The session kicks off with an assessment of Notani's dressing table, which is a tangle of make-up essentials, including lipsticks, BB creams, brushes, cotton pads, perfumes and hairclips. "It doesn't help being a beauty blogger because I get inundated with products to review," she explains. By her admission, Notani is a hoarder but, over the years, has learnt to keep out seemingly useless items. "Initially, I was of the opinion that you either have this quality [of organising things], or you don't. But after moving two homes in three years, I've become better at it."

Notani's work desk is piled up with books, paper bags, folders, all of which Rajagopalan stacks up on the glass shelves above - Before

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Depending on the nature of the task, Rajagopalan carries with her an ammo of clutter-busters such as transparent trays and baskets to group miscellaneous items. At Notani's home, she starts by taking each product out of its package, because "when you actually want to use them, you're spending less time taking it out of the box and putting it back". She then goes about segregating them according to category. At each step, she consults Notani on frequency of use. All lipsticks are placed vertically in a holder, so they take up less space and are easier to find. All miscellaneous items are tossed in an "everything" box. Soon, a pile of empty bottles, trash and lipsticks nearing finish is formed. As a culture, Indians love excess, Rajagopalan believes. "It comes from what you have gone through as a community. Let's say, if your grandparents or parents have seen war or drought, you tend to store for 'rainy days'. It's something we have imbibed while growing up."

After

Notani's problems are not unique. She cleans up the mess at regular intervals, or when it gets overwhelming, but fails do it consistently. "What to get rid of?" is usually the toughest question. "As somebody dealing with anxiety, I feel clutter can sometimes play trigger. It can also be an effect [of it], because when you have a bout of anxiety, you're unable to fix your surroundings," says Notani. Rajagopalan agrees. "Having worked with people with depression and mood swings, I can safely say that clearing clutter can help you calm down quickly." The dresser is tidied up in 30 minutes, with all the essentials stacked category-wise in baskets. "When you have the stuff sorted according to sections, it gets easier to clean. I tell clients that it's better to spend five minutes cleaning up every day than three hours suddenly." We move on to Notani's work desk and handbag, each of which is cleaned up in a jiffy, given that it's more about arranging the contents than giving it an overhaul.

Rajagopalan's verdict and advice

"Smriti has a lot more things placed out than she needs on a daily basis. As a rule, I advise clients to discard an item at the very moment they think they don't need it. 'I will put this away later' never works. You need to focus on what to keep. And most importantly, buy less. This is something I tell myself too: space is not the problem, our inflated consumption is."

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