Dilly Carter

As a Queen in the organising game, Dilly Carter has already been labelled as “London’s Marie Kondo”. With global organisational dominance on the cards for Dilly, this visionary takes full assessment of a personal space and makes it work for you. My conversation with Dilly revealed her passion for helping people and making their life a little bit easier.

Dilly’s personal journey began when she was adopted at the age of three, from Sri Lanka, and began her life in the UK. She revealed she always had an intrinsic eye for space and organising. From a young age, “even in the orphanage” Dilly always helped with the tidying. As she told me more of her story, it became apparent that organisation was wired within her.

 Growing up, Dilly cemented the empathetic side of decluttering as she was helping her own Mother, who suffers with mental health issues. Tidying wasn’t just about “immaculate kitchen cupboards” it was about providing a space with functionality and making it work for different people.

“I used to hang around supermarkets waiting for my Mum to pick me up and I would help with people’s shopping, it’s always been around me somehow”

Whilst at school, Dilly was helping her neighbours and organising local homes as well as her own house. She didn’t always know she could make a career out of her skills and went on to become a personal assistant for sales directors and large companies following school. She continued to refine her knowledge by her experience in a small fashion boutique where she “learnt to fold and organise clothes”.

Working in various office jobs to then becoming a Personal Assistant for private families, Dilly applied her intrinsic skill set to some of her live-in situations. By simply suggesting ways for families to improve their home organisation, Dilly fuelled this organisation with function and still carries this ethos to her business today.

 “I really like organising, I really like tidying up”

Following a trip with a friend, Dilly decided that she wanted to use her skills to help other people and set up as a business. The brainstorming began! The brand name, Declutter Dollies, was conceived in 2018 on a plane journey and now has a growing client base and social media following (her dollies!). Still very much in the infancy of the business, Dilly began with local homes and using leaflets as a way to spread word about her services. As her platform grew, Dilly delved into the Instagram world and began explaining what she does.

Dilly’s social media presence is one that differs from other organisers, and is a big reason why I followed her initially. Her stories reveal a very open side to her, including insight into her family life and how she organises her own home. During Lockdown, Dilly cannot enter people’s homes, so has navigated her online presence as a way to continue helping people. From her virtual cleanses to daily Instagram live videos, it is recognisable that even with the current circumstances she is committed to her business. With Declutter Dollies still in the early stages, I know Dilly has this in the bag (a very organised one at that!)

“These are good times to be in our homes, to focus on our homes, to look at what we’ve got, assess what we’ve got and think how we can improve on certain areas…we’re never gonna get this time again”

Dilly can now help you even more with her new book, Create Space, and catch her on BBC One’s new show Sort Your Life Out where she is one quarter of a dynamic team.