The Right Organizing Fit.

I had a heartbreaking conversation with a client this week.  She related that she had won a three hour organizing consultation as a prize at a fundraising auction.  She was delighted as we had worked together and she understands the value of organizing help.

The client told me how this expert spent much of the time going from space to space telling her she had to throw this away and that away.  The organizer gave her the impression that her collections were childish and unnecessary.  These judgments cut like a knife.

This expert made this lovely lady feel like she was bad, incapable and needed to be told how to do things. The client watched as the organizer pointed out her treasures and collections as though they were worthless.

She told me she could not wait to get her out the door and felt badly if other clients who worked with her felt the same and had nothing to compare it to.  Different clients respond to differing approaches but the goal is the transfer of organizing skills from the organizer to the client.  I have had many clients tell me over the years that they hired organizers to help them put their stuff away and the organizer did the work and the system quickly fell apart because they did not choose or understand the system.

While I cannot evaluate anyone else’s systems when they work with clients I can tell you from my experience that all clients feel pain in their disorganization and it is my job to help them to understand their belongings and what caused them to acquire too much, why their systems don’t work and to help them discover what they need to keep and why.  Once they establish and understand their system, they are on the road to success; they can decide what to keep and what to honor in their spaces.  They will feel a lightening and joy in letting things go and creating their dreams. This work takes time, patience and understanding that we all have the ability within us; we just need help to learn, nurture and grow these skills.

Sometime the client work will go quickly and for others more slowly, but in the end the client will be able to realize their vision of what an organized life looks like.

I hope you feel supported in your efforts to get organized.  You are worth it!