Banbury businesswoman helping support clutterholics and hoarders around the world virtually from her garden shed

A Banbury businesswoman is providing social gatherings for more than six from her shed at the end of her garden to support clutterholics and hoarders during the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic Clare Baker, who is herself a former clutterholic and borderline hoarder, has been supporting clutterholics and hoarders around the world virtually from her shed at the end of her garden.

Clare said: "The people I help need more than just a clear-out or tidy-up. They have habits that cause them to accumulate clutter without them even realising it. So a lockdown clear-out was never going to work and make a meaningful or lasting difference.

"The people I help have told themselves for years that they just need time to go through their clutter and that once they’ve cleared the backlog they’ll be able to keep their homes clutter free. Although, lockdown provided some focused time without the normal distractions, it also meant a lot of people realised that it wasn’t just an issue of time and they didn’t have ‘just a little bit of clutter’."

Clare, who works alone in her shed at the end of her garden, saw an instant increase in demand from people around the world.

Clare added: "I’ve been helping people in the UK, Europe, Canada, America, New Zealand and even Japan since the pandemic began.

"I know first-hand that living with and struggling to deal with a clutter challenge can lead to mental health issues. Unfortunately the pandemic has merely increased the challenges that clutterholics and hoarders face to maintain their day-to-day mental health as they are forced to live with their clutter 24/7.

"What’s more, there are just as many clutterholics and hoarders who were in denial about the extent of their clutter until the pandemic, which has forced them to finally face the reality of their extreme clutter – which has also led to anxiety and depression in those people who didn’t previously suffer."

At the beginning of March Clare introduced a new online support group called the 'Social Gatherings' for anyone who wants and needs to know they’re not alone while living with extreme clutter during this pandemic.

Clare added: "They’re the only Social Gatherings where we’re not limited to six people. We’ve got people who join from all over the world because there are people everywhere who are being forced to live with extreme amounts of clutter during the pandemic.

"In the UK alone it’s estimated there are 1.2 million hoarders – 1.2 million people who are living in homes that aren’t safe, where they can’t easily sit on their sofa, sleep in their bed, wash their clothes or are having to go out every day to buy food because they have nowhere to store it."

According to Clare, most clutterholics and hoarders don’t need someone to come to their home to help them declutter.

Clare said: "I’ve been successfully helping clutterholics and hoarders around the world become clutter free forever for the last 20 years, without stepping a foot inside their homes and instead from my shed at the end of my garden.

"I help clutterholics and hoarders figure out what the right decision is for them by sharing the knowledge, tools and skills they need to work out what’s right for them.

"It’s not my place to make judgments about what’s meaningful to you and to pressurise you to get rid of it. What you need is help to learn how to make your own decisions and get back control yourself – and I don’t need to be in your home to teach you how to do that."

Clare plans to continue to support extreme clutterholics regardless of changing restrictions on daily life, by providing a safe space for people to get the support they need.

Anyone who needs help with decluttering can check out a free trial with Clare using the following web link: https://www.clutterclearing.net/social-gathering