Mary’s Charlotte’s Success Story

Mary started her Private Clutter Clearing Journey in July 2020 and completed it in December 2023. This means she has cleared all her clutter and created the habits she needs to stay Clutter Free Forever.

Success Summary:

• 11 rooms and areas completely clutter cleared after 36 years:
  • Hallway
  • Landing
  • Kitchen
  • Laundry Room
  • Living room
  • Dining room
  • 4 bedrooms
  • Garage
  • Attic
• E-mail inbox now below 100 read and unread e-mails
• 71% of all the clutter she categorised and sorted came OFF the Clutter Conveyor Belt
• 12 trees planted in her name with the Paperwork Reward Challenge
• Mary didn’t tell her friends or family that she was doing the Journey while she was on Steps 1 to 3 for fear of judgement, and because she knew she wouldn’t be working on the physical clutter and didn’t want the added pressure and expectations.
• Mary didn’t tell her doctor she was on her Journey. However, by the time she was on Step 3, her blood pressure was noticably lower than it had been.
• Mary saw a weekly therapist to help her deal with issues that the theory and exercises raised.
• By the end of Step 1, simply from the awareness Mary gained from the Conveyor Belt exercises, she was already saving over £80 / $95 a week which covered the monthly cost of her Private Journey Membership.
• With the weekly Shopping Challenge Mary started saving an extra £120 / $145 a week by the end of Step 2 which meant she could afford a weekly cleaner AND double her private sessions with Clare to two a week.
• As a direct result of doing her weekly Paperwork Clutter Clearing Sessions, by the end of Step 2 Mary had cancelled 2 monthly subscriptions on her bank account that she didn’t realise she had.
• With the money Mary saved and put away in a savings account each week, by Step 6 Mary was able to afford a new kitchen and bathroom to be fitted.
• Since completing her Journey, Mary has started saving what she was spending on her Private Journey membership into a savings account to take her family on a holiday of a lifetime – Disneyworld!

Mary started her Private Journey in May 2020.

As Mary explains:

I started my Journey just after the first Covid lockdown. I have anxiety and adult ADHD, so the first lockdown was about just focusing on getting through it and being able to get out of the house again. I kept procrastinating, making excuses about why it was never the ‘right’ time to start my Journey, but when I lost a close friend during that first wave of the pandemic, I realised there is never a ‘right time’ and the only time we have is now.

When I started my Journey I was shocked at how much I learnt about why I struggle in just the first couple of Clutter Clearing weeks. I felt a mixture of relief and anger. Relief that there are reasons why I struggle – many of which link with the anxiety and adult ADHD that I was diagnosed with ten years ago – and anger that no one has ever been able to explain these things to me before like Clare has. People always told me that my anxiety, adult ADHD and other issues in my life meant I would never clear my clutter on my own. How wrong they were!

In the past I had only ever experienced the panic zone when it came to my clutter. I always thought feeling uncomfortable was a prelude to the panic zone, but learning how to manage my overwhelm and knowing that feeling uncomfortable is essential to succeed on this Journey was a revelation. Learning how to control my overwhelm, instead of allowing other people to pressurise me to go at a speed they wanted me to go at changed everything for me.

It took me three and a half years to complete my Journey, and I had several periods where I could have easily given up. Two dear friends passed away and I had a double hip replacement which I had put on hold until I had completed Step 5 and cleared more than half of my home – I live on my own so it had to be assessed as safe. I continued with all my daily check-ins, even when I couldn’t do my Clutter Clearing Sessions on my physical clutter.

Like many, I struggled to get into a routine of doing my Journey, and then maintaining the clear areas and rooms. Of course, I learnt that the two are connected.

If you don’t get into a routine of doing your Clutter Clearing Sessions, you brain won’t get comfortable with making decisions and letting go. If you don’t let go, you won’t clear your clutter. If you don’t get into a routine of doing your daily check-ins you’ll never maintain.

When I had cleared my second area I got a weekly cleaner because I wanted to focus on my Clutter Clearing Sessions. Cleaning isn’t part of my Best Life!  I’m allergic to some of the cleaning products too, so it also meant I didn’t have to deal with that. To begin with it only took her half an hour to clean the two areas I had cleared, but I paid her for two hours and she spent the rest of the time doing the shredding that I had each week from my Paperwork Clutter Clearing Sessions, putting the rubbish / trash / recycling out, and taking things to the charity shop for me. As I cleared more areas and rooms and she was cleaning more, I continued to have her help because just like Clare’s private calls, it gave me weekly accountabilty to make sure I let go so she had things to action.

I couldn’t have done this without Clare’s help and my weekly cleaner. We all like to think we can clear our clutter on our own, without support, but I doubt many of us can. Clearing your clutter isn’t quick or easy, and our old giving up habit can fight hard. You need regular, appropriate support to succeed on this Journey. I’m so glad I didn’t let life sabotage me like it did in the past, and I’m so glad I’m finally clutter free Forever.

You can clear your clutter fast, or you can clear your clutter forever, but you can’t clear your clutter forever, fast.

To find out how Clare can help you clear your clutter Forever, without the need for an expensive home visit, click here now: https://www.clutterclearing.net/clares-help-centre/