London

I want: a new hobby | a new career | a better sex life | to be green | a life coach

Clear the paperwork

I want… to be more organised

Remember birthdays
Log on to new child birthday-reminder website www.wickeduncle.com, enter the important dates and then forget about them. You’ll be emailed a reminder in good time plus a list of suitable presents. You can also buy the present from the website and have it sent to the child. They even include a hand-written card ‘from you’.


Be less materialistic
One of the easiest ways to reorganise is to downsize. ‘Compacters’ pledge to go beyond mere recycling and not buy anything new (except food, medicine and underwear) for a year: borrow, barter or buy used. Head online for second-hand trading at www.freecycle.org/group/uk/london.
To find out more about The Compact go to http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/
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Clear the paperwork
If you can’t scale the heights of your paper mountain on your own, call in the professionals. Cushion the Impact will cut through swathes of red bills, unfiled tax returns and general ephemera and, once done, will set up a home-management spreadsheet system so the junk doesn’t build up again.
Cushion the Impact (020 7704 6922/www.cushiontheimpact.co.uk).


Fix your finances
Money troubles in January? You don’t say. Open the bills, then ascertain how bad things are. IFA Limited is the industry body for Independent Financial Advisors in the UK and can offer advice on debt consolidation, restructuring your accounts, wills and pensions. Where other types of advisors may be tied to particular products (specific mortgage lenders or banks, say), IFAs have to be impartial – they’re regulated by the Financial Services Authority (see www.fsa.gov.uk). Expect to pay between £75 and £200 an hour. You could save a lot more than that in the long run, and it’s better than phoning one of the loan consolidation companies off the telly – 29.9 per cent APR is, let’s face it, extortion.
Visit IFA Limited at www.unbiased.co.uk.


Spring-clean your house
For a one-off ‘blitz’ try a deep clean from Perfect Clean. Prices start from £10 an hour with a three-hour minimum. For those who simply can’t be arsed to scrape the residue off the inside of their oven, the London Oven Cleaning Company will get it gleaming for just £34.
Perfect Clean (0800 195 7848/www.perfectclean.co.uk).
The London Oven Cleaning Company (01895 677 888/ www.londonovencleaning.com).


Get a PA
KNC Concierge Services will find exclusive music tickets, get you on sold-out club guestlists and sort out your next holiday. Head Concierge has vouchers for six, ten or 20 hour-long blocks and can be used for anything from the most mundane of errands (waiting in your flat for a delivery or going to the Post Office) to finding a villa in Italy.
KNC Concierge Services (020 8958 4429/www.knclondon.com) Prices from £50 per job, membership £1,000 per year.
Head Concierge (0870 027 1011/www.headconcierge.com) £10-£25 per hour.

I want: a new hobby | a new career | a better sex life | to be green | a life coach