PROJECTS

Case Study #1

Busy professional and world traveler whose small apartment has been shrinking as the clutter piled up.

Challenge:

  • One-bedroom New York apartment that has gotten increasingly cluttered over the past decade.
  • Front-hall closet door no longer closes, obstructing front door access.
  • Cluttered surfaces and piles of clothing in bedroom preventing setup of workstation needed for Zoom meetings and privacy from rambunctious dog.
  • Frequent unnecessary purchases due to lack of knowledge of what is already in the apartment and/or where it is.
  • Kitchen table stacked with piles of mail, bills, and unsorted paperwork making it hard to eat dinner and host guests.

 

Solution:

  • After taking everything out of the front-hall closet and sorting items into “keep,” “toss,” and “maybe,” I suggested doing the same with the additional closets, as they likely have overlapping items that need joint organizing. Understanding that closets are prime real-estate in New York, my first priority was making sure these were used as efficiently as possible.
  • Clearing space in bedroom enabled assembly of small desk that had been in a box for several months, creation of small, efficient, ergonomic, and attractive workspace. Also meant client could keep rambunctious dog in other room during important Zoom meetings!
  • Culling and organizing books on living-room shelves freed space to showcase client’s beautiful collection of handmade pottery (which was otherwise hidden behind the books) and enabled placement of prized cookbooks next to the kitchen, where they are easy to access and more likely to be used.
  • Organizing items based on when and how they are used – e.g., all dog items in a small unit of drawers moved from the hallway to the closet, and shopping bags on top of it – helps ensure they are accessible when needed, prevents unnecessary searches and purchases.
  • Knowing what you already have in the house and keeping a running shopping list on the refrigerator or your phone reduces waste in shopping trips

 

Although this started as a closet project, shifting to a bottom-to-top declutter provided a foundation that allowed my client to maintain the organized and decluttered space, despite the long workdays and frequent travel.

Case Study #2

Retired couple looking to downsize can't figure out where to begin.

Challenge:

  • Over forty-three years in the same house, a huge amount of clutter built up in virtually every corner, including inherited furniture, artwork, and other items from all four parents when they passed away, and bedrooms full of outdated clothes, books, etc. from children who moved out decades ago.
  • Memories, nostalgia, and guilt make it difficult to let go of items owned, or made, by the prior generation.
  • Uncertainty as to when the next move will be, and to where, exacerbates the difficulty of making decluttering decisions.

 

Solution:

  • Tackling one room at a time (or, in some cases, a corner of a room) and spacing decluttering sessions further apart made the process less daunting.
  • Identifying a select handful of inherited items to pass along to the next generation (and the subsequent one) made it easier to part with the bulk of items that would not be wanted.
  • Designating great local charities to donate to provided incentives to get rid of clothes and household items that weren’t being used but had been difficult to part with.
  • Securing even a small “win” after each mini-project kept the momentum strong.
  • Framing the next home as an opportunity, rather than a step “down,” helped generate excitement about tackling piles of old mail and other papers, clear out the coat closet, and other projects.

 

Giving my clients even a small “homework” assignment after each session ensured that the whole-house cleanup would continue to progress at a pace they were comfortable with, and boosted their confidence that they could do it.