Sometimes I’m asked why I like to organize homes, well here’s why…
When I see space that is filled with stuff, I feel stressed, but not for me but rather for the person whose home I’m in. I want to immediately start to declutter and organize. I love to help people use space effectively. I can tell that the person is stressed and wants to have more space. So we start. We start the process of going through all of their stuff. We look at each piece of clothing, every pair of shoes, papers, cards, letters, documents, knickknacks, and more. We look at everything. And we decide what to keep and what to donate or trash. Oftentimes, much is donated, which is great! My client’s eyes by this point usually start to brighten. I can see that they are feeling it; they have the decluttering bug now. They start to put aside more and more. More stuff goes into the donation box. Then they have to get another box for more stuff to donate. This is where is gets exciting! I can see that they know that soon they will have their room, closet, basement, attic, office, bedroom, etc. back! They can see the prize. So we keep going.
After several hours, we usually start to talk about how great things look. Again, there’s excitement in their eyes. I feel like I’m cheering on a marathon runner by now. I just stay positive and remind them of their reward: ease of finding things with no stress. They like this! When we’re finished, they look at me, amazed. They always say the same thing: “Wow! I had no idea that it was going to look this good!”
We keep going for a bit longer so that the bags are moved outside or into their car, and then we survey the room. We do some last-minute edits. And then I watch as my client’s stress dissipates. I can tell that they are tasting the excitement of being able to use that part of their home again. This is what makes me do this work. I just love to be that little push that folks need to tackle a project that really is usually just too big for one person. I also like to give advice and suggestions for keeping clutter from coming back into a person’s home. I have learned a lot of techniques over the years from living in small apartments. At this point, I find it easy to look at space and know the best set up for what is in the room. It’s automatic for me now. And of course, it brings me joy to do this for others.
Cheryl Russo
April 2017