Decluttering isn’t just about tidying up—it’s an emotional journey. You need time, a good process, and a great friend beside you. As friends for 15 years, Melissa & Rachel make downsizing feel like a team effort—with kindness, calm, and a little fun along the way.
Rachel and Melissa started Less is More in Auckland in 2024.
When it comes to downsizing, we've been there. What began as a necessity for our own family—helping parents, extended family, and friends—has grown into a business dedicated to guiding others through the process.
We’ve heard too many stories about stress and feelings of being overwhelmed when downsizing – from the people doing the downsizing, and their families. We want to change that.
If you're unsure where to start, we offer a personalised, wraparound service tailored to your needs. We want your next step to be a positive one, so we care about both the process you go through and the results you get. A positive process begins with deep respect for you and the meaning behind your possessions. Great results happen with planning, co-ordination and a willingness to roll up our sleeves and do the best job possible.
When you choose to work with us, you get us
We respect your home and privacy. We manage the work in your home personally so that you can be comfortable talking openly with us about the things you love and want to keep. If we need an extra pair of hands or a tradesperson, we will always be there to introduce them to you.
We’re like swiss army knives,
so we do our best to sort things out without tradespeople. We are good at everything from touch-up painting to interior decor. As well as being pretty handy ourselves, we have a
trusted network of experts we recommend and who charge reasonable prices.
We’ve been through it. From moving countries with a big family to downsizing from a family home into an apartment, we’ve lived it ourselves so we understand how it feels. We've also developed systems that work and we're good at staying focused.
We aim to take you from feeling overwhelmed to empowered. We'll treat you like a friend, being calm and gentle as well as willing to give you advice.
You do less. We do more.
Meet our co-owners
Melissa
Working in Europe, Asia and New Zealand in operations and team management roles, I’ve become expert at packing up and moving on. I’ve wrangled three children under three and I like to think that my optimism and work ethic has rubbed off on them now that they are young adults.
I've helped my parents move from their family home into a retirement village and managed the transition to care for my stepfather. There are lots of details to think about, from paperwork and selecting a new place to live, to choosing which saucepans to take and setting up your address change. I want to help other people navigate this time well.
Rachel
In 2016, my husband and I downsized from our family home into an apartment and I used all my skills in organisation, systems planning and project management for a smooth transition.
In 2022, with my two boys grown up, I left my 30 year corporate career (including working in a large retirement village company) and started helping other busy people to project manage interiors projects and get their homes ready for sale. Knowing the freedom of less home maintenance and more time for fun, I love making things easy for other people and seeing them happy in their new spaces.
