coaching packages come with a 100% money back guarantee that if you are not seeing and feeling a difference after one month of weekly coaching, you will get 100% of your money back, no questions asked. You've got nothing to loose - except the clutter!

• They are worried about 'doing the doing' on their own

- yet I guide them at each and every step in the process, answer their questions at the exact time they have them, and act as the 'panic button' that can be pressed whenever and as often as it's needed.

• They mistakenly think that help is only available if they have 'a lot' of clutter
  

- yet if you feel out of control of your clutter - even if it's 'only' one cupboard - then it's something worth dealing with, getting back under control and feeling better about.

• They mistakenly think that they're just lazy

- when in fact they simply need a step by step process, some new positive habits and some regular accountability.

• They mistakenly worry about what their friends or family will think of them paying for help with their clutter challenge

- yet the majority of my clients are having Clutter Coaching in secret, having their weekly 3 hour Clutter Clearing Session on a day and at a time that they know they'll be home alone, undisturbed. Others pay for their coaching by bank transfer, made payable to me in my name so it doesn't appear on bank or credit card statements that partners may see and question.

• They mistakenly think that they 'should' be able to do this on their own

- yet the word 'should' creates instant feeling of guilt and failure which is why it's banned when you work with me!

• They've seen the TV decluttering programmes and their clutter isn't that bad so they don't need help.
  

- I know the ones you mean - I've had clients who have been on those programmes. I've even been asked by the TV companies to be involved in those programmes and turned down each and every one because they don't help people get a long term permanent solution to the problem - only a short term quick fix. I'm only interested in helping people achieve what I achieved - a clutter free home forever.

• 'I already know what to do, I just need to get on with it.'
  

- fair enough, but if you've been that way for months or years then ask yourself - what's stopped you just getting on with it in the past? What's going to be different in the next couple of months to change that?

• They think they're beyond help

- yes, I felt that way too. I'd had my clutter for 3 years before I decided enough was enough and, if other people could be clutter free then why couldn't I? No one - not even obsessive hoarders that I've worked with successfully - are beyond help.

• They're afraid.
  

- afraid of admitting they can't do this alone. Afraid of succeeding in a matter of months at something they've been trying to do in years. Afraid f what we might discover.......

Remember: you're always in charge. Afraid of what life after the clutter will be like. Afraid they don't deserve - and couldn't cope with - a clutter free life. Afraid of the positive attention and praise a clutter free home will attract.  I understand. I wasn't just afraid when I had my clutter challenge, I was terrified.

However, we have an explanation for fear in the coaching world.

Fear = F.E.A.R.  False Expectations Appearing Real.
(and they're never real).

When my clients get to their clutter free goal, it's ALWAYS better than they imagined. New things fill the space they've cleared. Not physical things, emotional, personal, professional, relational. When I cleared my clutter back in 2001 I moved on with my life. I set up Clutter Clearing to Coach other people to do what I had done. I had time to date men, I had a home I could invite them back to and share, and I met my now husband and started a whole new chapter in my life.

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