Brought to you by
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, Aoife McGillion from Suits for Success talks to The Tidy Project to get some tips on clearing out your wardrobe, and the benefits of giving a good home to your preloved belongings.
Tell us Rachel, why did you set up The Tidy Project?
There’s a running joke in my family where they refer to organizing or clearing up things as “doing a Rachel.” I’ve always found it cathartic to organize things. And one day, I came across someone that offered a home “organizing” service. I hadn’t even realized it was a thing, it has always been something I just did because I enjoyed it. So, without putting too much effort into testing whether there was any interest in this service in Hong Kong, I set up a website and then without any marketing or promotion, I started to get clients.
Why do people come to you?
A lot of people are searching for help with personal organization. It’s really no different than getting help with any other task you are not able to do alone – like hiring an accountant or a personal trainer or a child minder… we’re all here to lighten the load and to offer an objective, experienced opinion and the motivation to help them move forward.
What services does The Tidy Project offer?
We do full closet renovation, home-office organization, a moving day service, and a home help overhaul to cover any and all aspects of organizing your home life. The most popular services that people come to me for are help with wardrobes, and general living room organization.
Suits for Success is about to launch our next clothing drive, which will run from February 12 through March 8. As people start thinking about clearing out their wardrobes and decluttering before Chinese New Year, what are your top tips?
Right…I have eight pieces of advice:
One of the challenges of doing a clear out of a wardrobe is figuring out what to do with the items that you no longer need or want. Suits for Success, a local Hong Kong charity, collects new and gently worn clothing that can be worn in a professional workplace, and works with dozens of NGOs to distribute them to underprivileged men and women from marginalized areas in Hong Kong. The recipients of these clothes will use them for internships or when starting out, or getting back, in the workplace. The collection period for 2018 is February 12 through March 8, and the donation sites are through Pure Yoga and Fitness locations across Hong Kong for general public.