I love to organize, it’s a passion, and honestly is very therapeutic. I have had many jobs in my 30 years of being an adult, but organizing is my first and only love.

Okay, it’s time to get organized and wake up with a fresh new approach to your life. Being able to find what you’ve been looking for without looking under cushions or behind furniture could bring a different outlook to your day, and to your life. It cuts down on stress, believe me, to know where to go to get a safety pin, or an important document.

If you’ve lost control of what’s in your home, you can’t really feel comfortable with your surroundings.

My aunt was constantly looking for things in her home, which was constantly cluttered with everything imaginable. Although her community areas were fairly neat, her personal world was a mess. She couldn’t find her keys, her purse, jewelry, important documents, or her dentures. And sadly, when she could no longer care for herself, documents that her guardian needed were unable to be located.

And this was a successful businesswoman who had owned real estate and property, but due to her inability to keep her documentation up to par, she eventually lost everything.
Not only because she didn’t delegate, or that she wanted to maintain control, but because of the simple fact that she couldn’t keep track of what was going on around her.

I have organized homes that were literally knee deep in clothes, newspapers, books, dishes, boxes, takeout containers, and even the skeletons of rodents trapped under items, and the list goes on.

One client’s home was filled with everything mentioned above, but she was too embarrassed to let me touch anything, instead insisting that I sort grocery bags, you know the little plastic ones. She paid me $25.00 an hour to sort bags, after an hour of trying to get her to reconsider, I surrendered. That was the worst job I ever took as an organizer. Yes I left with $200.00 that day, but I hadn’t felt as though I had earned it.

Another client hired me to assist her in her home based business. My duties were to include answering the telephone, filing, running errands etc. However, once she discovered that I was an organizer my duties changed drastically. I spent 20 hours a week maintaining her personal world which mostly included keeping her wardrobe in order, jewelry, and shoes, included. I loved it, and she was always appreciative. I’d arrive at work to find my favorite caffeine waiting; she catered to me, and referred me to many of her friends.

I’ve opened closet doors filled to the ceiling with everything imaginable, crammed with clothing that was no longer appropriate for the client or their family. One woman had clothing that would never fit again, yet she kept it hung up, she said as a reminder, of the way she used to be. The clothing was a size 2, the woman was a size 20 and although I am a very optimistic person, I’m also realistic. The style/garment was over 30 years old, yet this client had carried this piece with her from home to home over the years and had rehung it as a reminder.I finally convinced her to space bag one piece, and get rid of the rest.

Another client with the same issue, was convinced to make a quilt out of each piece of the clothing she could no longer wear. It worked out very well. The clothing which was outdated wouldn’t have interested anyone else anyway.

Homes crammed in every room with stacks of boxes, newspapers and trash bags are the worst, not for me, but for the homeowner. I could never imagine what would happen if there was a fire in the home. One client had me come in to gut her mothers home while the woman was in the hospital. She had fallen and broken her hip while home alone, and it was quite an ordeal for the paramedics to get her out of the house, once they found her.

I found receipts and newspapers scattered throughout the home, that had been lying there for over 20 years. Apparently her husband, who had died a couple of years before, was also a pack rat. It was a mess.

The daughter was fully aware of her mother’s clutter issues, but had come to accept the fact that it was her home, and because she was in the final stages of her life, she wasn’t going to talk about her housekeeping. Because of the woman’s inability to let go of anything, having a cleaning lady was hopeless, and a waste of money.

Also, if your home is a clutter haven, and it’s burglarized it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s actually gone.

The only way to create a new start was while she was in the hospital. The project took nearly a week of 16 hour days. Forunately, the elderly woman was able to return to her home because it was a ranch, and it worked out well

The daughter hired a caregiver to look after her mother and when she returned home, I was told she was very ‘relieved’ to enter a home that was cleared of clutter. I heard she spent hours looking at pictures that she couldn’t find for years, and spent the last 2 years of her life piecing together a scrap book for her family.

Another client owned a hair salon/clothing boutique, when she found out about my organizational abilities, she contracted me to inventory everything, pack it and supervise the move. Before I packed and inventoried everything I did what had to be done first, sort everything.

She had her 14 year old daughter help, and I’ll always remember her escorting the child in, and telling her “now you listen to Miss Tess, and do everything she asks you to do, because I want you to learn how to do what she does”. The daughter was not amused, nor was she much help, she just wasn’t into it. The move was successful, and I didn’t only make a nice fee, but had my hair done free for a year.

I’d like to also add that organizing is a skill, and not everyone is capable of doing it successful. You can maintain an organized environment, but not everyone can get everything in order starting from the ground up.

I also want to mention that being organized can and will save you lots of money. Several of my clients over the years would purchase a variety of items that they didn’t know that they already had in their home. If you know where everything is, and can see what you have before you shop, then you won’t duplicate.

I’ve found literally bags (I use a lot of Ziploc bags for storage) of batteries, and boxes of new light bulbs scattered throughout the residence while organizing. People were amazed at what they had once their home had been completely organized and inventoried.

Empty storage bins containing 2 pencils are not unusually, warranties belonging to broken electronic equipment or appliances, and important documents that should have been safely stored somewhere else and not in a kitchen cabinet. Coupons neatly stacked had expired years before. Can openers in sock drawers, and socks in kitchen cabinets.
Stacks of take out containers and the list goes on.

One client simply told me to get rid of the all the shoes in her closet, she could no longer wear them any more. I filled up 4 large garbage bags with shoes, and the shoe boxes were not included.

And what is the satisfaction of organizing someone’s home? To hear them say things like “I haven’t seen this or that in years” I wondered where it was. Or, simply thank-you so much I knew I needed to do this, but I didn’t know where to start.

The author Theresa Moss is a professional organizer (home/office) with a background in home security.

By: Theresa L. Moss

About the Author: