I was jobless after being made redundant… but now I ‘declutter’ messy families’ homes – I love it

A MUM-OF-TWO made jobless after a life-shattering redundancy now declutters other people's houses for a living - and loves it.

Janine McDonald was forced out of work in 2016 and struggled to adjust to life away from her nine to five.

She also lost her family home and battled with her mental health as her marriage broke down.

A mountain of mess began forming around the 51-year-old and she struggled to see a way out.

But Janine, from Swinton, Greater Manchester, signed up for a business management course in 2019 and the rest is history.

She now runs the hugely successful Clear the Clutter Now which offers to "transform people's lives" by "bringing calm to the chaos" - and couldn't imagine herself doing anything else.

Janine said: "In de-cluttering my home, my mind also became clearer and my confidence started to come back.

"I started to help friends with their de-cluttering and it gave me a feeling of self-worth again.

"Then, when I was looking for a new job, it struck me that I could start my own business helping others to get out of a rut too and I set up Clear the Clutter Now. I love it!

"I’m so passionate about what I do, that I’ve become an international speaker on the subject."

Janine insists she completely understands how easy it is to let standards slip - but she relishes in helping others "go from being overwhelmed to motivated and inspired".

She told : "Sometimes people just get overwhelmed. It's the pace of life.

"If you have a family then you have kids going to clubs and parties, and social lives have exploded again and they are doing lots of activities.

"Parents are juggling so many different things, it so easily happens.

"It starts off being a bit untidy, then Christmas and birthdays come and it's like, 'Wow, we have so much stuff we don't need'.

"It gets out of their control because decluttering is something everyone says they need to do, but then they don't get round to it.

"It's something that gets put off and put off and put off."