Dilly Carter is a professional declutterer who has been on the Sort Your Life Out team with Stacey Solomon since series one, and gained a lot of fans since.
Dilly is an expert in decluttering and shares a lot of content online to help people organise their homes, too.
If you’ve ever wondered how Dilly Carter started her decluttering career or if she’s married, we’ve got your answers here.
Dilly was adopted from Sri Lanka when she was three years old
Dilly has been open with her adoption story, which saw her adopted from Sri Lanka when she was three years old.
She was abandoned as a baby at a Sri Lankan orphanage and was adopted three years later by English mum Freda and Sri Lankan dad Daya.
She began to declutter from a young age to help her mother, who has bipolar disorder.
Dilly wrote on her website: “I started my business as my mother has bipolar and her home was in chaos. I used this as my platform to discuss the link between mental health and clutter.”
Dilly now cares for her mother who lives with her and her family.
How old is Dilly Carter?
Dilly Carter was born on November 11, 1980.
She is currently 43 years old.
Dilly grew up in Surrey, but now lives in the town of Tring in Hertfordshire.
Sort Your Life Out: Dilly Carter’s books
Dilly has written two books on decluttering – Create Space and Change Your Space.
Create Space was published in 2021, and Dilly describes it as “a room-by-room guide to organising your home with a fresh and relatable take on the link between mental well-being and decluttering”.
Her next book, Change Your Space, was published in 2023.
Her second book “shows you how to clear, re-organise and fall back in love with your space, whatever your situation”.
Does Dilly Carter from Sort Your Life Out have Instagram?
She does! You can find Dilly on Instagram @declutterdollies.
Dilly regularly shares decluttering and cleaning tips on her Instagram.
She also shares loads of behind-the-scenes pics from Sort Your Life Out.
Is Dilly Carter married? Does she have children?
Dilly Carter has been married to her husband Charley Carter for over 10 years.
The pair lived together in the US before coming back to the UK in 2012.
Dilly regularly shares adorable pictures with her husband on her Instagram.
Dilly has a daughter named Neely-Reet with husband Charley.
On Instagram, Dilly described her daughter as “our entire world and more”.
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Health issues
Last April, Dilly revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer of the womb. In October, Dilly opened up about her cancer diagnosis. Posting on Instagram, she shared she was told she had the disease in October 2022 and had undergone treatment.
“One year ago today I was told I had stage 1 cancer of my womb. I went into a three-week post -op appointment following a major surgery called a myomectomy to remove 12 fibroids thinking I was having a routine check up of my scar. But it was to tell me the fibroids they removed were cancerous which had spread from the lining of my womb.
“This would mean I would have to undergo a radical hysterectomy to remove my womb, ovaries and fallopian tubes to stop the cancer spreading. Our journey to have another baby naturally had just ended abruptly and unexpectedly during a somewhat routine procedure that I had paid privately to happen because the NHS waiting list was two years.
“Had I not paid, had I waited two years, I may not have been here to tell the story. But I can’t dwell on that.”
‘I never thought I would die’
Dilly added: “I think that if this last year has taught me anything, it is to appreciate what I do have, not what I don’t. To worry about what I can control, not what I can’t, and to look forward and carry on as best as I can with what I have.
“I never thought I would die, the positive and powerful side of mind took control and for that I feel very grateful. I knew I had a choice to prevent that, and I won’t ever take that for granted. Some people don’t get that choice, and others I know who have been in my position or similar will always know that feeling of survivors guilt. Why did I get the chance to be okay, when others didn’t.
“Millions of people lose their life to cancer, I haven’t.”
She then continued: “Thank god for those who I had around me who held me up when I was on the floor in pain unable to walk or in agony from the internal and external burns from radiation.
“My body may feel slightly different, and may not be as strong in places, but the scars that are left across my stomach are just a reminder that I survived and how amazing our bodies are at bringing us back to a better place.
“So now I am out the other side, just one year later and I’ve made it my mission not just to survive but to thrive. To all my cancer survivors and fighters, you are never alone . And for all those women with gynae issues and health issues. PRIORITISE YOUR HEALTH.”
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Sort Your Life Out star Dilly Carter admits she will ‘carry weight of cancer forever’
World Cancer Day earlier this month saw Dilly post again: “Cancer changed my life forever. It changes a whole families life forever. Not only did it take away my ability to have children again it has affected my daily life forever from the way I eat to the amount of time I can spend on my feet.”
She added: “The scars and the daily side effects are just the physical reminders. The mental effects are with you forever. No matter how much you try to ignore it and carry on. You will carry that weight around forever.
“What it didn’t do however is take my life. I am eternally grateful to the surgeons and doctors who operated for five and a half hours to stop the cancer spreading by removing it.”
She then concluded: “Survivors’ guilt however is also a huge part of living with cancer especially when so many lose their lives all around you. 1 in 2 of us will develop a form of cancer in our lifetime.”
Return to hospital
Back in May, Dilly was forced to return to hospital. Dilly endured a “barbaric” treatment whilst suffering with post-cancer issues.
“I feel much better than I look. Once this tube is out today I’ll be home and back to normal,” she said.
A month later, at her six-monthly cancer check, she shared the news that tests had come back “clear”.
Read more: Inside Stacey Solomon’s stunning £1.2m Pickle Cottage home
Catch Dilly Carter on Sort Your Life Out tonight (July 16) at 8pm on BBC One.
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