Rooms stuffed to brim, clutter piled to the ceiling … Catherine Carney has just about seen it all but she does not judge a person based on their home.
She is a professional home organiser and expert declutter coach. She’s working to destigmatise hoarding and clutter, while creating a social enterprise.
“There are 1000 reasons why a home becomes untidy, and each are completely valid,” she said.
Based in Kyneton, Catherine and her team tackle chronic cases in the Macedon Ranges, and from Melbourne to Bendigo.
Most of her clients are neurodivergent people (autism/ADHD), or have a physical / psychosocial disability, who need help decluttering and systemising their home.
As a neurodivergent person herself, Catherine, and her diverse team, have a deep understanding of the barriers that people may face.
“When it comes to a psychosocial disability or neurodivergence, we get doom piles. Meaning, there’s not the energy to deal with an item so it will be placed onto a pile,” Catherine explained.
“The pile starts off small and it becomes bigger and bigger until it’s really overwhelming. People struggle to work through that because the pile can become a room and then the room can become the whole home.
“There are lots of cycles that come with excessive accumulation and chronic disorganisation, which are completely normal.”
Chronic cases of hoarding and clutter can result in shame, social isolation and rejection of service providers, and impact daily life in the home.
Catherine described what a typical chronic case may look like.
“It can range from knee-deep clutter to entire rooms filled,” she said.
“Sometimes a space can’t be access, the kitchen is often unusable – maybe there are months worth of dishes. Walkways and hallways might be unusable. We might see rodents and bugs.
“We do have some jobs where we need full PPE and we just go in and we fix it. As long as the client wants to get on top of it, there is no job that is too big.”
Catherine said she and her team were there to help and understand the common challenges. They help each client discover the root cause to better manage long into the future.
“We spend a significant amount of time coaching people through their relationship with clutter and stuff,” Catherine said.
“As we notice barriers come up or that a client is becoming overwhelmed or challenged, we work through it. We’re really good at gauging the person and determining what is best in that moment.”
Catherine discovered a strong need for the service after responding to a call to assist an overwhelmed mum to reorganise her home.
Her natural knack for organisation and desire to help others saw the launch of her company just days later.
Now 14 months later, the mother of four and former school teacher is running a company, Catherine Carney Professional Home Organisers, with eight staff members and has helped hundreds of clients.
The team also has a network of recommended service providers they can connect people to outside of their service if needed. That might be a psychologist, GP for a mental health plan, psychosocial recovery coach or other.
Most clients access Catherine’s service through referrals from allied health services including Bendigo Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital and support coordinators.
Catherine is taking on pro-bono referral work through Cobaw Community Health and local maternal health care nurses. She is now focused on building a social enterprise.
