Meet the organiser who can restore calm to your home and your headspace 

Professional organiser and declutterer Jenny Douglas shares her secrets with Home Editor Eve Kelliher

Home organiser and declutterer Jenny Douglas.

There's nothing like the sight of a skip in the drive to spur us into action when it comes to a clear-out.

But some people are born organisers.

Like Jenny Douglas. The award-winning professional organiser and home decluttering expert has always regarded tidying as her own “form of therapy”, she says.

Jenny Douglas. Picture: Eva Blake

The strange thing is, adds Jenny, that people often think her own home will be uber-minimalistic. “And it’s not!” she says. “Everything has a place, and everyone knows where everything is. I have a system in place that ensures it feels like it’s home and that it’s not overwhelming.”

Jenny shares her living space, a terraced house in Killester in Dublin, with her husband Peter and her son Hugh, nearly six, as well as their cat, Rinko, eight, so she knows the importance of creating systems that make a family home functional.

Jenny Douglas. Picture: Eva Blake

“Decluttering can transform our home and headspace by creating calm, functional spaces,” she says. “With practical systems in place, your home will feel lighter, calmer, and easier to manage.”

This, in turn, gives you “more time, less stress, and a space you truly enjoy,” says Jenny, whose motto is “Let the good in and the clutter out”. It’s been her attitude from “the get-go”, says. Jenny. 

“I’ve always been a very organised person, even as a child. I always loved order, structure and control, and to create calm in any way I can,” she says. “I’d help my mum with the food shop, put it away, packing it.

The youngest in the family, she grew up in a regular household, “four children and pets”. “I shared a bedroom with my sister, and my half of the room was always tidy — her half, not so much. 

That instinct was always there.” “Being organised became my own form of therapy — it’s what made me feel at ease.” As an adult, Jenny went into the PR and marketing sector after university, following her dream of working for charities.

Jenny Douglas. Picture: Eva Blake

But everyone knew her as an organiser — to the extent that friends often asked for her advice, and in turn advised her to turn it into a career.

Her business, A Good Moment Company, was to evolve when Jenny was forced to take stock. “It actually came about after two very important periods of my life,” she says.

Jenny and Peter were joined by their son almost six years ago. “I met my husband at 36, and I went through six periods of IVF over four years. We had a lot of loss along the way, and our son is all the more precious for it,” she says. 

“After we had Hugh, we were trying again for a sibling, and that’s when I found out I had breast cancer. It was a turbulent time in my life. I couldn’t control it.” 

But Jenny realised what she could control was her environment. “I was spending a lot of time in my own home, and with my young fella, which I loved — it was during covid, and I said: I can’t control these things, but I can control my home and my environment,” she says. 

“I started really small. I just went around bit by bit around the rooms in my home. I felt lighter, I felt calmer, I felt really grounded, and it was more than just tidying and just organising for me; it was a bit like therapy or a form of healing.

“So that’s when I decided. I knew how powerful it was and how much I loved doing it. I’d obviously gone through this life-changing moment with breast cancer.”

Her 20 years working with many different charities in Ireland have also stood Jenny in good stead. “It’s not that I didn’t love my career, but I thought, listen, maybe I’m getting an opportunity to sit down and think, what do I want to do with my life right now?” 

Jenny Douglas. Picture: Eva Blake

So, she did some research. “I’m a positive person — I’ve gone through all the IVF; I’ve gone through chemo and cancer treatment. It was hard, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be.” 

Of breast cancer, she adds: “It was a very surreal experience. One of my best friends from school was experiencing it [breast cancer] at the same time, so we had an outlet there that was unique. I don’t know how things would have been if that hadn’t been the case.

“My family and all my friends were also extremely supportive.” Jenny received her diagnosis in May 2023. Now cancer-free, she set up her business the day after her final day of treatment, in September 2024. “I’m a go-getter, a doer, a grafter,” she says.

A space Jenny worked on: Before and after.

It was during the second part of my treatment, which I found wasn’t as gruelling, that I started doing the research and building the business. “The day after I finished my treatment, I launched A Good Moment. I bit the bullet.

“It might sound corny, but it felt like a case of ‘if not now, when’. We always say, ‘one day I’ll do that’. I had started to feel that for me, these ‘one days’ are now.”

As for the name? “People have asked, ‘What with the name?’ I believe every organised space is a space for good moments — whatever they may be,” she says. “I’m all about having as many good moments as I can in my life, especially after all I’ve been through. If we can help people get organised, it will help them focus on having as many good moments as they can with their family, or whatever those good moments may be.”

Before and after pictures of aa wardrobe space Jenny organised.

Being people-focused has always been what it’s about for Jenny, whose work in the charity sector has stood her in good stead. “There, the goal was to help people in need. I feel that in this business it is a bit more of the same,” she says. “I really get an insight into how the brain works, and I really wanted to know what my potential clients would think and feel like.

A utility room, before and after.

“I know how I think and feel, but I want to know how clients would feel when they are overwhelmed and give them the same sense of calm and control and benefit all aspects of my life.” 

Jenny will be at PTSB Ideal Home Show at the RDS next weekend, taking centre stage at the DFS Interiors Theatre on Saturday, April 25, to speak about decluttering and its transformative effects on your living space and your life. 

“Through careful decluttering, thoughtful organisation, and the creation of practical systems you can maintain, we help you reclaim your home, simplify your routines, and experience the clarity and calm that comes with an organised space.”

KEY RULES

Start small

Instead of tackling the whole kitchen, start with one cupboard or a drawer.

THE FOUR Cs

Clear

Clear everything out: For instance, with a drawer, physically take everything out and put it in a different area, such as the kitchen table.

Categorise

Put like with like — this way you might see duplicates or too many of something, or may realise you lack an item you thought you had that you do need.

Cut

Cut out the duplicates and put them to one side.

Contain

Contain everything by putting it all back — put the items you need back into the drawer, and you might decide to rework the layout or get containers.

LABEL

Labelling items is really handy, especially if you have children, says Jenny: “I labelled a lot of things with symbols when my son was younger, now I’m using words.”

EXIT STRATEGY

Always have your exit strategy for items — for instance, to donate to a charity shop, or to bring to family or friends, or set a date for when your friend or family member will come and collect what you are giving them.

WHILE DECLUTTERING

Jenny loves listening to podcasts while she is working, she says. “But I do advise clients to shut off all distractions when tidying or decluttering,” she says. “Podcasts or upbeat music, if it gets you into the groove, are helpful, but eliminate distractions like the phone.

“Be prepared, have your bags for donations and for the bin, as well as labels at the ready — anything you can do to prepare will help the process go quickly.”

• The PTSB Ideal Home Show returns to the RDS on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 24, 25 and 26. Tickets are available at IdealHome.ie

• Jenny Douglas, Agoodmomentcompany.ie, will be speaking at the DFS Interiors Theatre on Saturday, April 25, on how decluttering can transform your home and headspace