Melodie lives in a senior housing apartment. She recently moved from a big house, so is very much aware of using limited space well. Where to start? She chose the living room clutter. I suggested first clearing the couch, as it looked like an easy first step to take together.
As always when working with a new client, I asked lots of questions. How often did she use the cozy, warm wraps on the couch? Where could she store them for easy access? There was space in her bedroom closet. I rolled her very favorite one and placed it behind one of the back cushions on the couch “shelf.” How handy!
What about the books? There was room for them on the bottom shelf of the furniture piece across from the couch, which also holds the television. The boxed trash bags? We likely would use some. We would store the rest in the kitchen, which might also be another session’s focus.
Quite easily done, we cleared the couch.
We turned our attention to the corner upholstered chair between two windows. It held some spiral notebooks. Melodie has a number of them, for separate topics. (Excellent! I heartily approve(d), since that’s how I operate, too. There’s one for my business, De-clutter Me!, and one for my personal life. It’s easy, eliminating the “need” for lots of little, random pieces of paper. There’s a record of tasks to be done and/or completed.) I placed them in a drawer of the furniture piece already holding the television. We added more books below.
Next, we “explored” papers in the small black plastic bin on the floor. Some could be filed in the plastic bin nearby. Others could be recycled or shredded. We discussed the files, and how she might add a few, new specific ones to help with household organization.
With our remaining time, we organized the side table, adding books to the across-the-room furniture piece.
Her living room clutter cleared, Melodie was pleased. What would be next? We weren’t exactly sure, but we scheduled a second session together. Success!
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.