Standing in front of a beautifully designed built-in cabinet with the dishes arranged ‘just so’ I heard my client say, “No. This feels off.”
Wait. What? Didn’t we talk about what you used the most and put them at eye level? Aren’t the stoneware and the blues and the vintage pieces grouped and all in the exact place that makes sense? I felt disheartened and a bit deflated. This really felt right. It felt decluttered and spacious. In fact, my brain felt at peace when I peered into the cabinet… but why didn’t she like it?
As a home organizer, I make a lot of change happen in a very short period of time. I come into a home, and in 3-5 hours I will ask a client to get rid of belongings, put those belongings in a different place, and completely change what is familiar. It’s a lot. It makes the brain tired. It can make clients feel like they have to explain why they want to keep objects and what they mean to them. Easy, right? No. It’s hard.
I began to wonder as I was obsessing for a whole weekend over that cabinet and how I could have done it differently. I wondered if my design sense was vastly different from my clients, or if it was just an off day. I pondered if we would work together again, or if that cabinet was deal breaker.
I also began thinking about how I never rearrange my home and who was I to be asking someone else to do that?
I tumbled down the rabbit hole of change. I thought of all of the jobs, relationships, and homes I stayed in too long. I pondered that one pair of pants from high school I will not let go of because just maybe I will fit them again. I don’t do change well either.
With all of this self analyzation also came the realization that everyone has a different journey and EVERYONE has things they hold on to. It might be a person or a home, or maybe they won’t switch from a CD player to Spotify, but we all have our comfort zones. Not all are tangible or can be held in your hands, but we all have them. I realized I tried to push a client through that process.
Being in a home and going through someone’s belongings is a sacred process. Each and every client deserves their process to be handled with understanding and no pride of being in charge or correct, because let’s face it, CHANGE IS HARD. My job, running a home organization service, is to help people reclaim and love their space. What a humbling realization, to put your money where your mouth is. What a joy to be in a business where growth happens each and every session.
No two homes are the same and each and every client will process change differently.
If you have organizing/downsizing needs in the Eugene, Oregon area, please CONTACT me.
healthydownsizing.com 