Welcome to In The Spotlight

Do you have an amazing business to showcase, or an incredible story to tell?

This month emmaheaven.com is shining the spotlight on...

Sian Scoulding - Absolute Cleaning Wales & Habitat Joy

After leaving school in 2000, I went to college for a whole three months before I got dazzled by the offer of a full time job in a sports store! I remember earning something like £3.20 an hour and being chuffed that I could go buy clothes on a Friday, and that was my main priority! Then at 18, I was old enough to go out with all the team for drinks on a Saturday night…. What more could I want?!

My son was born when I was 23. After becoming a single mother I continued to work in retail, working as many hours as possible, sometimes going in on my days off to earn extra. I worked my way up to store manager, however, during the busy Christmas period my step father passed away. I felt so guilty for not being in work at their busiest time of year, yet I also felt guilty for not being at home. I knew something had to change, so I decided to work part time AND went back to live with my mother – now that was an experience!

Despite restoring some work/life balance, I didn’t have much job satisfaction, and knew that I wanted more out of life.

I started listening to audiobooks about what you want to attract into your life, and other positive meditations. Soon enough I was offered a job looking after Student Lettings. It was great for the first two years but I was in the same situation as before, never being able to fully switch off at the end of the working day.

To earn extra during the summer months I would clean the studios once the students had moved out. I enjoyed popping on my headphones to listen to a book or music, and crack on with what delights the students had left behind!

Last October I had an opportunity to start my own cleaning business and I have not looked back. It’s hard work but very rewarding and nothing beats being your own boss.

Like many cleaning businesses, Absolute Cleaning Wales offers both commercial and domestic cleaning.

• Did you know that a professional cleaner improves productivity? Messy conditions cost more to businesses than we can ever imagine, in multiple ways.
• Decreased levels of sickness. Cleanliness is more important than ever these days. When it comes to the workplace, cleanliness, personal hygiene, and health and safety are paramount, and an important, integral part of a company’s policies.
• Every workplace needs to be hygienic, not just for the sake of their reputation, but also for the health and safety of their customers, visitors and employees.
• Reduced managerial stress. When management returns to work after the Covid break they have more than enough to deal with, such as additional admin, furloughed staff, recruitment, inductions etc. without the added worry about standards of cleanliness.
• Delivering great first impressions. For companies that want to stand out, first impressions count when someone walks in. There may not be many visitors around at the moment but they will come. Their - and your - peace of mind helps alleviate some of the stress so many of us are under.

Absolute Cleaning Wales offers a range of services that will help your business, from regular cleans to a ‘deep clean’, and we also offer a five star domestic cleaning service.

Cleaning is hard yet satisfying work. There are so many business opportunities in this industry. My vision is to be an employer that develops staff, trains them well, bringing out the best in them to make them happy, so that they enjoy their work, and to reaffirm how important they are to the business.

Alongside the cleaning business, I have just launched Habitat Joy. A professional Declutterer and Organiser service.

A professional what?

Ok. Stick with me while I briefly explain it the best I can!

You know how your house or office space seems like it's BURSTING with things that you don’t need, forgotten you had, and/or definitely don’t want any more?

And you hope, pray, and wish that you had someone who would come in and help sort it all out for you, so that when you come home you can relax in a clean, harmonious space?

You do?

If so, you’ll be delighted to know that help is at hand, from a professional Declutterer and Organiser!

Much as I would love to say “I’ll do it ALL for you”, that’s not really possible if you are going to achieve lasting results, so you do need to be there, with my know how and an extra pair of hands to tap into! These are your possessions, and only you truly know what sparks joy or will make your home have ‘More Love, Less Mess’.

During lockdown the majority of us started with the attitude of finally getting on with our ‘to do lists’, decorating and gardening. But how many of us really feel happy within our cluttered homes?

Do you have drawers full of paperwork that no matter how bored you were in lock down, you just weren’t quite *that* bored?! Same goes for our wardrobes. Perhaps you did have a sort out but didn’t get rid of as many clothes as you think you should have.

Are you guilty of still hoarding items you’ve had for years, which don’t fit anymore, but you can’t bear to part with them, just in case you lose or gain weight?

The art of decluttering is only having in your life and home what you need right now. It is life changing when you make the total commitment.

There are many influencers around in the art of decluttering. While they all have the same eventual outcome, as with all journeys, there are many different routes of getting there!

There is a series on Netflix called ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo’, which first opened my eyes to just how much clutter I had in my own home. I have moved house four times in four years. I always thought I was quite discerning about not holding on to sentimental things, but I still had a mountain of surplus stuff!

Having helped so many of my friends and family to declutter, and successfully establishing my cleaning business, now that lockdown restrictions are starting to ease, I think it’s time to get Habitat Joy out there, and share my passion.

There are many reasons that you may need a professional declutterer here are just a few:

• Do you feel overwhelmed with stuff always looking and feeling cluttered?
• Do you feel like you’re always cleaning, yet the house never seems clean and tidy?
• Is your paperwork out of control?
• Has a relative passed away and you cannot face clearing out possessions on your own?
• Are you moving in with a partner? Or they are moving in with you, needing to find and make room?!
• Perhaps you would like to make some extra income from a spare bedroom and maybe offer it on Airbnb, but don’t know where to start?

For these reasons and more, this is a service which can help you realise your goals. The process can be tiring, which is why it’s not good to do it all on your own, and to have someone who can objectively help you achieve the satisfying end results.

You can make money when you sell unwanted belongings, or you can donate to charity. I have an extensive ‘little black book’ of places where everything can be recycled, and you will feel and enjoy the freedom when you collapse in your harmonious bedroom at night.

I could talk all day about what a positive effect decluttering has on your mindset, family life (involving the children in the process is an excellent way of teaching them to share, and appreciate their favourite toys and belongings) and happiness in general.

The most important message I’d like to get across is that there is absolutely no judgement when I walk into your house. For whatever reason you need help, I will appreciate the fact that you have chosen me to help you.

There are many reasons that we can let things get on top of us, leading to overwhelm. Some people may suffer from depression/anxiety and simply haven’t been well enough to see that things have got on top of them. Or it may be a busy family home where parents juggle working full time, while prioritising the children and spending time together...life can be chaotic!

However, It will be a job well worth doing when the end results in the house taking far less time to clean…. OMG who doesn’t want some of that?

www.AbsoluteCleaningWales.co.uk
Facebook/AbsoluteCleaningWales
Instagram @AbsoluteCleaningWales

www.HabitatJoy.com
Facebook/HabitatJoyWales
Instagram: @habitat_joy