Part 1 - The Consultation
This weekend, I had the pleasure to have my first client consultation and I thought it would be the perfect time to explain a little more about the process of using a professional organiser, and what you can expect.
Professional decluttering and organising is a relatively new, but quickly growing, profession in the UK. The Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers is an official body that many home organisation companies belong to, myself included.
To become a member, you have to have full public & professional liability insurance, be ICO registered, and I am also DBS checked, I hope this gives you some reassurance that you will be in a reliable pair of hands.
The first step begins with a consultation. This can be done over the phone, on video call or in your home.
For this particular client, I'm organising a new nursery and she had an in-house consultation which was lovely as I also got a sneak peek at the new baby. She is a beauty!!!
Discussing Your Space
We spent some time talking about how the space is used currently, what is or isn't working and what the main goals and priorities are, along with some style idea's. This nursery is already very beautiful, and has tons of storage! It just needs a little re-organising, but who has time to do that with a new baby?!
In this room, there are quite a lot of boxes that will need decluttering, so we went through the inventory of each space so I know exactly what I'm dealing with.
I then take ton's of photographs of every space, it really helps when I'm looking for products, to be reminded of the space and what it already holds. I measure all of the drawers and take an inventory list.
Brainstorm
I then go and have a brainstorm (with myself as I work alone!) to come up with the best solutions.
Below is an example of how I present my initial idea's, I have a section for each space that I will be organising. My comments and idea's can be found here (each image is interactive with my comments and a space where you can add your reply and website links)
I suggest products here and list the prices. I also collate a shopping list, or inventory list, which is linked to this site so you can easily see a running total of everything suggested.
I will also estimate the number of hours I will need for decluttering.
I can either order the product for you or you can order directly yourself. All the product links are listed on my recommendation.
I think it's important to stress, that you don't necessarily need any product at all to declutter. I've talked about this quite a lot on my social media channels, but the art of decluttering and organising can be done very inexpensively. Lots of household things you already own can be recycled for storage - think old shoeboxes, cardboard boxes, even old washed out ice cream tubs! Of course, it looks more pleasing to the eye if you can have co-ordinating pieces, but this is not a necessity. If you are short on budget, you can always start the process now and update the storage at a later date when you can.
Once everything has been delivered, the fun can begin!
That really is my favourite part.
Look out for my next blog - 'Part 2 - Decluttering in Action'
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