As we finished our first session together, I told Sarah and her son Josh that I had a bold suggestion for them. How about a “double session” day? Borrowing the term from high school sports practice at the end of the summer, we would work for three morning hours, take a lunch break, then work for three more hours in the afternoon. They were “game” for it, and we agreed to take a 30-minute lunch break. Pretty impressive for a woman who admitted to being nervous before our first session!
When I arrived, we discussed where to focus our energy. We first chose the living room, which looked more like a storage space than one to use and enjoy. I suggested that we work our way around the room. We removed two plastic bins, like laundry baskets from one wall, and put a big leather chair and side table there. (Later on, as we worked on a closet, we found a projector, which we would place on the side table’s lower shelf.) Would that wall also be a good spot for a cupboard with a fold-down table where Sarah could store art supplies and work on projects? The room would be cleared enough to accommodate one.
Our next focus area was in front of the windows. We cleared a couple of big blankets to be washed, removed a corner set of shelves, placing it in the bathroom to hold towels. We tossed some broken small decorative pieces that it had held. Sarah bravely set aside others for a spring tag sale, keeping only the most special ones. We removed other bins, setting aside their contents for donation, for the trash, or for the tag sale.
We also made room for pint-sized family members to enjoy the blackboard, there from when Sarah ran a day care center in the house.
When we were done with the living room, it felt open and airy. Perhaps most importantly, Sarah would be able to move around the room comfortably in her wheelchair.
About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.