With the average American Home containing over 300,000 items and the size of our homes tripling over the last 50 years, Americans have a lot of stuff in their homes.
The average American spends 177 minutes a day looking for things. When everything in your home has a place and you know and where to find things, you avoid frustration of searching and instead reclaim that 17 minutes to spend doing a more enjoyable.
I work with a variety of clients, from young busy families to busy professionals, people with ADHD and older adults looking to downsize their home or simply get rid of their excess items.
The older adults I’ve worked with are ready to downsize. Many of them wanted to take care of their “stuff” while they were able and so they didn’t leave that task to their children.
Before we start the decluttering process, I encourage people to think about where they are in life or where they want to be and how they want their stuff to serve them. For example, Sunday dinners with the grandkids might be a favorite part of the week. With that vision in mind, keeping a large dining table, well-loved casual plates and a few casserole dishes, will still make those gatherings special. Then getting rid of rarely-used formal china and some extra furniture crowding the basement is much easier to part with. Framing the process around how certain belongings support the life someone wants now, makes each ”keep-or-let-go” decision feel purposeful rather than painful.
We begin by decluttering and purging, by letting things go. We go through boxes, drawers, bags and tubs to figure out what is needed for the life they want to live and what things they can let go of. That first step is the hardest and the most important step.
Next, we start to organize items. A really simple solution for organizing is that everything has a place and like items are stored together.
The last step in the process is all of those items that you want to let go of, need to be gone as soon as possible. My approach is a little different than some professional organizers. My goal is to make sure that none of the discarded items end up in the landfill.
Not everyone I work with has the same capacity to handle all the post decluttering actions, so I am available to help haul things for the client. I unload everything and unpack all the sacks and boxes and figure out where I can take each item and give it a second life. I do not take things to thrift stores. Most items find a place in our community. I have created lots of partnerships with charitable organizations, churches, antique dealers, etc. Someone's excess can meet someone else's basic needs.
When I hear from my clients after the process, many of them tell me they now have peace of mind, They appreciate the fact their load is now lighter. Best of all, most are able to continue that process we created and have the motivation to stick with the plan.
