Portfolio & reviews
A neglected spare room
Our 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 us 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 our client didn’t want to get rid of anything, she didn’t need to be with us to make decisions, so she was happy for us to work on our own.
We sorted the items into type, boxed everything up and noted the contents on the outside of each box. Our client didn’t need to buy any extra storage boxes as we were able to use what was already there, as is often the case.
Our client was absolutely delighted with her room and was amazed at how much space we 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.
I highly recommend these dynamic ladies. Efficient, friendly and non-judgmental. In a very short time they transformed my spare room from a chaotic mess into a liveable space.
We worked on this project together and it took the two of us an hour and a half.
A double garage – but no room for a car
Our 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 a multitude of items belonging to our client and her two grown-up sons.
It was so full that it was virtually impossible to see the floor and the family were 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.
Because a large proportion of the items in the garage were ultimately ear-marked for recycling or a charity shop, the family were on hand to make decisions as we worked.
We worked on the task with our 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.
We wiped down everything that was being kept before storing on existing shelving and in cupboards. Several battered and broken cardboard boxes were emptied and disposed of and we were able to make effective use of the numerous plastic storage crates already there. Wherever possible we grouped items together by type.
The end result was a clean, tidy, well-organised garage with clear floor space for the 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 car loads were taken to the local recycling centre and a car load was donated to a local charity shop. Our client was so delighted with the result that she is now keen to continue the process, hoping to start sorting through the items still in the garage to reduce them further.
To the lovely ladies at ‘Carefully Sorted’
Dear Liz and Jules
I am extremely delighted with the results of the project you undertook recently. My garage was a dumping ground which you transformed into a place of which I am now proud!
You worked together well ‘carefully sorting’, tidying, removing clutter and additionally clearing. A job well done and a weight removed from my shoulders.
I will be singing your praises for a long time. I have no hesitation in recommending ‘Carefully Sorted’ most highly.
Thank you.
P.S. The added bonus was inspiring my 25-year-old son to join in and sort his clutter too!
We worked on this project together and it took the two of us six hours.
The gift of a tidy bedroom
Our 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.
Our 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 she 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.
As there was very little space to move around in the bedroom, it was agreed that this was a task for one person so Julia undertook this on her own. 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.
Julia packed winter coats in to the newly-purchased storage boxes and stored them, and all the handbags, in the storage compartments under the bed. She sorted every item of clothing from the floor and both upper and lower areas of the wardrobe into type, folded them and put them in to the new storage boxes, which fitted perfectly along the top shelf of the wardrobe.She then folded excess items of clothing and put them into bags, as these are going to be sorted out later and the contents gradually filtered into the new storage boxes.
She then filled the purpose-built shoe chest and put the remaining shoes into existing storage boxes at the bottom of the wardrobe. She cleared as much clutter as possible from all the surface areas and re-organised everything so that it was easily accessible, for example she put all hair-styling equipment into the pretty new boxes and tidied make-up and jewellery into existing containers.
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. Our client was amazed at how large the room now appeared to be and asked what Julia had done with his daughter’s belongings!
The client and his daughter are keen to continue what Julia has started and she has recommended that they spend an hour each week sorting through one box or bag at a time, deciding what to keep and what to let go of. She is confident they will achieve the desired result and will be in contact to offer further advice if required.
“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. It really was a losing battle but then the cavalry arrived.
In no time at all the job was assessed and started. The end 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.”
“Couldn’t believe how my room looked, so happy and still amazed. Everything has a place so it’s easy for me to keep it tidy. Plus, for once, I know where everything is. Thank you so much.”
The total time taken was eight hours – two hours of research, six hours on site plus £86.50 on storage boxes.
A huge CD collection
Our client was a businessman who worked very long hours and so had very little spare time. His collection of more than two and a half thousand CDs had been packed into storage crates in no particular order.
The task was to unpack the crates and put the CDs in alphabetical order on to custom-made shelving. Each section of shelf held approximately 100 CDs.
Our client was extremely happy with the result as the CDs had been sitting in the crates for several months; it was a job he had been putting off for a while due to lack of time.
Julia worked on this on her own and it took her five hours.
