The desi Marie Kondo has arrived. Meet Hyderabad-based declutter queen, Tejaswini Pamireddy. A year after she quit her job at Google in 2021—“I was not meant for the 9 to 5 grind,” she says—to create content around organising spaces on Instagram, the 30-year-old got a chance to put a friend’s place in order for Diwali. Ever since, the young entrepreneur has hit a purple patch, servicing over 125 homes across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Vijayawada. And with the festive season here, her diary is chock-a-block with clients seeking help.
“I can only focus if there is no mess around me. Even as a kid, I would first clean my room and then study. Clutter in living areas creates clutter in the mind,” says Pamireddy. For years, she followed tidiness gurus Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, and was hooked to YouTube videos before finally turning her area of interest into a career with Happy Toppings by Teju. Today, the platform has almost 17,000 followers on Instagram.
Pamireddy’s work may mimic setting up a doll house, but it involves a lot of hard work. “A house I did recently was drowning in things. From expired food products to old toys and clothes of their grown-up children and cartons from online services, they had no space left. The family hadn’t cleared out stuff in six years,” she recalls. It took her almost a week and resulted in 40 garbage bags to put the house in order. The tidying consultant shares another example, “Most clients have a lot of jewellery which they don’t often use. Though tiny objects, it usually takes me about three hours to get one jewellery closet in shape.”
When she sets out to tidy up a home, the most important question she asks her client is: Did you use this in the last year? “If they did not, chances are they wouldn’t use it again,” she says matter-of-factly. Her modus operandi is simple: once a client reaches out to her, she schedules multiple video calls with them to understand the space. In some cases, she schedules a pre-visit to understand the requirements.
The most important aspect is to recognise the client’s lifestyle and taste before she recommends options. Pamireddy shares an anecdote, “Kitchens usually can be cumbersome. I organised a home kitchen that had no containers. I sourced them and it took me a day to figure out everything, from organising the spices to pulses. We help in placement too, as most people can’t find the products when they need them and end up ordering multiple times.”
Pamireddy stresses that she does not “clean” (she reaches out to owners for dedicated cleaning staff), but only “organises”. She says, “We help arrange everything from the living room (where to place your keys, magazines and cables) to your kids’ rooms (with emphasis on discarding old clothes and toys).” Taking an average of three days for a two-bedroom house, she also helps declutter boutiques and small businesses.
Another area of focus is storing things in a way that they are accessible. “It all depends on the ease with which you want to retrieve things. The way you fold is also crucial in space management. I can fold
a pair of jeans in four different ways to save space, but then the client should be able to do it themselves after I leave,” she smiles. ‘A clutter-free home is a clutter-free life’ is the mantra Pamireddy lives by.
Tricks of Trade
Prioritise
Do one thing at a time, without taking on too much at once
The three-second rule
Take only three seconds to decide whether you want to keep an item or discard it