In this episode Dinah and Mia focus on how to help others declutter, and Mia interviews Jo and Kristen from Springtime Services, professional organisers in Melbourne.

Jo and Kristen describe how they support clients to declutter part or all of their homes. Their service draws on the advice of experts but they stress they avoid being prescriptive. Every client is different and their approach needs to be tailored for what will work for their clients.

Jo and Kristen find the biggest challenges for people to declutter are photos, children’s artwork and toys and gifts. They share the advice of Marie Kondo in respect to gifts: “Don’t keep gifts out of guilt. After the joy of the gift-giving moment is through, you can donate the gift without guilt. It has served its purpose.”

They talk about the particular challenges of decluttering when someone is downizing or moving to residential aged care and provide the following tips:

• Allow people to tell their stories about the items they are letting go of.
• Don’t let people handle their items too much as it can be more difficult to let them go.
• Find the right pace and time limit sessions as decision fatigue can set in after a few hours.

Their advice for listeners decluttering their own home is:

• Take items away immediately after sorting – don’t just move them to another part of the house.
• Getting started is the hardest part – it can feel overwhelming but the reward is worth it.

LIFE ADMIN HIGH

Dinah talks about the Spriggy pocket money app that she and her children use to make pocket money more convenient, educational and suitable to the way we handle money today.

POWER TOOL

• The Clutter Coach’s podcast Organize Your Life – iTunes or Stitcher

RESOURCES

• Springtime Services
• Department of Sustainability – where to dispose of toxic chemicals in Victoria
• Return Unwanted medicines
• Recycling X-rays

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