Professional Organizers Need Help, Too
The Project: My Basement.
So, I’m a professional organizer. I have an unfinished basement in my home that is largely used for storage right now. I had organized it probably 3 or 4 months ago, and I was really proud of myself for doing that. I currently stay home with my son full time and those of you who are reading and are mothers understand how exciting it is to get a task like this done while caring for your kids and your other regular tasks. It took me probably several days to a week to get it where I wanted it.
Unfortunately, it started getting overwhelming again very quickly. Why? Well, as a first time Mom I didn’t realize that when you get something for your baby they probably only use it for about 2 to 4 months before you need to store it for your future babies. There were a few other contributing factors that led to the overwhelm;
Where I chose to store the baby stuff downstairs, (which was close to the door) didn’t make sense anymore because the pile was growing and growing and it started bleeding into the walkway.
I also started buying more back stock for the home.
Additionally, I store my organizing supplies for my home (and clients) on a shelf in the basement but, I rummage through these supplies so often that the shelf was starting to get really cluttered and dysfunctional.
After camping season, we move all of our camping supplies downstairs so I had even more items to deal with.
Lastly, the quick cleanup I did on my own wasn’t really 100%, it was definitely an improvement, but what I really needed was a thorough reset.
It was time to call Erica!
Erica is a home organizer friend of mine, and she was SO excited to help me out!
The day of the project, I of course had my son with me. I laughed because he had fallen asleep for a nap before we started the project, and 30 minutes later woke up. I thought about how if I was doing the project by myself, I would have already had to stop. I did work side by side with Erica for probably 80% of the project, but I was still able to care for my son. The peace of mind knowing that the project was still moving forward was so valuable.
For years I’ve said (in an attempt to relate to my clients) “even I would benefit from hiring an organizer” Why? Because organizing is a creative and trial and error process and there are so many different ways to approach a space or category. What I didn’t expect was how much more this statement became true.
I never thought I would want or need to hire an organizer because I love organizing, I do it in my free time, and I was never really in a position that I couldn’t handle the project on my own. But, now that I’m a mom I look at paid help differently. I knew that I would get the project done more quickly, and that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice time with my son or my husband when he’s off work to get the project done. I also knew that it would be a lot more fun. Basically, now that I’m a mom I have less time for doing things that I enjoy even if it is organizing… especially if it’s a large project.
Most of my clients for the last 7 years have been Moms and now being a Mom for over a year I can truly relate to my clients in a new way with the overwhelm that can happen.
I already felt very comfortable with Erica, I’ve known her for about 8 months, and we talk almost daily, but I understood more what a client would feel with inviting someone into their home. I could see how it would be so vulnerable. Check out part 2 for some other very interesting things that became much more clear to me after our time together…
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