Most often when I work with clients, I ask them where they’d like to begin, thinking they have a clear idea of where to start. Yet this is often not the case. They are often enveloped in a cloud of overwhelm and have no idea as how or where to begin. If they did, they probably would have done so.
My job is to assess what their most pertinent need is so we can get to the heart of their struggle and immediately address where to begin. Often when they say they have no clear idea where to start, I suggest a particular area or category of things. By beginning with something, we get the process moving. They get involved and into action and the clutter issue begins resolving.
Like I’ve said previously in other articles, organizing is a process. It doesn’t happen in one session,though some great changes can be had in just one session. It requires patience and consistency with a dose of persistence to get to the heart of the matter. The client needs the willingness to show up to each phase of the process with an open mind and the willingness to restore order to what had been chaos.
I notice that as we work, the overwhelm can come and go. As the client sees progress, she may notice a lightening, feeling less weighted down and burdened by her stuff. She can start to see a way through the quagmire and the light at the end of a tunnel. There are times in the process when we encounter a new challenge of things and the overwhelm can return, albeit, briefly. The client knows there is a way through this as prior successes have proved.
Overwhelm is an emotional and mental state that flatlines the client’s energy and vitality for living and working within a space. The clutter bears a heavy burden as it squeezes the lifeblood out of one’s focus, attention and creative output. Yet just by taking a step in the direction towards the clutter and not away from it, the opportunity for expression and freedom become more evident and clear. The room takes on the semblance of a living and working space and the true purpose returns. The client sees there are new options aside from overwhelm and dread, fear and embarrassment. When clutter is cleared, the mind has the chance to focus on new ideas, projects, possibilities and potential. Without it, there remains the need to move away from the clutter and experience more of the same debilitating emotional state.
When you are faced with overwhelm, take a breath and step back from what’s before you. These are only things and they don’t control or rule you. With awareness, and the support and guidance of a professional organizer, you can move your space in the direction you desire and experience the empowerment and inspiration by actively recreating and reclaiming what you own.