Category: News

  • January Round Up

    January Round Up

    Hello and welcome to 2025! We hope that the year has started healthy and happy for you.

    Christmas is often a time for thinking about the last 12 months and discussing future plans with family, so whatever you’ve been thinking about, we hope you are starting to bring those plans to fruition.  But we’re now looking forward to the weather getting warmer as the afternoons are getting just a little bit lighter!

    Later life planning 

    This coming Thursday, 30 January, we will be on hand at Avery Wandsworth Common (94 Northside, London SW18 2QU)  from 11am – 4pm for their open day.  Come and have a look round, or just pop in and have a chat to Ashley about later life planning.  We can help point you in the direction of lots of relevant professionals if we don’t know the answer.  No need to book, but you can contact Avery on  020 3751 1764.

    We have been busy with talks as we also went to Kyn in Hurlingham this week for a later life planning talk with https://www.peacock-law.co.uk/ and https://eldercareconsultant.co.uk/ .  It is always good to be able to meet people and help give them advice to make their later life plans easier and better. 

    Permission to blame!

    When I first meet clients who are downsizing, they are obviously apprehensive about decluttering and how it will feel working with someone who is, at that point, a stranger.

    One of the things I always say at the start of working with a client is ‘don’t worry, you can hate me during this process’.  Because I know they need to be able to direct their stress and anger somewhere.  

    Clients always laugh at this and it does normally help make the situation easier and breaks the ice.  I also give them permission to blame me during the process.  And I do that because I know I am not to blame!

    For instance, when a client needs to part with items that were given to them as presents, they feel guilty and bad about it.  Most people do understand downsizing and do understand that not everyone can hold on to everything and I’m sure (with the odd exception) would be totally understanding.  

    So I say, ‘oh, just blame me, you can say I made you’.  The truth is, I don’t actually ever ‘make’ anyone do anything.  I might ‘strongly suggest’ things that I feel are in their best interest, but I wouldn’t ever ‘make’ them.

    The person who gifted something in the first place did so with love, and you enjoyed the gift and appreciated it over a period of time.  And then you can part with it.  

    Unnecessary things you want to keep

    This article on a news site did make me laugh, about the different things that ‘baby boomers’ don’t want to get rid of.  Most of the list comes up with clients on a regular basis and these things in particular really resonated: 

    1. Stacks of greetings cards
    2. ‘Potential’ antiques
    3. Mysterious garage tools 
    4. Outdated cookbooks
    5. Cupboards of unused china
    6. Instruction manuals for everything you’ve ever owned
    7. Obsolete electronics which ‘might be useful’
    8. The plastic bag stash
    9. Coffee mugs from decades ago

    We can help you if you are finding these or other categories difficult! Just get in touch.

    Here are the blogs we’ve written since the last round up:

  • We were featured in Which? Money Magazine

    We were featured in Which? Money Magazine

    We are thrilled to share that we were the main organisation featured in the December 2024 issue of Which? Money Magazine in their article “Life admin made easy”

    An extract from the printed copy is below, thank you to our lovely client, Pamela.

    Which? Money Magazine, December 2024

    Ashley Jordan, our founder and head of One Stop Organisers, which operates in London and the home counties, additionally explained: ‘We look after the whole moving process, from decluttering and making sure furniture fits, to organising removals, managing the pack day, move day and unpacking, utilities switches and changes of address plus finding solicitors and estate agents and helping with form filling.

    ‘We also source tradespeople and new items. If it needs to be done we will do it or organise someone to do it.’

    You can also read a different version of the article on their website:

    “Could a professional ‘life admin’ service make your life easier?

  • Silver Pages Third Edition 2024-25 is now available

    Silver Pages Third Edition 2024-25 is now available

    The latest edition of Silver Pages – our free 40-page essential list of resources for later in life (or whenever you need it) – is now available to order.

    Silver Pages gives you a peep inside our ‘little black book’ of tried and tested contacts; we’ve chosen those you will likely need now or in the years ahead.

    We have trusted long-term relationships with top-rated professionals across a broad range of disciplines from lawyers to leak-fixers, caterers to carpet fitters.

    If you would like us to post you a copy, simply send us an email with your full name and address to:
    info@onestoporganisers.co.uk

    We know how hard it can be to find decent quality and reliable tradespeople.

    Silver Pages gives you a list of the best; you can be confident that the companies we use are capable of completing your project to high standards.