As "Sharon" walked me through her home, she appeared quite complacent about the appearance of her home. Her home was not the worst I have seen, though she had stated concerns with every area we walked through.
Spare room had kitchen items stored because lack of space in the kitchen, laundry room had items that didn't quite get put away, kitchen counters covered with groceries, diningroom with stacks of husband's magazines , tools & materials, office stacked with keepsake boxes & supplies, and her bedroom overrun with clothes.
Usually I can see where we need to start, but Sharon just sat down on her bed and sighed. I have to admit I was a bit stumped for a moment as where to start. Then I decided let's start here in the bedroom and get these closets sorted out. My thought was that Sharon needed to take care of herself, get a place of peace in her home, a place that she can relax and begin to feel good about herself.
The gameplan: I pull clothing out of the closets and set them on Sharon's bed. She separates the items into keep and donate. I took the keepers and placed them back into her closet, and bagged up the donated.
As we continued, Sharon began picking up the pace of purging clothes. That was until I went to hang up a blouse with ... shoulder pads. OK, I'm pretty easy but I really had to point this out. Sharon laughed (I mean really laughed) and agreed to donate it instead.
Clothes were being tossed aside.
Plastic bins were emptied.
Dry cleaning bags and hangers began piling up around us.
In the end, Sharon had 18 bags of clothes and 3 bags of linens for donation.21 bages in total!
"This is just amazing!" Sharon continues with, "I called you because you seem to really enjoy what you do and truly care about the people you help." WOW! For me, it was wonderful to see her eyes brighten, face smiling, she was even walking taller. Seeing people become happier makes my job the best in the world!
Sharon is now motivated to continue working on the other areas of her home. She needs to just take her time and pace herself. Soon her whole home will feel amazing to her.
What gets you motivated to do your job?
Angie began her professional organizing business in 2005. She is a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and has been featured on CBS WTOL's 'Your Day' weekday morning program.
Angie is a graduate of Purdue University with a B.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, with 8 years experience as a Design Engineer and Program Manager at Ford Motor Company. Good organization, creativity and quick critical thinking are a few skills she has developed as an engineer. As a single mother of 2 beautiful boys, she has learned the art of multi-tasking and understands how overwhelming life can get without a plan to enjoy it.
Angie operates according to a simple philosophy -- that every client is a unique individual and has a different answer to the question, "How can I help you?"
Angie’s greatest organizing strength is her ability to listen to her clients and come up with a plan that will work for them.
Check out her BLOG iorganizeyou.blogspot.com
or website www.iorganizeyou.com