Monthly Archives: May 2023

My newest client is.  She is older, a little less energy than a few years ago, downsizing, overwhelmed, anxious, and tired of decisions. 

That is why her realtor suggested she hire me.  We are working hard together packing what she doesn’t need in the near future, decluttering, and finding some very interesting things.  Somedays she breaks out laughing which only brings me joy.

Some things are sad as her husband is in a nursing home and will never return to this house, so she cries, and I take care of his belongings.

The new home that awaits is considerably smaller, so she has relented to only keeping what will comfortably fit and realizes the truth that only necessities are essential.  Her new home will be safe, free of clutter and I am excited for the day she is settled in, relaxed, and this enormous task is behind her.

I will always love my new client / turned friend.  She has taught me much about life, memories and graceful transitioning.  She’s a champ.  

Did you know the average woman has, (not wears), 102 pairs of shoes?  The average man has 30?  This is no big deal, really.  But how do we store them?  There are closet shelves, cubbies, accessories for storage available at stores.  I like clear plastic shoeboxes available at The Container Store.  They come in shoe size, men’s size, and boot size.

They stack, you can see the shoes through them, they keep your shoes dust free, and your closet tidy.  If possible keep the floor clear as it is too tempting to kick off your shoes and leave them there.  If you really want to get crazy, color code the boxes.

As you store the shoes, polish them, send them in for repair or… decide… do I need a shoebox for this pair?  Do I love this pair?  Do I need this pair?  Task complete?  Kick up your heels and do a happy dance!  

Yes, even an organizer can be disorganized at times.  But then an event, or guests arriving, or holiday decorating moves me to practice what I preach.  I just brought in my Spring decor and have two bins so full the lids barely close.  As I unwrapped the fragile items I noticed some look a little worn, little tired, not as elegant, kind of corny, and I used my tip:  Does it bring me joy?  I sorted as I unpacked.  House looks great and although I still may need two bins when I store them, at least the lids will close tight.

I also sorted through the seemingly hundreds of stemware I have.  Why so many?  I must have had a party at one point, but now I could open a tasting room with all these wine glasses.  Some were freebies, some gifts, some I bought, but I surely don’t need them all.  I kept my favorites, have one bin stored for back-ups (they do break now and then) and the rest?  Cheers to the thrift store.

Then there is that box of greeting cards.  Not the ones to send but the ones I’ve received.  During the Olympics I sorted through them all.  I am limited to one and only one pretty box of memory cards.  I kept a few from each year (especially the ones my dearly beloved gave me) and some from those special birthdays, 40, 50… and the rest had to go.  My pretty box is comfortably full of the most joyous memories and I won the gold medal for the Recycle Event.

Small steps, a process, a relief, freeing, satisfied.  

At the risk of sounding morbid, why wait?  Why wait until you are too old, or your health fails or you… die?  Why leave the clutter for your loved ones?

The task of decluttering doesn’t have to be morbid.  It’s empowering and may even give you a “new lease on life.”  Why not enjoy a decluttered home while you are healthy and where family and friends want to come visit? 

Have order surround you by getting rid of things you don’t need.  If trashing, recycling or donating isn’t your “thing,” offer your belongings to friends and family whenever you see them.

Decluttering is a process, but O! so rewarding!  Don’t wait… don’t put it off, begin now while you are young, healthy and still… alive.   

I am talking adult kids.  We’ve either gone through it or are going through it.  This, from the voice of experience.  We downsized when we moved to Las Vegas, losing an attic and huge garage.  That was storage, valuable real estate.

As organized as I was, we still had quite a bit of the “kid stuff.”  Now adults, I flew my kids home for a weekend of sorting, throwing, and re-evaluation.  They got the idea of a garage sale (their idea – not mine) and had a blast of a time with it.  By the way, those old science fair experiments in the attic?  Ewwww.  Dioramas disintegrate through the years as well. 

Yes, there comes a time when it’s time.  Keep the treasured memories (yearbooks, a few earned trophies/ribbons, favorite toys), but the rest?  The comment I heard most was, “WHY did you keep THIS?”

Their decisions made it easy for me to pack and move only what was necessary.  Soon after, when my kids had homes of their own… we made a road trip with the saved items in tow, (I always come bearing gifts), which my kids gladly now store in their own real estate. 

Another example is a client I worked with recently.  She and her husband were moving to a new state and downsizing.  They phoned their daughter on the East Coast and said: “Come home and sort your things or we will donate all.”  They had moved her “treasures” three times and enough was enough.  This resulted in a late night urgent call for me to come the next morning and help the daughter, which I happily did.  Once faced with the cost of shipping “treasures” to the East Coast, daughter became realistic real fast and in just four hours we had the problem under control with happy parents.  If only they had done this three moves ago.

Movers charge by weight.  Stuff costs money.  Stuff takes up room.  Kids still little kids?  All the more reason to sort and choose what to keep through the years.  Keep the best of the best each school year… the first cursive project, the first reader, the best spelling test.  Treasure the memories in your heart and you will thank me in a few years.