Lucy and her Cluttered Kitchen

Lucy had simply had enough.

It didn't seem to matter how hard she tried, the kitchen just wouldn't get, much less stay, clutter free.

There was nothing else for it but to go on the internet and search for help.

Like many, when Lucy called Clare she assumed that the only help available was an expensive home visit. After just 30 minutes of talking to Clare, Lucy realised that not only was that not the only option, but she also felt confident that she could work well with Clare's understanding approach to the challenge in hand. Especially given that Clare herself had previously struggled with her clutter.

So Lucy took the plunge and joined the 12 Week Success Club.

As with all Success Club members, Lucy was able to have her first Assissted Clutter Clearing Session within a matter of days of joining, which was good because, as she later admitted to Clare:

If I had thought about it I would have talked myself out of it - just like I do when I think too much about an item of clutter that has a gut instinct of 'let go', I all too often think about it too much and end up keeping it instead.

I think we all know what that's like....!

Lucy and Clare had, before the Assisted Clutter Clearing Session, a one hour telephone call so that they could talk about and explore Lucy's clutter. As with most members Lucy found this fascinating as she started to realise things about her clutter that she never imagined. For example, she realised that she took responsibility for everyone elses clutter and for accommodating her daughters belongings in her kitchen and utility room - even though her 37 year old daughter lived seperately from her and had a bigger house! She also realised that she had, until now, been a 'flitter' - going from room to room, weeding out of the clutter what she could see coud be thrown away and leaving the rest, moving onto another room when she got bored, ran out of things to 'weed', or got fed up.

It was amazing.

After our telephone consultation I felt as though my mind was working overtime.

Suddenly things started to fit together and make sense, as if my brain was finally putting together pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that it hadn't been able to fit together before.

By the time, a couple of days later, on the day of the first Assisted Clutter Clearing Session, Lucy felt as though she was in a positive place for the day ahead.

It was strangely comforting knowing that, for the periods of time I was 'doing the doing', Clare was on the end of the phone and only 30 minutes away from talking to me.

Somehow that meant that I didn't panic like I normally do, and I was amazed at how quickly the 30 minutes flew by each time.

Even more amazing was how much I actually achieved in that time.

By the end of the day Lucy knew she'd worked hard, not just because she could feel it physically, but also mentally and visually.

I can't believe I de-cluttered and organised all the work surfaces and 3 floor to ceiling tripple cupboards.

I've been looking at them and feeling overwhelmed for literally years.

It was incredible how, in one of our 30 minute sessions, Clare said 'aim to do two shelves in this cupboard', and when she called after 30 minutes and said 'so how many shelves did you do' I was able to tell her I'd done all 5 in that cupboard!

She's absolutely right when she says under-estimate what you think you can do in a Clutter Clearing Session so that, if you do achieve more it helps motivate you.

Lucy was also pleased at how the structure of the Assisted Clutter Clearing Session had enabled her to deal with the 'life interruptions' that had inevitably happened during the day.

My husband came in at one point asking me where something was, so I ended up getting distracted for about 15 minutes.

When Clare called for the next check-in I confessed that I hadn't done as much, but surprisingly Clare said that was fine and a good example of life getting in the way - the trick was to get back on track and not let it derail me for the rest of the day - as it would have done in the past.

Having those check-in calls during the day really helped keep me focused and not stray off course as I have on my own in the past.

If you're a procrastinator or don't know HOW to de-clutter, I'd thoroughly recommend an Assisted Clutter Clearing Session

It's worked for me, it's affordable and you really will see and feel a difference by the end of the day.

In fact, I've booked my next Assisted Clutter Clearing Session because I know I'm going to finish the whole kitchen and utility room by the end of the first month of the Success Club!