They say a tidy home equals a tidy mind, and it's certainly a mantra Siobhan Branch lives by.

As a student, she would visit friends' houses and tidy their kitchens, but it took a redundancy, a house move and a broken foot before Siobhan finally realised her dreams and set up her own decluttering business.

"I had been career, career, career for so long", remembers Siobhan of her life in HR. "So I had my daughter, had a bit of a break. We moved, did some work on the house, lived with my parents for a bit and didn't look for a job for a long time.

"When I was looking I thought 'what do I want from a job?' I thought about what I enjoyed and loved – this was always a big thing, I've always enjoyed it."

The seed was sown for Siobhan to set up her company, not only decluttering and organising for people, but giving them the tools to continue to live a more ordered life.

"I thought 'how can I do this business, but also make it more than just sorting out, putting people's tins in baskets?'"

Siobhan began working with friends and family in 2018, but when she fell off a stool while painting her daughter's bedroom, and couldn't walk for three months, it gave her more than enough thinking time to perfect her idea. Being less mobile also made her re-think the way her kitchen was organised, meaning she came up with a universal plan for having everything to hand.

"All these things kept coming together," she explains. "I thought 'I want to start this business'."

Having also undertaken a course with organisational guru Vicky Silverthorn, who regularly appears on daytime television, Siobhan finally set up Brogenna, the name an amalgamation of family surnames which first started life as a family WhatsApp group, towards the end of 2019.

She now works with clients in Dorset and Hampshire to help them declutter and organise everything from wardrobes, kitchens and even IT. As well as imparting the skills to continue living a more organised life, Siobhan is keen to spread the word about how decluttering can have a positive effect on mental health.

"Our motto is 'health, head, home'," she says.

"I do really want to be able to help people. You can really see it in their face. I think sometimes it's a weight off their shoulders.

"When I've done wardrobes people have said that getting up in the morning and getting dressed, they're ready for the day. People that have been overwhelmed for a long time, it massively improves their day from the beginning.

"I get that satisfaction knowing that they feel happy in their home and their space. Everyone wants to feel happy in their house. Or, if it's a business, it's helping them to grow because they've got the tools in place.

"Knowing that I've supported people, their homes are tidy. You're making a difference to their life."

Siobhan charges £200 for a day, but also has clients she returns to on a regular basis, for a half day every couple of months.

"We do what we can accomplish in a day, and then see afterwards if you need anything," she explains.

"Every client is different in terms of what they want, what they need and how they are. It's really about the tools that I put in place. What's going to work for them might not work for someone else – it's about adapting to that person.

"Some of the clients that I go back and see regularly, they don't need me to go back and I think 'oh that's great – it's worked'."

Siobhan has also undertaken a design course at Arts University Bournemouth, and offers a wardrobe design service. Future plans include offering IT support, with her IT director husband's help, and also counselling – Siobhan's sister is trained in Ollie Coaching.

"One of the main focuses is to link in with other local businesses," she adds. "like the second-hand clothes shop near where I live in Parkstone.

"I just feel really lucky that I can do something that I'm passionate about. It feels good."

Brogenna 07717 673286 siobhan@brogenna.co.uk brogenna.co.uk