My sister Ruth gave me some great advice, she's wise like that. She said I should think about what I would willingly volunteer to do and then pursue that as a career. One of my highlights each week is folding laundry. I am a big fan of Marie Kondo although I've taken her drawer organisation up a notch and "pillow" all my clothes so they stand up neatly and don't fall over. This is especially good for children's clothes as you can literally throw them around the room and they stay neatly folded. My children are not exactly tidy so it eliminates a lot of mess if I pillow everything.
This is something I would willingly do for other people. I did spend some time a couple weeks ago pillowing my dad's vests. He was surprised at how much joy it brought when he opened his drawer and my mum has started pillowing too. It's addictive! It's very satisfying and I highly recommend it. Can I monetise this skill?
There is a an association in the UK called the APDO (Association of Professional Declutters and Organisers). I am not sure I want to help full blown hoarders but I do quite fancy helping people bring order to their chaos and of course teaching them how to pillow their clothes. I contacted the lady who runs this organisation and for £45 I can have an hour long chat with her about what becoming a member entails and how to set up a business.
I'm a bit hesitant to spend money during the exploratory phase as I could have spent thousands already if I signed up for everyone who is offering me wisdom and training. I do know time is valuable though and I appreciate that she needs to earn a living so I'm tempted. Perhaps I could teach her to pillow in exchange for her expertise? I decided instead to email people in my area who are registered with this organisation and see if any of them would be willing to have a chat with me. So far I've sent 5 emails and had one response from a lovely lady named Angela who basically told me there wasn't a big market for it in Lincolnshire (she may be right) and that she finds there's definitely a north/south divide (I live in the north which tends towards less expendable income). Helpful, but not exactly encouraging. I'm going to email a few more of them tomorrow and see if I get any more responses.
In the meantime, if you'd like to watch me pillow clothes, check out my pillowing video. Knickers are also very satisfying but I didn't fancy sharing my pants with the world.
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