Space and Time top 10 professional organising clients for 2018

I have had a fabulous year in my business. I worked hard to overhaul my website, upped my game with social media (Facebook and Instagram), and presented workshops and keynote speeches to multiple groups around Victoria.  As a result I’m so thrilled to have worked with so many people through my one-on-one professional organising services. A business I started from scratch almost 4 years ago. Yay!

With gratitude and delight in the year that has been so good to me, I present to you my top 10 professional organising clients for 2018.

10.  Moved into new home

When I arrived the family had unpacked some items after relocating 2 weeks earlier.  They had called for my assistance because their new home was much smaller than the previous. We worked together to unpack the rest of the kitchen stuff, grouping like items together on the lounge room floor.

My client found categorising in this way very helpful and great to be able to see what she had. We also grouped food items together in this way; pantry items nuts, dry foods, herbs and sauces, other including empty containers, food preparation equipment like measuring jugs. We then worked together to rearrange items in the kitchen so the frequently used items were close at hand.  It was so nice to help this family get everything out of the boxes and into circulation.

9. Returning to work

I was thrilled to support and encourage a Mum returning to work in a few weeks. We worked on a number of tasks in my time with her, but I loved her approach to meal planning. She already had a very clear idea of the meals they want to make. As she’ll be working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday  she plans to use a slow cooker on these nights so food is ready when they get home.

The plan for the rest of the week: Thursday – pizza, Friday – seafood pasta, Saturday – BBQ, Sunday – something light, like a soup.  We talked about how this would work, including grocery delivery twice a week (Wed and Friday) to keep it manageable, with options to tweak as they go. It was fabulous to finalise the meal plan to assist in reducing stress and encourage healthy food options.

8. Home office refresh

Thanks Jeanette for this testimonial on Facebook – “The moment Julie posted on FB services site, I was on the phone requesting her immediate time and expertise! Two visits later and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was a little embarrassed by how ‘disorganized’ I appeared; Julie calmly and quietly explained the science behind how normally organized people can be thrown into disarray. I had become super busy with the sale of my business to a US company and my focus had completely been around the legal and procedural processes. Hence, everything I’d practiced in my life went out the window! Could I have done it on my own? Possibly…but not likely. Having her calming voice talk me through the decision making to keep, archive or dump paperwork and things was all I needed. I have no hesitation in recommending Julie for anyone who needs a helping hand in their day to day life and in business life. Jeanette”

I worked a few sessions with this particular client overhauling the pantry and then toy room, but my favourite part of this job was going through the clothes in her girls’ room.   We took everything out of each drawer and checked the sizing, deciding what to keep, what to give to a friend.  We folded all the clothes, putting them up-right in the drawers (similar to the above pic). We also put subdividing boxes in the drawers to make a separation between the two girls clothes even more defined.

This task would have been almost impossible to get done in a morning with the 3 kids running around. My client said it was outstanding to have my help over the previous weeks. She mentioned that it was the action (just actually doing something) that has been a great relief and of course to have some expert advice.

5. Over-run by craft!

Loved working with a full-time, working Mum to reduce the amount of toys that are accessible to her kids at any one time. In particular we put half of the crafting supplies out of sight so even if it was all out at once, it would be easy to tidy up again after each craft session. Such a relief for this mum over-run by craft.

6. Pantry overhaul

I worked on quite a few pantries this year where I helped them from start to finish, but my favourite one was where the client did most of the work. I joined her for a 1.5 hour kick-start session whereby I gave tips and ideas on the best way to store  items based on their frequency of use, their size and ease of access and encouraged her to kick start the de-cluttering. I then left it to my very capable client to carry through the plan.

4. Delcutter before move

It was a delight to receive this message after a decluttering session in preparation for an interstate move:

“Julie helped me sort and organise the majority of things/boxes I had in a large basement garage in just 4 hours. It has set me up for success and given me the motivation to get through the rest of the house. Thanks Julie!!”

3. Busy Mum of 3 boys

I worked with the Mum to set up a system for incoming artwork of her 3 boys (one in Prep and 2 younger boys – so, as you can imagine – lots of artwork).  We placed an in-tray on the buffet to put the kids artwork in each night when they unpack their bag. My client created a notification in her phone for once a week to do a cull (take a video, take a photo, or  file in plastic pockets in the lever arch folder). A well planned routine works well to take control of kids art/school work.

2. I love paperwork

I worked in the home of a client I have never met. She needed my help with paperwork, but she was unable to be there at the same time as me. When I arrived I found a plastic basket on her desk with current files. I sorted the contents into water bills, rental information, car maintenance, superannuation fund, medical and filed these into chronological order and put in her current filing cabinet. It’s such a delight to help people in this way when they have other things to tend to.

1. Work smarter

Drum roll please….

My top professional organising client for 2018 was a mini “work smarter” workshop. Creating a weekly routine is essential to getting stuff done with less stress. This  fabulous group of Rodan + Fields consultants plotted out their week so they were able squeeze their family commitments, “day job” AND Rodan + Fields into their week.

We allocated all the important self care elements including time to get up each morning, time to go to bed, time for family, friends, exercise (and found some time for work too).