HG (May 2012)
You come across as very enthusiastic and positive! Your approach seems to be empowering, gentle and considered. I have visited clutter clearing websites and watched TV programmes and you point out something that other professionals don’t, i.e. you have to consider the size of your space when filling it with possessions. What you said about choosing between the object and the (precious) space which it takes up brought clarity to the issue of clutter clearing in one sentence. I have never heard anyone express this fundamental point with such simplicity and clarity.
Also, what you said about one person’s scrappy piece of paper being another person’s treasured child’s drawing resonated with me – another very good illustration of an important point!
You are helping people make profoundly positive changes to their lives.
Katharine (April 2012)
Before Do It Day, I had a vague sense of loads of undone things hanging over me that would never end. I was aware of the underlying stress of this and felt it was blocking me from getting on with the things I really wanted to do. Now I feel more in control.
Do it Day ‘forced’ me to get every job I could possibly think of down on paper, so I could properly assess priorities and see an end to the list. It left me with a huge sense of achievement, and a sense of what I can continue to achieve. Reporting to others and wanting to share positive progress was a great motivator.
It was fantastic to wipe off some significant tasks that had been chaffing away at my peace of mind for years!
NA (April 2012)
have to walk through that 
area when they come to work with me. It had just built up and up over the years, I wasn’t even really clear what was there. It was a really scary prospect clearing it, and I definitely thought it would do it right at the end of this programme.We had a problem with our wireless router yesterday which meant I had to run a wire through the area. “In the old days” (i.e. before I did this programme), I would have just draped it behind the clutter (hidden, right?) But on the spur of the moment, slightly cross with myself at the state of it, I decided this was the moment to pull the whole lot out, tack the wire properly in position, find out what was in those piles, and reorganise them. And here’s the thing – I just cleared the whole area. I started last night, worked on it all morning, and finished it this afternoon (with a bit of sleep in the middle). I can’t believe I just got rid of most of it – a lot of paper to be recycled, a few things to be freecycled, and the rest to the charity shop (they are doing so well out of me at the moment).
It included letting go of several things I had stacked there because I intended to sell them (something I clearly have a lot of problems getting round to). I thought ‘Yes, I could sell them, but it takes a while to list each one, sometimes they don’t sell anyway, then there’s the hassle of wrapping and posting them. If I take them to the charity shop NOW they’re just gone, and I never have to think about them again’. So I loaded them into the boot of the car and they’re out of my hair. Money ‘waster’ maybe, but what a time saver!
This week, after chipping away at it week by week, the decluttering just seems to be taking off by itself and I’m feeling genuinely motivated. Clutter-clearing even when it isn’t scheduled!
SEC (March 2012)
Since undertaking Rachel’s Green and Tidy declutter programme [Clear Your Clutter, Stay Clutter-Free and Live the Life You Want], I have been engergised about the thorough way I have approached my nearest and dearest possessions. My wonderful life’s gatherings.
I worked through modules 1- 5 with gusto and willingness to change my surroundings for the better. I was also in the process of a big house move, so needed to refine my stuff.
When I moved house (finally, after a long haul), I slowed right down. I didn’t complete the next few modules or decluttering schedules and left them (and my newly boxed clutter) to build up again. I felt frustrated with myself and kept ‘putting it off’.
So, this week I committed myself to moving on with the programme. How much better do I feel? I am enthused again, making schedules, doing my actions, getting fantastic & nurturing support, reducing my clutter and organising my lovely new home.
Thank you Rachel. The programme is clear, supportive and cleverly put together. I have just completed the paper clutter module and feel so much better about how to tackle incoming, ongoing piles of paperwork.
S********
PS. I am now going through 25 years of arts materials & equipment. It feels good!
JA (February 2012 – 1 week into Clear Your Clutter, Stay Clutter-Free and Live the Life You Want)
Just thought I’d tell you how inspirational you have been in so little time. I sorted out all my kitchen cupboards and threw away lots of crap. Been to the dump today and recycled clothes and shoes. In the middle of all this I even managed to make a delicious leek and potato soup. Wow!
My next projects are going to be my clothes drawers and – oh terror – my filing cabinet.
I really like your idea that you don’t have to be perfect, just as good as makes you feel happy and unemcumbured by your crap. I couldn’t live in a house like a ward in an Ebola Virus hospital but I do like order.
JM (February 2012)
Can I say how kind I found your words, “Honey, I want you to stop beating yourself up. You’re an amazing person with a lot on your plate. You get loads done every day”? In fact they made me cry (in a nice way) and I identify with so much of what you say.
I feel as though the last six years of my life have gone by in a whirl. So many things have happened…I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that cleaning and tidying the house are the things that have been neglected during this time. Paperwork, lego, lego & more lego, dog ‘stuff’, etc, etc, etc now mean that it is virtually impossible to move around our two-bedroomed terraced house.
You’ve made me remember how much I did used to love this house. When you mention people being too embarrassed to invite people around I think, “Yes, yes, that’s me!” I would love for friends to be able to pop round rather than feel I have to meet them out at cafes. My husband and I say we need to move to a bigger house and that we have “outgrown” this one. You’ve made me realise that, unless I can get things under control here, I will just end up in the same situation elsewhere.
Anyway – I am going to implement your excellent advice so thank you for reassuring me that I am not alone and giving me hope that it can be done. I realise one of my issues is not ‘processing’ the things I have sorted – selling, recycling, etc – so they end up getting reabsorbed back into the mess! I will definitely start to schedule time to get them out of the door & move them on!
“THANK YOU” again so very much!
Ms C (February 2012)
I felt overwhelmed with the sheer amount I had to tackle but Clear Your Clutter, Stay Clutter-Free and Live the Life You Want gave me confidence and made me want to get going.
The materials were clear, easy to follow and fun! The mix of learning styles was great and helped me be fully creative and exploratory about my vision for my home.
Since I started following your organising tips, life is so much easier and less frustrating.
I’ve taken car loads of stuff to charity shops and to the tip, given tons of stuff that belongs to other people back to them and found all sorts of really important and valuable things, including my birth certificate and a video camera that my Dad gave me.
Finally I understand why I accumulate so much STUFF! Moving house a lot as a child was very unsettling for me. I have held onto a lot of things, especially scrapbooks, photos, things from friends, even birthday cards and old autograph books. It felt like a security to me as I was scared of losing memories about the past. Holding onto things felt like a comfort.
But the programme helped me see that, in reality, my clutter doesn’t help. In fact it clogs my mind, supresses my creativity and makes me impatient and harder to live with.
The programme helped me ‘recognise’ my types of clutter and how I can manage better. It helped me understand why I feel the need to buy stuff and that it’s easier to choose not to buy something than to get rid of it otherwise. So now I’m reducing my inflow!
More than that, the programme hasn’t just helped me declutter my stuff. It’s helped me declutter my time too! I now say ‘no’ to things more easily so I’ve got more time for the stuff I want to do. I’ve got better at planning my time and not taking too much on.
I am much more aware of clutter and reducing what I bring in to my home since taking on this programme. I have been enjoying ʻthinning downʼ my possessions and being able to locate, as well as make a space for, things in my home. It feels good to be passing things on as well as having more knowledge of what I actually possess.
About halfway through the programme, I realised I’d started liking the process of decluttering. Itʼs actually quite enjoyable, not scary and very satisfying..and I mean ʻthe doing itʼ not just the feeling you get after doing it. I am thinking about what next to declutter.
And my awareness for greener living is greater! I wanted to reduce my environmental footprint and your programme supported me to do this whilst clearing & simplifying my living space. I really appreciated the green hints.
I feel so much better about myself!
SC (February 2012)
I had these tasks that had been hanging over me for years. I kept avoiding them and putting them off. And they kept growing and growing like a monster.
I decided to dedicate my Virtual Clutter-Busting Jump Start to my ‘hell drawer’ and a huge pile of paperwork that had been building up. I had a headache just THINKING about the drawer, which I could hardly open and which had been accumulating for seven years! I felt stressed and worn out before I even started.
I’ve just finished my Virtual Clutter-Busting Jump Start and I feel like a weight has been lifted. I got everything done that I set out to do. I have more than halved the contents of the hell drawer and it now opens and closes with ease. I’ve given lots to charity and rehomed stuff, and now I know where everything is!
I feel happy, energised and ready to make a new ‘to do’ list. The space appearing in my cupboards and drawers, and the feeling of control about my possessions, is really exciting.
The Virtual Clutter-Busting Jump Start was just the motivation I needed and I can’t quite believe how much I’ve achieved in the time.
Rachel is so clear with her advice and instruction. She gave me step-by-step support and asked me what my goals were. Every half hour, we spoke and I shared my progress. I found it SO motivating! We had a phone call every half hour so I felt really driven to keep at it!
Rachel’s coaching is reassuring and practical. She was brilliant and helped me feel really great about myself.
Andrew Armes, The Spring Project (January 2012)
We had a warehouse of completely entangled and mixed up furniture and equipment, of different levels of usefulness, that we needed to sort through and either recycle, sell or give away. Rachel was able to give us some lovely ideas and practical support to achieve this as well as an injection of energy that helped to get the process moving.
We now have a beautifully clear warehouse available for hire and a small store room of useful equipment and furniture. Within the warehouse, we also have an entirely new space, which was previously clogged up with furniture and equipment, that we use for separate activities.
Rachel brought knowledge and down-to-earth useful guidance and insights into the best ways to either move on or dispose of clutter! Even in a short space of time. Thank you Rachel.
Mr L (December 2011)
I asked Rachel to help because I needed to organise my room to make it more functional, attractive and less cluttered. I now have a list of recommendations and suggestions which I will implement over the next month. Starting with where I wanted to be in six month’s time, Rachel provided practical, common-sense advice and suggestions. I’m recommending her all over.
Ruthie Lewis (November 2011)
Thank you so much for running the Get Organised, Get Stuff Done, Get Green workshop. You did such a professional job of running it – it was very well prepared. I really got a lot out of it. On Sunday night I did indeed tackle the job I’d scheduled to do – look for a watch that I’d lost – and success! I managed to find it. And today, believe it or not, I again did the jobs I’d scheduled. I wouldn’t have managed this without your help!
I spoke to my friend today (who came to the workshop) and she said she’d done the job she scheduled for last night as well and was really happy about it.
You’ve made such an impact on so many people’s lives. It’s amazing!
AWESOME!
BW (November 2011)
You really understand the problem. You GET ME!!
Ms B (October2011)
Before I did Clear Your Clutter, Stay Clutter-Free and Live the Life You Want, I felt stuck and hopeless about the clutter in my house. I’m not stuck anymore. In fact I’m raring to go. I’ve really changed my habits and attitudes.
I’m just back from a holiday. Before I did the programme, I would have come back with loads of lamps and rugs for the chill-out area I’m going to create in my house, because they were so cheap. And then, because I haven’t yet worked out exactly how that area’s going to work, they would have hung around being clutter. Instead I hardly brought anything back with me.
Before I did the programme, I would buy things just because I liked them, without thinking about where they were going to go or how it was going to work. Now I think very carefully before I bring anything into the house.
The programme’s focus on how much my home reflects me as a person was more motivating than any financial incentives, or desire to stop feeling embarrassed about my home, has ever been in the past. And the steady drip-feed of materials kept decluttering at the top of my mind. I often found myself thinking about decluttering when I had a break during the day, and working out what I could get rid of. So when I came to let go of things, I’d already done the ‘bereavement’ bit and letting them go was easy.
Ms K (September 2011)
We worked with Rachel because we had to change the rooms in our flat around to meet the needs of our growing family but were blocked in how to go about it. Now the rooms in our flat have been changed in a way that suits everyone.
Rachel helped us be calm and civilised to each other. She listened with great interest and attention to our opinions on the flat and, using great summarising and reflecting skills, helped us realise what was important for ourselves and for the rest of the family. Half an hour after her work with us, we had drafted a perfect plan and two days later it is 90 per cent implemented.
Thanks so much Rachel. Your diplomacy, humour and attention to detail really helped us through our block and a whole hew happy home layout has been created. xxxx
Linda B (September 2011)
Your information was EXCELLENT!
Sarah (July 2011)
Before working with Rachel to declutter my magazines and jewellery through a Clutter-Busting Jump Start, I was swamped by magazines in every corner of my house. And I couldn’t face the thought of going through them. And I couldn’t find the jewellery I wanted to wear.
Now there’s much less clutter around. I know where my jewellery is. I’m not tripping over things. And my partner and I are having less arguments. We haven’t had an argument about clutter since.
Rachel was very supportive and non-judgemental. Working with her meant that I actually got around to doing it. Otherwise it would have been one of those jobs that I just left.
Rose (June 2011)
Before my Clutter-Busting Jump Start, I felt really despondent and low about the state of the flat. I felt like it was all too much and it would never be the way I wanted it to be. I couldn’t clear stuff out as fast as things were coming in. I felt overwhelmed and bogged down. When I tried to clear stuff, I’d get to a point of being overwhelmed, and get stopped before actually committing to where everything lived or what I would do with stuff. And I’d just given up.
I didn’t want to invite anyone to help me deal with it because I felt embarrassed that I had all this undealt with stuff around me.
Now, every time I go into the room we worked in and lie in bed beside the area we cleared, I get a feeling of happiness, relief and freedom. More than that, it’s like there’s now actually the possibility, in a real and grounded way, of having the flat I’ve always wanted. I actually understand what is required to clear out and deal with the rest of the flat. I feel exuberant.
Now I can see how to go through everything I have, no matter how difficult some of the things are to find and go through. I know that there’s actually a process I can use that means I can complete clearing each section, no matter what item I find in it.
When Rachel came to help, she was completely non-judgemental about the way the flat was. While I was embarrassed and wanting to excuse the way things were, she started from a point of ‘This is just the way things are now’ and easily helped me move on when I got stuck and overwhelmed. She helped me see how I could actually make the difference I wanted to make in my flat.
Going through the process with Rachel, I really got to see how to manage the intricacies of clearing out a lot of junk, to the point where absolutely everything we went through is actually dealt with thoroughly. I now know exactly what I had in all that mess, and where the things that I want to keep live.