Raili Kannel says she first called in the professionals two years ago when the clutter in her home became overwhelming. The junk had accumulated over the years while some of it was inherited.
”I was embarrassed by the mess at home, and no matter how much I tried I couldn’t make any headway cleaning. There was no place to put the stuff,” says Kannel, adding that there were over 100 sheets in her household of two adults.
Professional organiser Maria Laitinen says her services are in high demand as more and more clutter creeps into people’s lives. Once people cross into the realm of hoarding, the amount of stuff can become stifling.
”People waste money buying things they already have but can’t find in their overflowing closets. In the end, there’s not much you can do with three Christmas tree stands,” she says.
Tanja Kotro, a senior researcher at the National Consumer Research Centre, says that while a lot of people are caught in a cycle of buying unnecessary things, only a handful seek professional help.
But the research organisation does see a clear trend in people employing professionals to improve everyday life quality. Tax deduction schemes for domestic help over the past decade have helped services like professional organisation flourish.
Kotro says personal services are carving out a new market niche.
”In some way you can call it a return of a servant society that’s just changed shape. We have people selling us services they’ve designed themselves, though they don’t live with their client:”
