The Clutter Clearing Consultancy began life as an idea in 2001, and became a reality in 2002.
Its founder, Clare Baker (nee Draper), spent many years working in the charity, public and private sectors as a project manager. In all the roles she had, she was complimented for being highly organized and couldn’t understand why other people weren’t. It came naturally to her – she couldn’t understand why it wasn’t obvious that by using some simple yet effective processes organizations could reduce administrative issues such as;
- multiple copies held in multiple locations thereby taking up multiple space which had an opportunity cost
- no one knowing who held the master copy, or indeed whether there was a master copy
- everyone having their own method, process and criteria for what to keep, what not to keep, how to file etc.
- the above leading to difficulties when staff joined, left or had temporary cover
Clare became renowned for her organizational skills and ability to see a variety of solutions to problems. Indeed, in one organization she established a reputation for her ‘filing days’ when she organized the department and division to have a whole day dedicated to clearing-out or sending to off-site storage as much clutter as possible, but also ensuring that these days were productive and constructive.
'It was incredible the
difference it made to people in the office. Instead of
working in an environment surrounded by paper and files,
people now felt that there was more space, light and energy
simply by clearing out some of the clutter. They even
started to put plants on their desk.
They also found that they spent less time looking for
things, spent less money on off-site storage
and knew who had a master copy, thereby enabling quick
decision making about whether or not to keep something,
and ensuring filing was a quick and efficient process.
We recycled all the paper and cardboard that we didn’t
need, and could easily find paperwork for auditing purposes.
We always made a point of everyone being a part of it
and acknowledging and rewarding the efforts people made.
That made a real difference.’
In 2002 Clare came to a point in her career where she realized she didn’t feel fulfilled or challenged in her choice of jobs. She also realized that she wanted to have the independence and variety of working for herself and working on projects with people both on a one-to-one basis and within organisations. Consequently she reassessed her life to identify what she was good at and how she might be able to turn this into a business. The Clutter Clearing Consultancy was launched.
'It was one of those times
in your life when you just know you’ve done the
right thing.
I got that feeling of excitement combined with utter terror
of the unknown, yet the enquiries, consultations and sheer
level of interest and demand has surprised even me!
There’s nothing more satisfying than doing a follow
up visit to find that someone’s home, and indeed
the person themselves, looks, feels and even sounds different
because they’ve finally cleared their clutter.'
During 2003 the process used was tested, refined and updated, leading by the end of 2003 to the process which is successfully used today. In 2004 the Clutter Clearing Consultancy has grown to accommodate clutter clearing in houses and companies.
2004 saw the launch of short courses in clutter clearing.
The Clutter Clearing Consultancy can service most requests for consultations in England through one of it’s 3 bases: Hertfordshire (Head Office in Watford), Hampshire (Winchester Office) and Oxfordshire (Banbury Office).
Consultations have taken place with many individuals, couples, companies and vendors, all with very positive feedback. Consultations all involve working with the client/s to get the results that they want.