What Actually Happens During a Decluttering Session?

This article was inspired by watching BBC's Sort Your Life Out, which depicts a somewhat different approach to decluttering compared to what happens in real life. There are, of course, many professional organisers out there, and I can’t speak for the entire industry — but I’m fairly certain most of us don’t go to the extremes shown on television!

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Sort Your Life Out with Stacey Solomon, or Nick Knowles' Big House Clearout featuring Nick Knowles, you’ll know the format. A team of professionals helps a family in need of decluttering and organisation by emptying the contents of their entire house into a massive warehouse. Before the family sees everything, the items are sorted and categorised so they can truly appreciate just how much of certain things they own.

They’re often set a target — for example, to let go of 50% of their belongings — and then they sort items into piles for:

• Donating
• Selling
• Recycling
• Rubbish

While the family has just two days to make decisions, the TV crew cleans, sometimes renovates, and creates improved storage solutions in their home. When the family returns, everything they’ve chosen to keep has been beautifully organised and systematically arranged. The transformation is usually dramatic — and it certainly makes great TV.

So, What Happens During a Real-Life Decluttering Session?

First of all, there’s only one of me! So we usually start with one room or one area at a time.

Which area we begin with depends entirely on the client. Most already know what they’d like to tackle before I arrive. If they’re looking for a whole-house overhaul, I generally suggest starting with the area that bothers them most. Quick wins in high-frustration spaces can make a big difference.

Every job is different, so my approach may vary slightly. Typically, I begin by assessing the available storage in the room (or house) and how it’s currently being used. I ask questions to understand what’s working and what isn’t. For example, if there’s no dedicated study or desk area, where does paperwork get sorted? Where do keys live? How do daily routines flow?

Finding practical storage solutions for each category of items — and ensuring those categories live where they make the most sense for the client — is one of my favourite parts of the job.

How Involved Is the Client?

On TV, families aren’t involved in the “putting-it-all-back” phase. With my clients, it varies.

Some are happy to be hands-off and let me get on with it. In those cases, the focus is often more on organisation than heavy decluttering. However, I still check in regularly — there will always be questions like:

• “How many of these do you realistically need?”
• “Where do the other lightbulbs live?”
• “Where would you naturally look for this?”

Most commonly, though, we work together. Ultimately, what stays and what goes is always the client’s decision. Before anything is reorganised, I make sure the system makes sense to them — not just to me.

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

No matter which room we’re tackling, one thing is almost always true: it gets worse before it gets better.

While I wouldn’t usually empty an entire room at once, grouping “like with like” often requires pulling things out to see exactly how much there is. A wardrobe sort is the classic example. If clothes have become muddled, it’s often easiest to empty everything out and then decide what to keep, donate, sell, recycle or bin.

Once you can see how many pairs of trousers you actually own, it’s much easier to decide:

1. Shelf or rail?
2. Folded or hung?
3. Sub-categories such as jeans, formal trousers and joggers?

Keeping like with like is absolutely key. From there, we can refine further — by season, material, colour, or whatever system works best for the client. After all, the system has to suit the person using it.

How Long Does It Take?

On Sort Your Life Out, everything is completed within seven days — and I’d love to know how many people are working behind the scenes to make that happen!

In real life, decluttering and organising often takes longer than people expect. But once systems are in place, the time saved afterwards far outweighs the hours spent creating order.

Most of my clients book one session at a time — anywhere from 2 to 6–7 hours. After that, we’re usually both ready for a break! If more help is needed, we simply schedule another session.

Sometimes, all someone needs is a little support to kickstart their decluttering journey — and that’s absolutely fine too. I’m flexible and always happy to work around what suits my clients best.