A split screen photograph of a woman wearing red trousers and a blue top on the left and a graphic with a basket for groceries saying Sevenoaks Larder on the right
Episode 164 – How does a foodbank help a community

Episode 363 – Before you blame the clutter are you doing these 10 things?
Episode 362 – The Roots of Clutter: How Britain became a nation of stuff with Professor Jane Hamlett
In this episode we talk to Claire Ritchie from Sevenoaks Larder. Claire helped her neighbours during lockdown and realised there is a huge need for food in her area. She then decided to take her lockdown project further and set up her own foodbank. She’s now a registered charity, has over 200 volunteers and helps 110 families. Listen to her inspirational story.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
[00:00:00] Ingrid: Have you always wondered what happens to the food that you donate to a food bank? Then this is the perfect podcast for you. Inspired by a recent Eat From Your Pantry challenge in our membership, we were intrigued to know more about where the food goes and how it helps others. So we're super excited to chat to Claire from Sevenoaks Ladder about this topic.

[00:00:25] Welcome Claire. I'm so happy to have you on the show.

[00:00:29] Thank you 

[00:00:29] Claire: very much. I'm excited to be here. Oh, well, 

[00:00:33] Ingrid: listeners in all openness, I did chat to Claire before because I wanted to know, like, what can she talk about? And I was like buzzing with excitement when she said, yes, I'll come on to the podcast because there are so many questions that we want to know about the food bank.

[00:00:49] And your story is. I think super inspirational and I love that too. So you definitely deserve so much kudos for what you have done. And I'm so delighted that you can share that here on the podcast, because it's always say nice to say thank you to other people, but you're the top woman. You deserve all the 

[00:01:11] Claire: credit.

[00:01:13] Thank you very much. I certainly couldn't have done it without the team I've got though. They are fantastic. So, um, all credit to them. I, I'm the one that sits at the top and organises everybody, but, um, they are amazing. All of them amazing. So I'm very lucky. 

[00:01:29] Ingrid: Now, just to clarify, in case you're thinking, what is Sevenoaks Ladder?

[00:01:33] Sevenoaks Ladder. Sevenoaks is a town here in the UK, in the southeast of England. So, It's called Seven Oaks and a larder, in case you're wondering, is like a pantry kind of type. We call a pantry a larder as well. So, Seven Oaks Larder is where kind of the name came from. But, tell me the story, Claire. I think we need, you need to tell your story.

[00:01:53] How did this all came about? Why did you set up a food bank? You didn't intend to set up a food bank, but no. So, tell us, what happened? I'm a, I'm 

[00:02:03] Claire: a chartered accountant by trade. I didn't have this in mind at all. But, um. As you know, we, um, last March we all went, well in the UK we went into lockdown on the 23rd of March and suddenly lots of people in Sevenoaks, uh, couldn't get out.

[00:02:18] They were sheltering, sheltering, shielding or, um, too afraid to go out or whatever. And suddenly there were a whole lot of people that couldn't get their shopping, couldn't pick up a prescription, couldn't go out to walk their dogs, even some of them. So there was a group that started going. But independently, I put letters through people's letterboxes saying, if you need somebody to help you, I'm Claire and I live at number whatever, and here's my number, give me a call.

[00:02:46] And then I realized there was a bigger community effort going on. So I joined forces with them and became the coordinator for Seven Oaks. And then I. gradually realized as we were delivering people's shopping and they were paying us back that some people just couldn't afford their To pay us, um, they were really struggling to pay us back because During the furlough system some people had literally just suddenly overnight lost their jobs and therefore their income if they were um a manual worker or if they worked in a shop or something like that, they went from being able to manage to nothing overnight.

[00:03:23] And I started to think, how, how do those people manage? So, bonkers as it was, over a weekend, I thought I'm going to try and raise some money to do some shopping for these people because Sevenoaks has, yes, a lot of need, but also can be, there are pockets of great wealth in it. So I thought we should be able to look after our own.

[00:03:45] So I devised a form with about 80 basic food items on and priced them up and did a Facebook campaign, a social media campaign and over the weekend raised about three and a half thousand pounds and just made it known that we would accept or I would accept applications for, um, shops, and I got a band of volunteers together.

[00:04:12] People could choose the food that they wanted from our form up to the value of 25. A volunteer would go and buy it for them and deliver it to them. And that's how it all started. Um, and then lockdown came and went and came and went and we stopped at the end of August thinking, Oh, that's all done. And then it soon became obvious that it wasn't done, that there were still many people suffering and really struggling to buy food for their families.

[00:04:43] And so I thought, right, we need to become. A permanent food bank to support people permanently to let them know that we're going to be there for the foreseeable future that there's support there. And it was very important to me that I carried on the ethos of Lockdown Larder, which was to give people choice.

[00:05:06] over what they were receiving from us because I tried to put myself in that their position and think if I was feeling very low and at the point where I needed to ask for help, you've lost a lot of control over your life. Your self esteem is probably rock bottom. You're feeling fairly rubbish. And then if someone gives you a pre packed bag of food, and hands it to you and said, this is what you're feeding your family this week.

[00:05:30] That would just be another knock to you. So I felt very strongly that we should allow people to retain as much control over their lives as we could. That was available to us and the choice and the sense of dignity and respect that we gave them, calling them our clients and things was something we could do.

[00:05:51] So that's something we have. Um, since we became, um, a permanent bank in November, um, um, and became a charity. So it's grown an awful lot. Since then, and we're currently supporting 111 families. Wow. So, I don't know, it's a bit bonkers, um, yeah. 

[00:06:17] Ingrid: So, what basically started off as a let's help our neighbours out idea in, in, when we were in the depths of the, of the lockdown, lockdown ladder.

[00:06:26] Let's help out our neighbours. Can we get you a prescription? Can we get you some shopping from, like some milk from the stores? Has now kind of snowballed in about six months time. Yep. And of course, now you've been going for a year, but in six months time, it snowballed from helping your neighbor to actually a complete charity and a complete food bank initiative.

[00:06:48] Claire: It is. It's, um, it's huge. I have lived in Sevenoaks all my life, and I had no idea that there were people that struggle like they do. The perception is a very wealthy area, and it is. Um, But there are also outlying bits where people really, really struggle, um, for many different reasons. Um, but, uh, there were a lot that, as they apply to us, I started to think, what did you do before?

[00:07:21] How did you manage before? There wasn't this, there is a food bank already in Sevenoaks, but, um... It's once a week for an hour on a Thursday. So I thought, what happens if you run out of food on a Friday? What do you do for the week? Um, and also it's a pre packed bag again. And I just felt very strongly that, um, I wanted to try and help people maintain, like I say, as much dignity as we could.

[00:07:49] Um, so it's, um, as word has spread, we have had... A lot. And actually, we're expecting another flurry now. So I expect our numbers to go up in the next month or so with furlough ending, with the temporary uplift to universal credit ending, things like that. We're expecting another flurry and we will Support as many as we can for as long as we can 

[00:08:18] Ingrid: right now listeners We do realize of course that seven oaks larder is a very local initiative But we 

[00:08:24] Claire: found claire's story so uplifting 

[00:08:27] Ingrid: and we want to know so much more about the food bank But of course keep in mind This is her initiative with her rules and her way.

[00:08:35] She set it up and and the things that she asks But there are food banks all over the world helping people. So if this podcast even inspires you a little bit to donate money or time or food or whatever that I think we can contribute to a better society. That's what Lesley and I feel very strongly about.

[00:08:55] So that's why we said we can't just, you know, just let's just pick a food bank, hear about their ethos, their story, and we just hope it resonates with you. And wherever you are here in the world, so Claire, you probably had first some tins in your, and cans and, and, and bags of food in your, in your home kitchen.

[00:09:15] I'm sure with supporting 111 families, you need to have some room somewhere, right? 

[00:09:22] Claire: We do, yes. And we, when we did lockdown Larder to start with, we literally went to the supermarket and delivered it straight to the client. So we didn't need premises then. But for now, yes, we do. And we are very lucky that a local church has offered us.

[00:09:37] which we have already grown out of. So they've had to give us two rooms, but that's where we keep all our stock and where the packing takes place. Cause we run five sessions a week and two of them are delivery only for people who are disabled or an awful lot of mental health problems, um, with our clients.

[00:09:58] So some literally can't leave their houses. So that's where the packing takes place five times a week and twice a week. Like I say, we run delivery sessions and that's where the drivers come in and collect all the, the bags for particular clients. So we need, we need room for That we need the room for the people.

[00:10:19] We need fridge space. We need freezer space. And in the future, we're hoping to expand to do things like cookery lessons and advice sessions with debt agencies and mental health agencies and things. Um, because as I said before, there are many reasons why people come to a food bank, but lack of education is one.

[00:10:44] In terms of some of the young mums, um, don't know how to cook. So we hope to be able to do one to one cookery lessons with them just to give them a basic education in things. Um, and that requires room, um, So, yes, it's an ongoing problem to keep enough stock to fulfill the week's orders, but to have enough space to put it, um, that that's a juggling act, shall we 

[00:11:15] Ingrid: say?

[00:11:16] Yeah. Yeah. And if I understand, uh, kind of clearly, so it's kind of, you need to have three different things. Don't you? You need. Volunteers to help with the sorting, the packing, the driving, the do, do all that. You need to have money so you can actually. Yeah, by petrol for your volunteers to actually drive to the clients or I don't know, but let's talk about it some more.

[00:11:42] So how do you raise the funds and how do you do that? And of course, then there's the families who need help that need to. So it's, it's three gigantic streams that all kind of come together, isn't it? It 

[00:11:54] Claire: is. It's huge. I am, as I say, very lucky. When we did Lockdown Lardo, we had a large number of volunteers across Sevenoaks and all of them, all of the people that helped me do the admin for Lockdown came over to Sevenoaks Lardo.

[00:12:07] So we now have 12 trustees and they have each taken responsibility for a separate area and they organise their own volunteers within that area. Obviously I oversee the whole thing. But one of the teams, which is amazing, is a fundraising team, and they literally scour the internet for fundraising opportunities, for grants that are available, um, obviously with the pandemic, and with, um, people in the UK will know the Marcus Rashford publicity about food banks.

[00:12:41] There are many charities that are offering specifically to food banks and we want to take advantage of that and get as much money in the bank as we can. Because for us, although it sounds mercenary money, is probably the best. I mean, it's totally wonderful if people want to give us food, but if we have money, firstly, we can access, um, products cheaper than other people because of our charity status, but also we can control what stock we have.

[00:13:15] Um, Because lovely as it is to receive boxes of chocolates and packets of sweets and things like that for people, what people need is meals. And we try to focus on being able to provide a meal for people. And the money also enables us to buy, we spend about a thousand pounds a week at the moment buying fresh protein.

[00:13:38] and fruit and veg for every client and they're allowed a certain amount according to the size of their family. So, We are very lucky in that the supermarkets have collection bins for us, and we also collect the excess stock from them several times a week from all of the major supermarkets in Sevenoaks now.

[00:14:00] But again, that tends to be what they want to give us, and we have decided on our core products that people will eat and that are nutritious. Um, we try to focus very much on a good breakfast for the children, so healthy cereals and things. I'm pretty stringent as to what I allow on the list. We don't have chocolate cereals.

[00:14:23] We don't have fizzy drinks or biscuits or anything. They're all great if you want them. Um, if you're hungry, you don't need them. You need good nutritious food. And I want children in particular to go off to school with a good breakfast inside them. So, you know, we do bread, butter, yogurt, fruits, um, and eggs, cheese, things like that.

[00:14:47] So, um, yeah, it's, it's, we need people to volunteer and we're very lucky that we have a lot of volunteers at the moment, um, but they're constantly having to go back to work or whatever. So, um, and the money helps us to buy all the fresh stuff and to stock up on the dry products and the donations. The people who ask us 

[00:15:05] Ingrid: what we want 

[00:15:06] Claire: are fabulous because then we can say, oh, thank you so much.

[00:15:09] We're low on. whatever this week and make sure that their generosity, we're getting the right things for it. Um, cause there are some things we can't accept. Um, we're not allowed to accept baby milk. Um, sorry, we're not allowed to distribute baby milk. Um, nothing with alcohol or alcoholic connotations in it.

[00:15:30] Um, as you know. Quite a few of our clients have had problems in that area and, um, we wouldn't want to have any difficulties with that. So we're very grateful for every bit of support and it, so far, it has worked very well and we've managed to keep a good balance and, um, people have been incredibly generous.

[00:15:52] So we're very, very lucky. 

[00:15:55] Ingrid: Let's go for a quick break and then I would like to talk to Claire a little bit more about the foods and things and the list that I find that very, I love a list, as you know, uh, listeners. So let's talk about the list a little bit more. So see you after the break.

[00:16:08] All right, we're back with Claire from Seven Oaks Ladder and I have of course questions about the list. So what is the list? Tell me a little bit more because I think there's two different lists you're talking about.

[00:16:20] First of all, I think on your website is a wish list of things you would really love. So you've got a lot of stock in your. Church that you, where you've got room, but you also talk about the list that people can fill in themselves. So what if I'm a family, I'm struggling to feed my family and I'm calling you for help?

[00:16:41] What happens then? And how does this list work? 

[00:16:44] Claire: So what happens then is you would be sent a link to fill in a form with details of the size of your family, this, this, the circumstances of your family and any particular allergies or mobility problems. Then our Uh, client team would send, would ask for some sort of proof of eligibility, whether it's your benefit statement, or sometimes, um, we by part, we support many of the local agencies of, um, people in certain situations, and we don't ask for proof for them because they're having a fairly rough time already, so, um, so you would get that as soon as you've We say, right, you're now accepted.

[00:17:31] We tell you when your session would be, whether you can come and collect or whether you would get a delivery. And then you'll send one of the lists, perhaps we should call it a form. We sent our form, which, um, they then say this is for next week. Um, if you're a family of one to two. You are allowed to choose, say, four protein items.

[00:17:53] If you're a bigger family, six or eight or whatever. You tick what you'd like on the form. Um, submit the form. That comes through to us on a humongous spreadsheet. And then from there, we make up our packing sheets for each day. And the delivery sheets. And we have a supervisor, one trustee supervises each session.

[00:18:17] They print off the sheets. for their session. They arrive at the beginning of the session. They're all packed to order per client and then either the client comes and collects them or the drivers arrive to pick them all up and take them to the clients and then and that process happens every week. So you will be sent your order form every week.

[00:18:39] We have no limit on the number of times that you can apply because to me Personally, it seems a little bit absurd if someone's really struggling to say you've got four weeks food and then that's it because you're still going to be struggling at the end of four weeks if you've got no income so until they don't need us anymore.

[00:18:58] And we love the emails that we get when they say, I've got a job, or I can now manage on my own it's just such a wonderful thing we're so pleased for them that they have got back on their feet. But, you know, we. We don't judge really if people say they're struggling, obviously they've got to give us some proof of eligibility, but we, we take them at their word because however much income you're getting in, we don't know what their circumstances are in detail with what's if they tell us they're struggling to buy food because there are other expenses because of their circumstances, then, you know, that, that, then we will believe them and say, okay, well, we'll help you if you're struggling.

[00:19:44] Yeah. 

[00:19:45] Ingrid: So a big part of is in, of course, helping the right families, but you said you were talking about, I really, I think breakfast is super important. Uh, getting meals is really important for me, the protein, the veg or all that kind of stuff. But you do have, people can donate food to you. Can't 

[00:20:03] Claire: they?

[00:20:04] Absolutely. Yes, we have a wish list on our website. We have a website. We have a Facebook page. Um, we have Instagram and Twitter. And every Monday, we have a wonderful, wonderful lady that looks after our stock control. She tells us what we're low on. On the website will be an entire list of what we would appreciate donations of.

[00:20:25] Um, but every at the beginning of every week, we publish a list of what we're low on. Yeah. Um, because the. The preconception from most people is that food banks, all they need is pasta and baked beans, which is great. But we, at the moment we could open a pasta shop. So if somebody wants to donate, fabulous, but you know, they want to know that their money is going to the right place.

[00:20:51] So we try to direct people a little bit. Yeah, because we try to be fair amongst all the families and if we get, um, only odd bits of various foods, obviously some families will get it and some won't. Um, so we try to be fair amongst them, um, which is why we try and scale how much people can choose. Um, although we always have.

[00:21:14] The feminine hygiene products there, they're, they're always there as a free choice. I would want to limit those. Yeah. Um, so that those and nappies and wipes are the only things we have, um, as non food because they are very expensive. Yeah. Uh, and with things like the feminine hygiene, it is the women that tend to limit.

[00:21:39] themselves to feed their children. And we didn't want that. So yes, so yes, we have the form, which is what the clients fill in. And then the list, we have a main list and then a wish list of things we're currently running low on. And you 

[00:21:53] Ingrid: also have the donation bins in the supermarkets the supermarkets donate stuff, but also people who've been shopping and put, can put their item that they want to donate in the bins.

[00:22:04] And they all get collected by volunteers as well and brought to your, 

[00:22:07] Claire: wow. Yes, they, they all get donated. We have, I think four donation bins now. Donation bins at the back of the stores, get the donations from the customers. We do find sometimes If there's a tied up plastic bag in there, we know that somebody has come in and just put their things in there.

[00:22:27] Um, we do have, we do have one thing in our, in our, um, in the premises called a shelf of shame because some people do just clear out their cupboards. And if it's out of date, you know, it's not good enough for you to eat. It's not good enough for it. You know that our clients to eat because they can't eat out of date food either.

[00:22:46] I think we're Best one so far is 2007. So 14 years old And so those go out but um, so people put them in the donation bins what we collect from the Supermarkets is their excess food from the day before for, because the law in this country, we have two dates on food. One is best before and one is used by.

[00:23:08] Best before is just a guidance as to when the product will be at its best quality for freshness. Used by is a legal date beyond which. Supermarkets can't sell and we can't distribute the food, um, it shouldn't be distributed after that. So if it's between the two dates, then the supermarket sometimes will give it to us.

[00:23:31] They, they actually, supermarkets, I don't know if people know, get penalized for waste. Wasting food. So it is in their interest to find a source for it. So, so it obviously works for us and it works for them as well because they have a, um, an end source for their, their food that they haven't sold. So they're pleased to give it to us, which is 

[00:23:53] Ingrid: great.

[00:23:53] Yeah. So, and of course, you know, of course, I want to talk about that decluttering a little bit more because that's what I'm all about. So if people are doing a clear out of their pantry. And they find a load of cans and stuff and things. And they, if it's out of date, please do not put it in a donation.

[00:24:12] Don't bring it to a food bank. If it's out of date, it's out of date. That's right. If you still want to eat it yourself when it's out of date, by all means, go ahead. We don't advise that, but. Use your common sense, but if it's out of date, please donate it. But if you are clearing out, for example, somebody's home, because somebody has passed away and you're having to clear out their kitchen, if you find a pantry full of stuff that is still.

[00:24:39] in date, but you know that it's going to be far too much for you to all take into your own house and eat all that. And it in, if it's in date, find your local food bank, find your local donation station, because it doesn't have to be thrown away when it's in date. And somebody else who's really struggling can really, really use that food to, to, um, have, have a nice meal on the table.

[00:25:02] Isn't it? Absolutely. 

[00:25:04] Claire: And quite often, if it's an elderly person who's passed away, because of the ease of things, quite often they have ready meals that can be put in a microwave or something because their relatives have bought them something easy rather than cooking. And there's a whole breadth of type of client that we have, but some of them, if they're in a halfway house.

[00:25:27] or a refuge of some kind have very limited cooking facilities and very often a microwave is all they've got. So whereas, you know, you might look at it and think, Oh, nobody wants a microwave meal. Actually, that's all we can give some of our clients because they can't cook anything else. So things like that, again, if they're in date.

[00:25:49] is wonderful. And yes, that's absolutely true. If you wouldn't eat it, you know, these are still people, our clients, they've just fallen on hard times and they just need a little bit of a helping hand at the moment, but they still deserve dignity and respect. Um, and, and not to feel like they're getting someone's leftovers or what other people don't want.

[00:26:12] We try very hard to avoid that. But, um, if they're, yes, if they're in day. Then your local food bank, I'm sure would be delighted to accept anything. Yeah, and 

[00:26:24] Ingrid: if you're in doubt Have a look on their local website Give them a call. See if you can find out some information before you kind of just randomly bring lots of stuff and you're not sure.

[00:26:36] It's better to check them before just by giving a call, dropping an email. A lot of people, you know, you can find 

[00:26:41] Claire: online and 

[00:26:42] Ingrid: It's just a wonderful if, if that food is, is not wasted, because that's something that we really try to avoid is as little food waste as possible. So Claire, how many volunteers have you got?

[00:26:54] I mean, you've got already 12 trustees, but I'm assuming. Hey, can you, have you got any idea how many people help now? 

[00:27:02] Claire: Um, well, at the moment, we have had, in terms of, I'll give you a completely up to date one. We are on volunteer number 

[00:27:16] Ingrid: 208. 

[00:27:17] Claire: Wow. Um, not all of them have been given jobs yet. Um, and some of them will have gone back to work, but an awful lot of them do.

[00:27:27] And actually looking at the last list, I can see that one of our clients has volunteered because some of them are very grateful and they want to give something back as soon as they can. But there are all sorts of things. There's obviously with a, with a organisation of this size, there's admin. As well as the actual practical things, there are things to be picked up from the supermarket, there are bags to be packed, there are shelves to be stacked, we have quite a lot of Duke of Edinburgh students, so the Duke of Edinburgh project is very popular in the UK, and at senior school they do voluntary work, so we have quite a lot of Duke of Edinburgh children.

[00:28:05] We have school children. who want, who have just started to learn about homelessness or something like that. And we have a young supporters club and they can come and get a sticker and a fact sheet and things. And we show them, you know, what we do and, and how it works. We never let any visitors come, come on when our clients are coming, because as we always say, they're not zoo exhibits.

[00:28:31] They're just, you know, we want them to see what we're doing without going. breach of confidentiality and the children. I think it's very important, um, that they come and see and, and that you de stigmatize it, because... We have had so many different backgrounds coming to us for help, maybe just a short time some of them, but you never know when you're going to need help and to, um, stigmatize it for children is, is just another blow to them.

[00:29:03] So it's really important. I think that we get the message across to primary schools to that. These are still just children. And they're perfectly normal, um, and there's so much excess everywhere, it makes sense to redistribute it to those who haven't got enough, and that's all we're doing, so, 

[00:29:22] Ingrid: yeah. Oh my goodness, listeners, are you feeling just completely uplifted by this story, and just completely inspired?

[00:29:30] I'm so in awe of you, Claire, of everything that you've achieved, it is a massive feat of... energy and enthusiasm and probably working around the clock because I kind of, I have a feeling that I kind of know how these things go. It kind of went from an idea and it spiraled completely out of control, but probably one of the most satisfying things that you've probably ever done.

[00:29:54] But could you've ever imagined that you would support so many families, have so many volunteers, have so many people donating and doing all these outreach projects. It's, it's incredible. 

[00:30:05] Claire: I've been blown away by it. Truly, truly blown away, and, uh, obviously sad at the number of people that need our help, but, uh, I just, I just thought it might be a few.

[00:30:16] Yeah. You know, I just do a little bit and then we'd all go back to our normal lives. But I think it has been a real eye-opener for me and for all my fellow trustees and, and, and just, you just wonder what people did before, and I think the answer is struggled on. So if we could. can do a little bit to make their lives just that little bit easier than...

[00:30:40] Yes, that has been a huge reward for us. Yeah, 

[00:30:45] Ingrid: absolutely amazing. So thanks so much for being here a guest on our podcast. We'll definitely put all of Claire's details, the website, the Facebook page, the Instagram, Twitter, everything. We'll put in the show notes if you want to check it out. If you're local to Claire, maybe you want to donate some food or donate some money or donate some time.

[00:31:06] If you're not local to Claire, which many of us listeners are, we'd And you feel completely inspired about hearing this story. See if you can help locally where you are. It doesn't always have to be money. It can be with time or with food as well, but make sure that the right stuff goes to the right people.

[00:31:24] And we can all battle this way. We can battle food waste together as well, which is an amazing, um, by thing as well, that aside kind of side thing that we can then help towards as well. So Claire, I appreciate you so much. So well done. Thank 

[00:31:39] Claire: you very much. Thank you 

[00:31:40] Ingrid: for having me. Thanks so much listeners.

[00:31:43] So wow. I hope you are inspired after this podcast. Thanks for listening and we hope to see you next week.
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Episode 363 – Before you blame the clutter are you doing these 10 things?

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Episode 360 – Gretchen Rubin – The secret to happiness in a cluttered world

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Alison Wright says:

23 November 2021 at 10:40 AM

I love Claire's philosophy of empowering food choice to the clients. Being given a made up box can also lead to waste, as foodstuffs can be unsuitable for the recipient for many reasons. Giving them choice is a much better use of resources.

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1. Lesley Spellman says:
  
  23 November 2021 at 10:47 AM
  
  Agreed, it really resonated with me too, Alison x
  
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Episode 164 – How does a foodbank help a community

Episode 363 – Before you blame the clutter are you doing these 10 things?

Episode 362 – The Roots of Clutter: How Britain became a nation of stuff with Professor Jane Hamlett

Episode 361 – Decluttering for yourself – why Swedish death cleaning might not be for you

Episode 360 – Gretchen Rubin – The secret to happiness in a cluttered world

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