TWO busy mums have joked they live in IKEA after launching their own decluttering business.
Alison Lane and Joanne Alexander, both 43, are professional home organisers and get paid to tidy and style their clients' homes.
The best friends decided to become business partners after spotting a gap in the market for home overhauls.
The Scottish duo launched Sorted in Glasgow last year and aim to help people declutter their home and create a calm and stylish living environment.
The mums, who both have three children, know firsthand how tricky it can be to keep on top of tidying alongside running a busy household.
But they pride themselves in being able to juggle their family lives with their thriving business.
Jo said: "I think it actually gives us an edge. We know what it's like trying to juggle 15 different clubs and everything in the house and run our business.
"We can sympathise with people. What we say to a lot of people is, your time is really precious.
"So if you have the ability to outsource to someone to help with jobs then do it. Make the most of it and free up your time a little bit."
Ali added: "I think we were both really aware of the fact that people are outsourcing a lot more than they used to, because people are so busy.
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"You know, people have got their personal trainers, they've got cleaners, they've got dog walkers, they've got people that come and valet your car, because actually, I think people are putting more of a premium on their time than anything else now.
"So this was just another aspect of us being able to come in and help people organise their homes.
"We've had loads of interest."
Ali and Jo charge an hourly rate of £30 per organiser, plus the cost for any storage accessories they need to pick up – taking on jobs from a wardrobe declutter to a full house clearance.
And they're already booked out a month in advance, with spaces for June also filling up fast.
Jo said: "Everyone has been so supportive and everyone that we have done jobs for has only had positive feedback.
"No one has said that they think we can improve on anything and we're already getting repeat customers.
"When we get really good jobs at the end of it, we're so pleased, it's where we see the transformation."
The organising experts joked that they've become so well known for the business in their local community of Bearsden that they can't go out without being recognised.
Joanne said: "If we're going out for lunch people will stop and say, 'oh, I saw you on Instagram, I love your videos!' I was saying to Ali we can't go out without our make up on!"
Cleaning icon Stacey Solomon – who has her own BBC show, Sort Your Life Out – also inspired Jo to tackle homes and motherhood at the same time.
She said: "She's a mum as well. She knows what the juggle is like too."
Ali added: "I don't think we actually realised it would take off, but we are enjoying it.
"I do think that the benefit of organising your time well is a big thing. There are certain times of day that we have to get to work and get our heads down.
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"And we make sure that we fit in admin day each week so that we can get caught up because there's quite a lot of paperwork, and insurance, so we need to make sure we put time aside to get all these things done.
"We also have to build in time to our week to go and get storage. We spend half our lives in IKEA!"
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