Session Four

On this visit, we decided to tackle two rooms in the house that could be organized in one day -- the children's room and the kitchen. They were both in fairly good shape with just basic clutter on most surfaces and the floor.

In the children's room, we rearranged the beds and backboards with shelving so they faced a different direction, put on fresh sheets and then vacuumed and dusted everything. The closet had a shelf with clutter on it and so did the floor of the closet, so we emptied everything out and organized those spaces. I explained to my client that the children's room should not have any of her items in it -- ONLY those that belong to the children. So we removed all of her stuff and placed those items where they belong or temporarily in the basement.

In the kitchen I had noticed on my previous visits that both of the sinks were always full of dishes that looked like they'd been there for quite some time. I discussed with my client non-judgmentally  that it is a good practice to be sure the dishes are done every night before going to sleep. Then you wake up in the morning to a clean kitchen, and this is a great way to start a new day. So we started with the dishes, filling the dishwasher and washing the rest by hand, drying them and putting them away. We cleared off all of the counter tops and found proper cabinet space for these wayward items. We sorted through piles of papers and removed them from the kitchen. We replaced a burned-out lightbulb over the sink. In general, everything got cleaned and sorted and organized. This process was an exercise in setting an example that can be followed from now on, in an effort to keep it from becoming cluttered again.

We put away the Christmas tree on this day, too. We also folded about 6 bags of laundry.

There is nothing I won't do to help a client learn how to keep the items in their house under control. It is a daunting task for so many of us, and my goal is to teach the little steps we can all take every day to keep clutter under control. I have heard other Professional Organizers say that they don't do any cleaning. I don't know any other way to help my clients learn how to keep things clean without setting the first example. We do it together, and then I hope they do it themselves.

I suggested to my client that on my future visits, we start out with the laundry and dishes as a matter of course, and then move on from there. This sets the tone for an organized home, and my hope is that in the future, these chores will be done before my weekly visit.