Marli Di Virgilio, founder of Organised Living By Marli, is a home organisation and decluttering guru. The Hastings mum discovered her passion and talent for creating an orderly home while confined during Melbourne’s lockdown in 2021.
“It all began with the purchase of a Cricut,” said Marli, referring to the smart cutting tool she uses to create customised labels. “After realising the satisfaction of sorting my own pantry, decanting products into labelled containers, I had a vision of helping others do the same.”
It’s a far cry from her previous career working as a dental assistant in the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s mobile dental van, but in the new role she’s busier than ever.
While it’s a service not often spoken about – with people reluctant to admit they’re feeling overwhelmed – Marli has discovered there’s a high demand for home organisation skills. She has customers all over the Peninsula, including self-managed and private NDIS clients. The service’s popularity compelled her to employ two more experts, Rachel and Tiffany, to support her with customer bookings.
Marli and her team work with families and individuals to create a practical and organised home whatever their lifestyle involves. “I put things in order during visits, but I always walk clients through the process, implementing systems that will be easy for them to maintain.” Some clients just need a single visit to get them started, while others have become regulars, booking repeat visits.
The most common requests are for help organising pantries and toy rooms. Both spaces usually reveal a collection of single-use, non-durable items and are often filled with impulse buys. Branded a throwaway society, ironically we can find it hard to part with these items, thinking “I might still need that some day”.
Becoming a mother since her business began, Marli laughingly said her approach to sorting toys has softened to an extent. Her system of separating ‘junk’ – small plastic items like fast-food giveaways or broken toys – from ‘quality’ allows families to make the final call about what stays and what goes.
In addition to benefiting from home visits, residents can also take advantage of free shipping when they buy from the range of beautiful storage products available online. Marli has curated a collection of spice sets, laundry sets and bathroom pump sets, made from glass and bamboo, accompanied by her own customised labels.
To start your journey towards home organisation and decluttering, visit organisedlivingbymarli.com.au or phone Marli on 0436 020 209.
