A “hoarding” story with a Happy ending!

A young woman had responded awhile ago to my blog post on "hoarding" saying that it was a description of her and her family. Help!

I was in this woman's home and worked with her family. She has 3 children under the age of 4 (including twin sons about 6 months old). And she lives in a compact space with limited storage options. So, lots of reasons to be stuck in overwhelm. However, we worked together over several sessions finding what were the areas most in need of decluttering (everything), what was the most problematic (everything), where shall we start (anywhere – just make the mess go away!).

So, we did – area by area – starting in the LR and then in the 2nd visit, we tackled the kitchen – emptying every drawer and cupboard, taking out EVERYTHING, deciding what to keep and what to donate, cleaning everything, putting things back in an orderly fashion, coming up with some neat storage solutions. Then I left.

It was a month before I got back to tackle the rest. Well, a transformation had occurred. This woman had used the month to organize several storage closets, the front entrance, even her bedroom and closets and had made astounding progress. Things were set out for donation, drawers and shelves were neat and tidy, storage containers in evidence and used, the place clean and spacious. What a difference! There was little for me to do – just offer some suggestions for a few areas. Amazing! She'd gotten out of overwhelm and just got on with it. On my final visit, I worked with her partner at transforming his office space. Every surface cleaned, reorganized, decluttered. At the end, he had a clean, workable and enjoyable space. All this family needed was the "kick-start". Maybe that's all any of us need…

Her comments below:

"Before meeting Elaine, my house was a disaster. Trying to fit five of us into a two-bedroom suite was a nightmare. Piles of stuff, boxes of stuff, stuff everywhere! It was so far beyond me that I was ready to move out and leave it all behind. When Elaine came, she helped me focus, to organize one item at a time. With each visit, Elaine helped keep me on task and inspired me to keep it up until the whole house was done. We put into place simple organizational tricks that are still working, months later. I cannot say enough how thankful I am for Elaine! By the way, people constantly comment on Stephen's [work] space. The best was "I just LOVE your book nook!" DB – Victoria