When professional organiser Dilly Carter was diagnosed with cancer in 2022, her life changed overnight. But despite being “at death’s door”, she continued to build the business she’d worked so hard to create – and, in an exclusive interview with Good Housekeeping, she shared why it was the unexpected lifeline that got her through.
“I was filming when I could, and otherwise I was working from the sofa,” she explained. “When I couldn’t move or was in hospital, my brilliant team jumped in. Actually, some of my most successful years in terms of business growth happened when I was at death’s door. I think work kept me going because I knew it was a great thing.”
Her work ethic, she revealed, stems from a childhood that was both chaotic and challenging at times. Born in Sri Lanka, she was adopted at the age of three by her Sri Lankan dad and English mum. Her mum worked for her late father, a chartered accountant and it was tough, to say the least. “My dad worked my mum into the ground; it caused my mum to have mental health issues,” Dilly said.
In 1991, when Dilly was 11, her mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Unsurprisingly, “the house took a back seat. The house was bottom of their priority list because they were busy; they were stressed. They certainly didn’t have pride in the house. Their wardrobes were always messy. There were piles of clothes everywhere. My dad’s desk was covered in paperwork,” said Dilly.
While she longed to escape the chaos, she did everything she could to ensure both her parents could earn money. “There’s one thing I haven’t really talked about before… I used to wait at school until it shut and then I’d walk to the local Budgens and hang around there,” she revealed.
“Sometimes, it was eight o’clock by the time [my parents] got from their office in Southall to Shepperton. They knew I’d be safe in the supermarket until it shut at 8pm; I was bored, so I started packing people’s shopping bags. I’d organise shelves.”
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Now, having built a business of her own in the form of Declutter Dollies, she hopes to build the life she never got to see her parents have. “It’s always been my goal to earn well. I watched my dad work my mum into the ground and they had nothing to show for it,” she said.
“I work hard, but I play hard, too. My house is a party house; there are always lots of people round. [My husband] Charley, [my daughter] Nelly and I go on nice holidays, we eat out, we enjoy family life. My mum lived with us for a while, but she’s in a nursing home now – she’s still unwell. I’m sad that she didn’t enjoy her life in the way I can.”
But is Dilly striving for perfection? Absolutely not! “I think women are under so much pressure. We’re always trying to do it all,” she said. “But nothing is perfect – my house certainly isn’t.”
Read the full interview in Good Housekeeping’s September issue, on sale from 23rd July. Dilly’s Perfectly Packed range for The Contents Bag is available at thecontentsbag.com.
