The Hidden Stories in Our Stuff: A Professional Organizer's Journey

Sixteen years ago, I began helping people declutter their homes. I specialized in pulling together unfinished decorating projects, creating curb appeal for home sells, minimizing over cluttered spaces, cleaning surfaces that had not been touched in years, and anything else that involved removing a plethora of objects from personal spaces.

My approach, at that time, simply included a mission to help people make decisions about objects-lots of objects; however, as I moved through projects, the way I viewed my role as a professional organizer began to change.

It seemed like clutter always carried with it an origin story. Divorces, marriages, births, deaths, moves, health issues, mental health issues, and so many more unique circumstances held root causes to the clutter in which my clients were drowning.

Many times, my clients weren’t merely deciding to rid of a set of mugs, but instead were scanning through the indexes of their memories for any indication a set of mugs held some deep meaning or sentimental value. Some clients were DEEPLY into their sentiment to the point that removing stuff seemed like an overwhelming and impossible task. Some chose to end the process before reaching their goals.

Not making it to the end of the process began seriously weighing on me. How successful was

I if I could not help my client over the finish line? My approach at the onset of the project

needed to be reconsidered.

My process now includes a serious client intake appointment where we discuss the project as the client sees it, the new vision for the space (which we will really talk in-depth about in future articles), and any obvious barriers to completing the task. By making the early coaching discussions thorough, my clients became successful not only in decluttering, but in finding themselves authentically in their spaces.

That is what I want to help all my clients with whether virtual or in person.

I would love to help you too!

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Pursuing Simple Living, home organization, declutter, hoarding, professional organizer, life coach, Shannon Smith, Wilmington, North Carolina