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

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: