Success Stories with Little Red Stool Organizing
image credit: David Griffiths @itscakefortea
I have the honor of working with people in all stages of life and stages of disorder in their homes. I've worked with people walking through large life events like building a home, moving, downsizing, welcoming the newest member of the family, losing a member of the family, and after the close of a business. The majority of what I do is working in the day-to-day of decluttering so that people can feel peace and freedom in their homes again without feeling like they just had open heart surgery.
While you may think an orderly home is the only goal of what I do, I'd like to share two stories that might help you to see a little bit more of the depth of what I do.
Success in my business is for people to feel peace, not chaos, and freedom, not burden, in their homes. In order to get there we have to get things out of the house that no longer serve the owner. In order to stay this way the owner also has to make some mental shifts.
For the past two years I have spent two mornings a month at Tommie's house. When we started, she was reserved and rigid. She was ready but she was apprehensive. She had reached her limit of chaos and knew she needed some help to get out of it. Through the years she has learned what items she and her family enjoy and will keep up with and has slowly been able to let go of things that don't fit in that category. As we revisited a few areas, she was able to see the things that she kept the first time through and knew without a doubt she no longer needed to save them because they no longer served her or her family. Being active in the ownership of the items in her house has given her strength to de-own them as well giving her a freedom from those items. She enjoys her family, her friends, and her home more now that she is not stressed by her stuff.
About 4 years ago I was asked by Angela's daughter to see if I could help Angela in her overrun home. When Angela contacted me she seemed anxious and only partially willing to have me in her home. At her invitation, I arrived to her home for her consultation. This woman was brilliant, creative, and probably quite literally a genius. She had several hobbies and was involved in a number of outside pursuits. Her home showed it through piles and piles and piles. Angela was a hoarder. Her house had gotten to the point that she needed to move out. As I built trust with her she let me ask her more direct questions that helped her to decide more easily what she wanted to keep up with. As we started declaring what would be moved and some items went over she had a major breakthrough. She had taken all she needed on a regular basis over to her new bathroom. The next week she said to me, “I don’t need anything else in that bathroom to come over to the new place. I have all I need.” And we proceeded to let go of the things that were left. Years later you may never know that she lived like she did. I feel the need to say that Angela had good support in multiple areas of her life and is not the typical story of other hoarders that I have worked with who have not had this kind of success. Nonetheless, what a joy to see her growth.
Does the word "chaos" characterize the way you feel about your home? Would you like to experience more peace in your home instead? Contact me and we can talk about the best way to get you from chaos to peace.