Rainbow Red's Privacy Policy & GDPR

25th May is a memorable date.

According to Wikipedia, in 240BC it was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.  

In 1878 Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opened at the Opera Comique in London.  

In 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician (best known as a founder and frontman of The Jam and The Style Council) was born in Woking, Surrey (not too far from us), and in 1977 Star Wars was released in cinemas.

Finally.......

In 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable.

Like just about every small business in the UK, Rainbow Red has been hard at work updating its Privacy Policy to reflect our commitment to:

• meeting our data protection obligations
• being transparent about how we collect and use data
• ensuring data privacy is protected

By the very nature of our industry, we often have access to very personal information, and value the trust that clients have in us to respect their need for privacy and confidentiality.

Our Privacy Policy sets out:

1. What GDPR is
2. Who is responsible for information we hold
3. What data we collect
4. How we collect and process it lawfully
5. Why we collect and process your personal data
6. What it is used for
7. How it is kept safe
8. How long it is retained for
9. How we dispose of it
10. What would happen to the information if the company were sold or shut down
11. How we ask for your consent to be contacted using your existing data, and how you can opt out of being contacted by us
12. Your legal rights regarding the data we hold about you
13. How you can contact us with queries, requests for changes or complaints

Please CLICK HERE to read Rainbow Red's Privacy Policy.

Rainbow Red may change this policy from time to time by updating this document, and will announce these changes via Rainbow Red’s Blog, Facebook page and Twitter account.  There will also be a link to our Privacy Policy in our emails, and our Terms and Conditions document.

Rainbow Red has been in business since 2011, and we've communicated with an awful lot of people since then - which means we have accumulated an awful lot of data!  

We are currently busy working to dispose of information that does not comply with our revised Privacy Policy.

In addition, GDPR requires us to ask you whether you would like us to keep in touch with you (and hang onto your data), and if so how and how often.  

As there's only a VERY small team of us, we still have a lot of people to contact to ask for consent to retain their information, which means it could take some time before we get to you.  

So thank you for your patience!

Meanwhile, click HERE for a link to Rainbow Red's Pinterest Boards where you'll find all sorts of info about Data Protection & GDPR, plus loads of other helpful Hints & Tips on all manner of decluttering, organising and health-related topics.

Finally, to brighten your day, click HERE for a fun little video that might help make GDPR feel less stressful - enjoy!

Click here to return to Rainbow Red's website

Our Adventures in San Francisco for the 18th International Conference on Hoarding & Cluttering

2018 is turning into one heck of a memorable year!  

So far this year I've attended "Organising Matters" - the Annual conference of The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers (APDO), plus two conferences on hoarding - one in San Francisco and the other London - and am very much looking forward to a third in Edinburgh in October! 

Plus our Level 1 Professional Hoarding Practitioner training course has just been launched - starting in July 2018, with more training to follow.

Selfie on the plane

Just after APDO's conference in March, Jo Cooke (of Hoarding Disorders UK CIC), Heather Matuozzo (of Clouds End CIC) and I flew off to San Francisco, full of excitement for our adventure!

Click here for an account that we wrote for APDO's newsletter (The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers), outlining the training and conference part of our trip.

The Berkeley City Club Hotel turned out to be the perfect place to stay, as it's less than a 10 minute walk to the conference venue (the University of California Berkeley), and about a 10-15 minute walk to the local Bart train station.   The line goes straight into the City, and it's easy to get from there to the airport too, with only one change.

The ''Little Castle'' was designed by the architect Julia Morgan, and founded in 1927 as The Berkeley Women's City Club. and is a Berkeley City and California State Historical Landmark.  

It has THE most amazing swimming pool, which opens from 5am - perfect for early-bird Jo!



Highlights of the trip for me included:

• Spending a week in the company of two of the most gorgeous and compassionate women I have ever had the privilege of meeting
• Not only did we have fabulous fun every single day, the three of us got to talk for an entire week amongst ourselves and with others (who are as passionate as us) about how we can help, support and raise awareness of the dilemas faced by people affected by extreme clutter, disorganisation or hoarding - how great was that?!
• Meeting the amazing Hilary' Kacser and being mightily impressed by her memorable opening one-woman keynote performance of DisordR, The Play - a moving account of some of PakRat Patty's experiences as a hoarder
• The pre-conference training by Dr Michael Tompkins, author of “Digging Out” and “The Clinician’s Guide to Severe Hoarding – A Harm Reduction"
• Learning that the UK is actually ahead of the USA in some respects relating to hoarding.  For example, we have a National Hoarding Awareness Week, whereas campaigns are far more regionalised in the USA
• Spending quality time with some wonderful folks from the US who are all doing amazing work helping people affected by hoarding (and raising awareness of the issues associated with this debilitating subject), including Marnie Matthews of The Clutter Movement, Eileen Dacey of North Shore Elder Services (near Boston, MA); Christa Tipton of NASWCA Technology Council & Orange County Task Force on Hoarding and Jette Selberg from the San Francisco Bay area.
• Getting my photo taken with the compulsory hippy flowers in my hair - well, Berkeley was where the movement started, so it had to be done! (thank you Jette for being so thoughtful!)
• Visiting the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco
• Catching one of the famous cable cars (in the pouring rain!), and having a yummy meal in China Town
• Strolling around art galleries in Oakland 
• Enjoying eating our way around the World, with delicious food from places like Japan, Korea, Mexico, USA, China, Burma and Eritraea - to name but a few!
• The fabulous in-flight service from Virgin Atlantic - especially coming home!

Jo, Hilary, Heather, Cherry

So, it's now time to start planning our trip for the next conference.  Sadly I've just missed the 4th Annual Hoarding of Animals Conference in Danvers, Massachusetts (which would have been fascinating), but watch out San Francisco, we'll definitely be back!

Heather, Dr Michael A. Tompkins, Cherry, Jo

Marnie, Cherry, Christa, Jette, Jo, Heather, Eileen

Click here to return to Rainbow Red's website

Professional Hoarding Practitioner Training - developing the next generation

Our new PROFESSIONAL HOARDING PRACTITIONER training was launched at The National Hoarding Conference on Monday 14th May, at the start of Hoarding Awareness Week 2018 



Click on the video to find out about it, or read on...

Cherry Rudge (founder of Rainbow Red and creator of the Hoarding Ice-Breaker Form) is delighted to once again have joined forces with fellow pioneering hoarding expert Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC, to create specialist training designed to develop the next generation of Professional Hoarding Practitioners.

This time we're absolutely thrilled to be joined by fellow Hoarding Practitioner Specialist
Jo Cooke of Hoarding Disorders UK CIC, author of the go-to book "Understanding Hoarding".

Our new Level One course builds on the historical and highly successful Hoarding Awareness Training that was run for Members of The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers back in 2014.  Here's what people said about it:

"The 'Working with Hoarders' training day today in Reigate was brilliant! Thank you both Cherry and Heather (and Andy and Vassoulla). I feel my understanding of my work is improved whether I eventually work with serious hoarding or not."

"Very insightful and I believe a must for everybody working with hoarders or contemplating to do so.  

What a brilliant day!   Thanks so much." 

Thanks Heather and Cherry - found it very useful, not least as it really brought home what 

working with hoarders might involve."

Our Level One training another a one day course, once again designed to give professional practitioners an insight into the types of challenges that are likely to be faced when working with people affected by extreme clutter.  

Topics include:

• Identifying the traits of hoarders
• Hoarding disorder - mental illness & other health challenges
• Conducting interviews and assessments & report writing
• Introducing the Clutter Image Rating Scale
• Information from the Fire & Rescue Service about:
• Fire safety and how to prevent fires in the home
• Safe and Well visits (formerly known as Home Fire Safety visits), and follow-up actions
• Legal aspects including The Care Act 2014
• Safeguarding and Self-Neglect
• Social housing and Hoarding Taskforces / working with multiple-agencies
• Social Services, direct payments, etc
• Eviction and re-housing
• Practical challenges – getting rid of stuff, short-term storage, etc
• Hoarder support and self-help groups
• Safeguarding ourselves as Professional Practitioners

By the end of the day, attendees will have a better understanding of some of the complexities they’d be letting themselves in for by working with people who live with extreme amounts of clutter, and be better placed to decide whether it makes sense for them personally, or for their business. 

Our aim is to build a community of professional friends and colleagues who follow common best practices when working with people affected by hoarding behaviours, and support each other through what can be challenging and sometimes emotionally draining experiences. 

Cherry, Heather and Jo are all Accredited as trainers by The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) and NCFE.

Cost:  £175, including refreshments and lunch, plus a FREE one hour mentoring session. 

Dates & Venues:   

• London
• Wednesday 11th July 2018 - Wimbledon
• Other dates to be confirmed
• Birmingham 
• Dates to be confirmed
• Leeds 
• Dates to be confirmed

To book or for more information, please contact Jo Cooke:

• Email:   jo@hoardingdisordersuk.org
• Phone:  07950 364798

Click here to return to Rainbow Red's website

Let's Face It - a free photographic exhibition exploring facial Pareidolia & raising awareness of Autism

I met a lovely lady
Anna is her name
She had some virtual goggles on
As we played an Autism sensory game.

She's a very caring lady
And bright as bright can be
So I'm looking forward to her photo exhibition
To see what she can see.

By viewing inanimate objects
Which look like other things
And seeing the positive aspects of Autism
And the possibilities they bring.

She's reaching out in a non-verbal way
To connect and make people smile
Because communications that make you feel good 
Make life so much more enjoyable and worthwhile.

++++

Anna Vaughan-Spruce's free photographic exhibition is on at the Parochial Hall, Earlswood Road, Redhill RH1 6HE from Friday 19th January (1.30pm - 3.30pm) to Saturday 20th January (11am - 3.00pm).

The event is kindly sponsored by The Henry Smith Charity (Horley), which aims to bring about lasting change to people’s lives, helping them to benefit from and contribute to society.  They achieve this by funding organisations that work with people to reduce social and economic disadvantage.  

www.henrysmithcharity.org.uk

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According to Wikipedia, Pareidolia is "a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists (e.g. in random data).

Common examples are perceived images of animals, faces, or objects in cloud formations, the Man in the Moon, the Moon rabbit, hidden messages within recorded music played in reverse or at higher- or lower-than-normal speeds, and hearing indistinct voices in random noise such as that produced by air conditioners or fans."

++++

Anna and I first met at The Autism Show in London in 2017 - we happened to be standing side by side wearing goggles and headphones whilst watching The National Autistic Society's brilliant virtual reality video about the challenges faced by some people on the Autism Spectrum when they go shopping.  

We instantly hit it off.  

As someone who is on the Autism Spectrum, she totally understands the need for the type of planning, organising and decluttering help offered by Rainbow Red and specialist members of APDO (The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers), and similar organisations worldwide.

++++

Cherry Rudge of Rainbow Red is delighted to have been invited to contribute to Jo Cooke’s book “Understanding Hoarding” (published by Sheldon Press in 2017), to talk about her experiences as the daughter of a hoarder.

She was a founder Member of APDO’s Hoarding Advisory Team and a member of The Chief Fire Officers Association’s Mental Health (formerly Hoarding) Working Group, and helped organise the first ever UK Hoarding Awareness Week in 2014, attending the event launch at the Houses of Parliament in London.

In 2013 Cherry became APDO’s Chair and Acting President, later stepping down from all her APDO roles in 2014 to care for her father who had Alzheimer’s. 

She became a Dementia Friend in 2015, and devised an ice-breaker form to empower people to discuss with a medical practitioner the affect that clutter, disorganisation and/or hoarding has had on their health, so that the most effective treatment and holistic recovery pathways can be signposted.

Cherry is an advisor to Surrey County Council, Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, and a volunteer at FastMinds ADHD/ASD support group in Kingston-upon-Thames; she helped co-ordinate their participation in the 2016 Gnome Project at Hampton Court Palace. 

Cherry undertakes regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training to enhance the holistic services offered by Rainbow Red, and offers training and workshops to help people understand chronic disorganisation and hoarding behaviours, the types of medical and situational situations that can cause it, and techniques that can help people affected by these complex factors make decisions and take practical, sustainable control of their homes, and their lives.

For further information please contact Cherry Rudge - Phone/Text: 07931 303310 - Email: cherry@rainbowred.co.uk

Challenges of clearing a hoarder's home

If you've ever had to clear out the home of a loved one after they've died, you'll understand how time consuming and emotionally draining it can be sorting out the legal red-tape stuff (probate), making decisions about what to keep, what should go where/to whom, etc.

So imagine having to do that for the home of a hoarder.

I've just done exactly that – it’s taken my family and I over two years to clear the property of my late father (who was a hoarder), visiting virtually every weekend; it’s just as well that I’m self-employed and was able to have the flexibility to fit other visits around work, and have a supportive family and professional organising and hoarding practitioner colleagues who were able to help.

Between us we've probably collectively spent over 1000 hours working on this exhausting project.

What I find incredible is that my dad’s hoarding behaviour was mild compared to what I’ve seen professionally in the homes of other hoarders.  Goodness knows how long it might take to excavate and dissect some of those homes in the event of the person passing away.

My heart goes out to family members who – like me – have to take on this challenge, and the burden of responsibility and commitment of time and energy that goes with it.

Children of hoarders worldwide who have had to do the same will no doubt relate to the following story.

                                       

There's been:

·      on average at least one trip to a charity shop or tip per week

·      umpteen bags of shredding (paperwork like car insurance documents dating back to 1952)

·      three removal vans full of unwanted furniture

·      several bonfires of furniture the charity folks won’t take

·      a stack of stuff that's been sold online (including three 1950's wooden TV sets that went to an opera school in London, a box of 1970's/80's Smurf figures that surprised us as they turned out to be quite collectable), and assorted computers from yesteryear)

·      53 original Oxo tins

·      a wash tub that turned out to be so old that it’s been donated to a museum

·      several hundred books and newspaper/magazine clippings

·      five decades of part-dismantled lawn mowers, washing machines, car parts in the garage, barn and four sheds, plus cans of oil that had been drained from cars about 30 years ago, together with assorted mechanic and DIY tools in varying degrees of rust or disintegration

·      a loft containing loads of radio transmitter equipment, vintage valves and transistors dating back to the 1950’s

·      Enough wood to build another shed!

·      LOTS of rubbish and dust!

And that’s not including:

·      the vast number of boxes containing photos, my Mum's paintings, assorted family memorabilia and yet more paperwork now stored in the loft/garage/spare rooms of various family members waiting for us to sort through over the coming months (hopefully not years….)  

·      the massive piles of assorted paraphernalia that’s been piled up in the house and garden waiting for the clearance people to deal with prior to the house being demolished because of years of neglect and disrepair

So my wonderfully supportive family’s journey (and time needed to reach a point of closure in order to finally grieve) continues....

Along the way the exercise has been likened to an archaeological dig, which is about right because of the layers of decades of paperwork, newspapers and technology we’ve found.

Occasionally people have told us “just put it all in a skip”; what they don’t realise is that the contents of every book, drawer, cupboard, box and disintegrating confetti-like carrier bag needed to be checked in case there were things like money or personal memorabilia inside. 

We would have missed all sorts of treasures, such as drawers containing money, jewellery, or family memorabilia and medals belonging to ancestors who fought at Gallipoli - which we hadn’t known about.

I count myself fortunate to a professional understanding and patience about hoarding behaviours and why I believe my father was a hoarder – because many other families aren’t able to accept and forgive when coming to terms with this debilitating disorder that can – and does - tear families apart. 

Thank goodness for specialist Professional Hoarding Practitioners like Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC and Jo Cooke of Hoarding Disorders UK (author of the excellent book “Understanding Hoarding”, that I contributed to with a story about my experiences as the daughter of a hoarder) who are skilled at working with people who exhibit hoarding behaviours, and help them reduce the amount of possessions that they own before it becomes the job/chore of family members and friends to clear a property once someone has passed away.  

They're also busy training personnel from local authorities, housing associations, charities and the next generation of Professional Organisers and Hoarding Practitioners - thank goodness, as Rainbow Red has had so many enquiries this year from people asking for help that we can't cope with the demand for our services.

So, as I'm publishing this blog on New Year's Eve, you may be wondering about my New Year’s Resolution?

It's to plough through my parent’s possessions as soon as possible, reduce the amount of my own clutter and theirs, get my own home in order and ensure that whoever ends up sorting out my belongings and affairs when I die has a quick and easy job to do. 

Hopefully this blog will be thought-provoking enough to help you think about doing the same….

Wishing you a happy, health and as clutter-free New Year as possible!

Click here to return to Rainbow Red's website

"Understanding Hoarding" - by Jo Cooke

"Understanding Hoarding" by Jo Cooke is the first book of its kind in the UK that''s been written by a British author (most of the other books about hoarding have originated in the US).

If, like me, your life has been touched or changed by hoarding behaviours and you'd like to understand more about it, then I encourage you to invest in this book - it's been compared to the international works of Steketee, Frost et al, all of whom are experts and published authors on the subject.

Jos' book is easy to read, sensitively written, empathetic and practical, and includes contributions and case studies from hoarders themselves, families of hoarders, professional practitioners, the Fire & Rescue Service and others.

Jo Cooke of
Hoarding Disorders UK CIC

Jo's insight into the world of hoarding comes as a result of being the daughter of a hoarder - as am I.  

It lead her to eventually set up a specialist social enterprise called Hoarding Disorders UK CIC (Community Interest Company) based in Newbury, Berkshire, as well as two (currently) hoarding support groups.

I hadn't read the book prior to it being launched, and have been absolutely delighted by it - it really does live up to one of the reviews on Amazon, written within only two days of the book being published:



"The definitive book on understanding hoarding.   It is both an easy read and beautifully written. It will become the bible for people affected by hoarding. Hoarders themselves, families of hoarders, and people that come into contact with hoarders such as social workers, housing officers, the fire services and many others.

As well as addressing what is hoarding and why people hoard it gives good advice on decluttering and sustainability.

Jo writes in an easy style with a great deal of commonsense, knowledge and passion.Everything you need to know is in this book, the complete guide."  

Very sadly many children of hoarders fall out with their parents; the stuff can tear resentful families apart.

I wish it had been available as I was growing up, so that I could have learned what might be behind my controlling father's habits.  It would have given me the knowledge to look beyond the stuff and work towards developing a stronger and more emotionally rewarding relationship with him. 

In later life he developed Alzheimer's, which made caring for him (and then clearing out his house once he'd died) a time consuming, financially draining and emotional roller coaster of a journey.

Jo very kindly invited me to contribute to "Understanding Hoarding", and has even credited me in the acknowledgement at the beginning, for which I'm truly grateful!  

So I must thank some very special people, without whom my contributions to the book would not have been possible.

Firstly, my client Peter - for allowing me to tell his story.  Next, Sheena Crankson and Felix Pring of FAST Minds ADHD Support Group in Kingston-upon-Thames - for their support in helping me create the diagram (below) for the book.  

It's designed to give people an insight into the thought processes of the ADHD Brain in the context of organising, clutter, disorganisation and hoarding, and has been well received by people with ADHD.

The day after "Understanding Hoarding" was published, a lady who has the condition (as do members of her family) asked if it would be OK to take it to school to show the teachers, to help them understand how difficult and debilitating it can be to have ADHD/ADD.

Members of my local ADHD support group were very excited to see the difficulties they have with clutter and disorganisation shown in picture form (because pictures paint a thousand words).

Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC (founder of the first social enterprise in England specialising in hoarding behaviours) has been a great mentor and friend on my personal and professional development journey, and has also made an invaluable contribution to Jo's book.

And finally, I must thank my late parents - without whom I would not be writing this blog now.

I will always be grateful to Jo Cooke for allowing me to contribute to her wonderful book, and for empowering readers to look at their possessions, other people's possessions and other people's lives differently.  

Because hoarding isn't about the stuff, it's about the people.

Why Rainbow Red?

People often ask me why I named my business Rainbow Red.  Well, there are various parts to my answer:

1. I love rainbows
2. I love colourful things
3. I wanted my logo to have an uplifting symbol that makes people smile, and gives hope
4. Red happens to be my favourite colour
5. Cherries are red (all sorts of different shades of red)
6. In colour-therapy, red is considered to be a balancing/grounding colour that is supposed to give courage and strength

Hand on heart I promise I had no idea at the time of all the other connections that rainbows have!  Amongst other things:

1. The rainbow is a symbol of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (their sexuality)/queer (LGBTQ) pride and LGBT social movement
2. The rainbow-colored infinity symbol (right) is often used as a symbol for the diversity of the autism spectrum as well as neurodiversity in general.
1. Note:  I now believe that a large proportion of my older clients have undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC)
3. Junior Girlguides are called Rainbows
4. There's a fab UK children's charity called the Rainbow Trust
5. A hard rock heavy metal band - not really my cup of tea! 

And then, of course, there's the fab tv show called Rainbow that was a childhood favourite from the 1970s! 

So I'll stick to the association with uplifting rather than ear-splitting images/things if you don't mind, and leave you with a photo taken today at Hampton Court Palace after my husband and I had proudly walked round the gardens to see all 15 fabulous unearthed gnomes (I helped create Umbriel of the Tiltyard, with my friends from the Fastminds and Unique ADHD Groups) - the best way to end a superb day!