29 Dec Employing A Professional Organiser – The Benefits
Recently I was lucky enough to work virtually with a client in Derbyshire.
The client was a busy working mum, who like many of us had been working at home during the pandemic and found that home had become more and more cluttered. They felt overwhelmed and didn’t know where to begin.
“After seeing positive reviews, I found Debbie on LinkedIn, and approached her to find out how she would help me”.
Debbie is an absolute pleasure to work with! I’ve always struggled with motivation and time to declutter, and after several house moves, life changes, two growing children shedding clothes and books, as well as inheriting ‘stuff’ after my Mum passed away, I’d had enough.
A Virtual House-Elf
It was like my laptop had turned into a house-angel (or virtual house-elf, as my son declared).
From the very start of the process, she was on fire. Before we even had our first session, she had researched and found clothes banks, tip availability slots, recycling points for various items – all in lockdown! She also advised on items to have to hand – boxes, bags etc, and asked for photos of the room exactly as it was.
Getting Started
I decided to start with my bedroom – with Debbie’s advice. It had become the dumping ground for everything that belonged somewhere else, as I was desperate to keep the rest of the house livable and clear… I had also lost underbed storage after buying a new bed so the room was just piled with various bags and boxes that needed sorting and rehoming. I won’t even mention the state of my wardrobe and bedside tables…
The Sessions
Every session was given a specific purpose, which helped to direct my thoughts between sessions, and every session was followed up with an incredibly helpful email action list. If I muttered something about what I was ‘going to do’ with an item – it went on the action list, meaning I didn’t have to worry about remembering or keeping those thoughts organised.
I was a little dubious about doing it virtually, but it actually worked really well. I would place the laptop on a surface (dresser, bed, cupboard etc), direct it at the area / bags I was sorting, and she talked me through the process. I’m incredibly grateful for her patience listening to a stream of anecdotes about how this or that ended up here or there! Talking through things was so helpful. It felt like counselling! I knew by the end of our discussion what needed to happen with any particular item, and she encouraged me to ‘finish’ the job – finding a home for things to be kept straight away, or putting straight into the car for removal.
The difference it made when I woke up in the morning and saw the beautiful dresser area we created, instead of a mountain of boxes was life-changing. It also encouraged me to respect my own space and belongings more, and let the kids know that this was MY space, not theirs… And no, they couldn’t use my hair dryer as a laser gun anymore…
Attacking the wardrobe and bedside tables was another incredible journey. Clothes I’d not worn in years, bags I didn’t have a clue about. We went through everything. The amazing thing about Debbie was the lack of judgement, the patient understanding, and the gentle humour she sprinkled on everything.
And my wardrobe… Space!! Space! I know what is in there, it all looks beautifully neat, and done in a way that is completely sustainable. There was nothing fancy or complicated about what Debbie taught me, just common sense, easy to maintain processes in place that mean I won’t ever be in that situation again.
“I now have a beautiful, uncluttered, neat space to call my own.
I wake up every morning with a smile, and it has even encouraged me to reboot my morning meditation, which was just impossible with the chaos surrounding me.
I go to bed after the kids are settled, light a couple of candles in front of a mirror and just enjoy my book in what feels like a luxury boutique!
Such a change from looking around with constant nagging thoughts of ‘I need to do this, I really should do that…’
