Home, Sweet Organized Home

By Cyndi Seidler
05/07/06

I was invited for dinner one evening at a neighbor's home as a "get to know the new neighbor" social event.  Right away, I knew a lot about my neighbor Linda when I struggled to step inside her living room.  With an embarrassed smile, Linda apologized for the mess, and strained to move the box that had blocked the front door from opening all the way.

There, among all the paraphernalia and debris that scattered across the living room and into the next, I noticed a sign on the wall: Home Sweet Home.  I thought, if this is the "sweet" taste she prefers, I wonder what she's serving for dinner?

This wasn't the first time I witnessed clutter and over-stuffed rooms.  But, it was the first time I was invited to a home without being asked to fix it.  You see, as a professional organizer, this is what I'm asked to do.

We then made our way to the kitchen area, which was not unlike the other room I just observed, and Linda gave the meal in a pot a quick last stir.  I noticed a small space on the countertop that didn't have anything on it and wondered if this had purpose.  It did.  She removed the pot from the stove and placed it on that empty counter space.

Well, she may not know how to tidy up for a guest, but she knew how to cook, I'll give her that.  Now, if only her home reflected the pride and good flavor of her cooking. 

Should I say anything?  Do I dare comment on her dysfunctional, cluttered rooms?  Is there a nice way to offer my help without offending her?  Does she even know she has a problem in her "home sweet home?"

Dinner proceeded with friendly conversation and neighborhood gossip, and then she said it.  "I'm so embarrassed about having people over here because I just can't seem to get a grip on all this stuff."

It turns out a lot of the "stuff" was unpacked boxes after Linda moved in, research documents, and items she collected to sell on eBay.  She's a writer, so she also had mounds of paper, magazines, newspapers, books, and archive boxes contributing to her other collection of stuff.

When stuff gets out of hand, clutter propagates until it becomes an overwhelming, uncontrollable, unbearable mess.   Often times, a person doesn't even see it anymore, in an effort to survive in their living surroundings.

I surmised that Linda could at least still see it.  And, it did bother her.  And, she wanted to do something about it.

It was the perfect time to inform her that my profession was organizing homes and businesses.  You should have seen the look on her face.  If she was embarrassed before, I'm guessing she was mortified now.

You'll be pleased to know that it wasn't the end of our relationship.  It was the beginning.

After doing a thorough assessment of Linda's damaged rooms, I drew up a plan to tackle the clutter, along with recommended purchases to help organize the things that would be kept. 

On the appointed "organize" day, I brought in numerous sorting baskets and one of several very large trash cans set aside for the "home sweet home" project.  It was time to give Linda's home a flavor of good organization.

We sorted for days until the living room was cleared of everything except bare furniture.  It was at that moment that Linda looked at the room as if seeing it for the first time, like the time when she first saw the home with her realtor and deciding that she wanted it.  I knew this had a rehabilitating effect.

We were half way through the battle of clutter.  Next, was putting things away in prospective "homes."  The object, of course, was a place for everything and everything in its place: the ultimate goal of organization.

Papers were organized in folders and within archive boxes; books were placed on new, additional bookshelves; magazines and newspapers that were kept were placed in special baskets; and all the eBay items were catalogued and photographed and placed in a special area of her garage.  We set up storage shelving, paper flow systems, areas for this and areas for that.

When the project was at its completion, we took a picture of her newly organized living room with Linda standing in front of her "Home Sweet Home" sign.  You should have seen that smile on her face!