Welcome to Olive Organising

Putting things in order makes me happy. I love it when a bit of spare time coincides with finding a drawer that needs a sort out.  

One of the best Christmas presents I’ve received was a digital label maker. At times in the office kitchen, I’d have a little break and put all the dishes away neatly in the cupboard.

I never really understood why. Is it about feeling in control of something small when life - work, home, the kids’ moods - is filled with so many things that we have little influence over? Is it about the calming effect of taking a mess and making something more organised? Is it the creativity of thinking about how to best use a space and making it work better? Giving unwanted things new homes? Or maybe it is just a quirk of my personality.

Turns out there’s actual science behind it.

Being amongst mess and clutter leads to higher cortisol levels, which causes feelings of stress and anxiety. It can make it harder to get things done - not just physically (you can’t find what you need, and its stressful trying to find that green kid’s sports shirt when you’re trying to get to work), but also psychologically.  Science says it is harder to focus and you are more likely to put off decisions when you’re surrounded by mess. I don’t want to be over dramatic here, but studies do show links between clutter and health (sitting on a messy sofa surrounded by abandoned toys and laundry, you’re more likely to reach for a Mars bar than a handful of roast almonds. Yep). 

And there’s nothing like a good system to make your day go well, and you leave the house with the right shoes, clean clothes and the kids’ lunches.

I’m super excited to be up and running in my business bringing some of this calm and clarity to your home and lives. It makes me really happy to see the impact that this can have. Paul reckons his new pantry means he enjoys using measuring cups “that carry the oats came from my late mother’s pantry and take me back to a childhood when I had so much less but also so much more (he is a  lover of poetry), and Hamish now gives his friends guided tours of his beautiful apartment laundry.  

At heart, my service is about making a little more time for yourself and bringing a little more calm and clarity to your life.  I’d love to work with you too, just drop me a line.

Cheryl

(Check out this before and after)