Each story is a true client story with names and some details changed. Each client made an important and surprising but useful discovery during our work.
Julie’s story: “I want to get more organized so that …”
The advice from this story, or the message I’d like you to take away is to experiment with new ways to get what you want or need.
For the first time, Julie decided to hire an Organizer Coach®, yours truly. She had tried to deal with the pockets of clutter in her household, but they kept returning. She was tired of trying and decided to ask for outside expertise.
We worked weekly by phone to plan ahead where she’d work next, why it was important (motivation), to figure out where she might get stuck and what to do about it.
Then she’d do the organization in between our meetings – which also acted as deadlines for her, so she got a lot done. If we needed discussion on how to keep up with the new organization system, we’d discuss that on the phone.
Julie discovered two new ideas which helped her believe she could do this differently this time around.
One idea was reflecting on why getting more organized was important. Not for the sake of “getting organized,” nor because someone had suggested it to her.
She reflected on the question and said she wanted to get the house more organized so that she’d have more time to figure out her next chapter in life.
She wanted time to spend with her family and not use those hours organizing the house, filing the papers or looking for things.
She wanted more time to explore her own hobbies.
She needed time to figure out what she wanted for work and to begin looking for a job.
Like many people, she didn’t feel she could spend time on herself when the household was not in the shape she wanted it to be.
The second idea was in how we approached the organizing projects in each room. Often, you’ll sort through what’s there and organize what you want to keep in that room. Then you find homes for the items which are leaving the room.
We cleared the receiving area first. The receiving area was the designated space for items she wanted to keep, but not inside the room she was working on. We discussed the concept of “everyday space,” and cycling out items which aren’t actively in use.
She knew she’d make faster and better decisions if she knew there was space elsewhere for these items. This made it easier to start a new room and to make decisions.
She also made a comment I often share: “The hard part was making decisions, so I’d like to get help taking things away.” She asked for neighborhood help to take away items she was donating or getting rid of. I’d guess it was easier, too, to have someone else take away her things than having to do it herself. That’s true for some people. As she says, the hard part was hers to do and she did it !
Did you miss Donna’s story? Click here.
Did you miss Ali’s story? Click here.
