A neglected spare room
My client was extremely busy running her own business and her home. She wanted to turn her spare room into a guest bedroom but was finding it difficult to face sorting out the assortment of belongings that had accumulated there over time.
She didn’t want me to throw anything away but wanted her belongings (including the contents of a chest of drawers) organised so that she could find items easily and sort through them in her own time. As my client didn’t want to get rid of anything, she didn’t need to be with me to make decisions, so she was happy for me to work on my own.
I sorted the items into type, boxed everything up and noted the contents on the outside of each box. My client didn’t need to buy any extra storage boxes as I was able to use what was already there, as is often the case.
My client was absolutely delighted with her room and was amazed at how much space I had created. She now feels able to sort through these items and is ready to put furniture straight into the room and welcome friends and family to stay.
A double garage – but no room for a car
My client was a busy professional working for a global financial services company. She wanted to clear her double garage so that at least one of the family cars could be parked inside, but over the years the space had gradually filled up with discarded household appliances, tools, sports equipment and other items belonging to my client and her two grown-up sons.
It was so full that it was virtually impossible to see the floor and the family was finding it increasingly difficult to find the items that they actually needed. In fact, the garage had become an unmanageable dumping ground that the family felt unable to tackle themselves.
I worked on the task with my client and after seeing how much headway we were making, and how much of the floor was being revealed, she and one of her sons felt inspired to get really involved and were surprised to realise how much stuff they didn’t want or need any more. Working together we arranged everything that was being kept on existing shelving and cupboards and we were able to make effective use of the numerous plastic storage crates already there.
The result was a clean, tidy, well-organised garage with space for a car.
The family participate in numerous sporting activities, so all their sports equipment was left easily accessible, several boxes of items were set aside to be sold on eBay, two carloads were taken to the local recycling centre and a carload was donated to a local charity shop.
The gift of a tidy bedroom
My client’s daughter had an enormous collection of clothes which had got out of hand and was taking over her bedroom. Clothes and accessories were spilling out of the overflowing wardrobe and most of the floor was covered too. My client said that some of his daughter’s belongings had been buried for so long that she had probably forgotten what was there. He felt sure there were things she wanted to get rid of, but she wouldn’t know where to start.
The brief was to create a tidy, well-organised space so the client's daughter could move around the room, see what she had, find long lost clothes, identify the items she didn’t want any more and dispose of them and, importantly, enjoy her room again.
My team member Julia took on this project. When she met up with the client to take the brief, she measured the wardrobe and the unused storage compartments under the bed and, at his request, spent a couple of hours researching reasonably priced, practical storage solutions that would complement the room’s décor. She arranged for the items to be delivered to the client’s home in time for her visit.
After six hours of work, calm and tranquillity were restored, and the bedroom was transformed into a neat and tidy environment with plenty of floor space. The client was amazed at how large the room now appeared to be and asked what Julia had done with his daughter’s belongings!
“I can’t thank Carefully Sorted enough. Having struggled time and time again trying to sort out and organise my daughter’s bedroom I had given up hope. The result was nothing less than a miracle. It’s not just a case of tidying up, clothes were placed in type, colour, casual or dressy. Storage boxes stored different seasonal wear away neatly with lavender and moth balls for protection. Shoes were sorted out, winter boots, sandals, trainers all carefully stored in boxes but easily accessible. The room was transformed in such a way that now it is manageable, and my daughter can keep it that way with ease. Can’t recommend them enough and if I needed any rooms organised again you will be the people I’ll call.”
Using a storage area wisely
My client was moving from her delightful but tiny London flat, which she wanted to declutter, and she needed to clear a nearby storage room which was full to bursting!
During my initial assessment, she and I agreed that the storage room was our obvious starting point. We cleared it completely and put back in it only belongings which had been sorted and were definitely going to her new home. By doing this, we set up a chain of activities which achieved the desired goal.
While we concentrated on maximising space in the storage area and in the flat, we also set aside boxes of papers for her to sort out. Taking things steadily and calmly really made a difference and at no stage did she find the process overwhelming or stressful.
The move has now taken place. It went very smoothly, and it was very gratifying to see that all the preliminary work had paid off. Also, I confess to a little glow of satisfaction when the foreman from the movers opened the storage room and admired the way I had packed so much into it!
A sustainable community book project
I live in London in what used to be the old Bryant & May Match Factory. It was from this site in 1888 that the matchgirls famously went on strike over poor working conditions and a punitive system of fines imposed on them for the slightest of transgressions. It is a huge, beautiful, Grade II listed building. I am proud of its history and love being part of the community here.
One of the features on our estate is an iconic red phone box. Over the years, fewer and fewer people used it, and there was quite a hefty annual fee, so the residents asked BT to remove the equipment.
As soon as the box was decommissioned, I posted an appeal on our estate Facebook page asking for donations of good quality books and magazines. The response was overwhelming. Before I knew it, fellow residents were leaving bags of books outside my door, and I soon amassed a good stock. The estate team installed some simple adjustable shelves against the back wall, and we were ready.
The book swap is proving to be extremely popular, and I am delighted that so many residents enjoy using it and that all these books enjoy a second life and are not thrown away. I work with a neighbour to keep the place organised and tidy. We don't accept books with covers and pages missing, or old travel guides and technical manuals because the information in them is out of date. We have also introduced a system using little coloured stickers to help us see how long books remain on the shelves so we can rotate the stock. Our back up supply is stored in a disused part of the Factory so we always have extra books ready to plug any gaps.
This is not, strictly speaking, part of my professional portfolio but I used my organising skills to set up this project and, in proper APDO style, I have a system in place!
