As someone surrounded by her share of “do it yourself” attitudes, asking for professional help came hard to me. At work, I was organized and could easily knock off a to-do list like nobody’s business. But that same level of organization didn’t translate over to my home space, and it was clear…I needed help.
Conquer the Clutter
It’s no secret that space is a commodity – homes are just getting smaller and smaller. When I set out to declutter our spare bedroom (for the umpteenth time), the overwhelm was intense. Sure, I could have just ‘cleaned up’ and tossed everything out that accumulated in our tiny room, but that didn’t solve the problem at its core: we really had no idea how to organize our living space and actually stay clutter-free.
It was there in my dumping yard that I realized that professional organizers exist for a reason.
Enter in the Organizing Experts
Just as you call an accountant when it’s time to do your taxes, or visit your mechanic when you hear a rattle coming from the car — that was how I approached seeking out a professional organizer. Sure, I could do my own taxes and change my own car oil, but just because I can doesn’t mean I should. There are people much more qualified to do those things. I knew hiring a professional organizer wouldn’t be cheap. So, I did a little research on industry rates, and while they were premium, I knew that the investment would be worth it. Why? Because no amount of organizational hack articles or DIY gusto would save me. I had already tried the DIY route and the clutter was only getting worse. I needed an objective, experienced opinion to help me move forward.
Enter in Ease Up – The Organizing Experts.
How It Started
I booked the consultation and felt instant relief — maybe it was because I knew help was on the way to deal with my mess or because I had always been interested in knowing just how organizing experts work. Either way, I was surprisingly excited.
I met with Lindsay and Sarah and not only did they bring the expertise, they brought the energy! They scanned every inch of our home, asked how we used our living space and got right to work on sharing practical solutions on how to elevate our home organization.
One might think that having complete strangers enter your home to assess how organized you are would be intimidating, but I welcomed the fresh set of eyes and soaked in all the feedback they were willing to share. When you’re in the thick of it, it’s hard to see things for what they really are — Lindsay and Sarah were naturals at making us feel comfortable about the whole process, no judgement, no criticism.
Time for the Heavy Lifting
The day had come and the excitement was at an all-time high for me. The Ease Up team came back to tackle my kitchen and the dumping yard we called our spare room. Since the kitchen is the heart of any home, we started there.
Watching them unload all of my drawers and cupboards was, honesty, fascinating. No inch of the kitchen was untouched. My living room, now full of stuff, became the working space. Seeing every single kitchen item laid out and categorized paved the way for swift decision making and purging. Before, purging for me meant clearing out only one cupboard at a time. Since I never saw the whole landscape of stuff, I never stood a chance at clearing out the clutter.
I’ll admit, there was a small part of me that assumed the team would be…assertive in their guidance on the amount of stuff we scrapped but they weren’t, at all. They were great coaches in helping us view each item with intention, which meant there was no decision fatigue or battling indecisiveness about what to keep and what to toss.
After we decided what to keep, it was time to put things back into place. They organized my kitchen like a grocery store to make cooking a breeze. They made “kits” with baskets and items that went together every single day. They opened my eyes to what being organized really meant: less stress and greater ease. Our kitchen finally made sense.
Clearing the Dumping Yard
Next was our spare bedroom. They attacked the clutter with the same level of energy they had when they first walked through the door. My only apprehension to this space was that it had to be completely cleared and I had no idea where we would actually put all the stuff back into.
You know the comfort you feel when a friend tells you it will all be okay? That was what we felt when the Ease Up team started clearing the room.
One of the best suggestions Lindsay gave during our consultation was to move our dining table right behind our couch. We decided to give it a try and because we did, she was able to visualize the perfect spot for the items we had to keep — a bookcase, my desk, craft supplies and paper items. Since the living room is where life happens, it made sense to move the items there.
Clear Spaces Equals Clear Minds
Watching the Ease Up team do what they do best, bring greater ease to people’s lives through organizing, was enlightening for me. Never in a million years would I have been able to do it as effectively or efficiently as they did.
Working with Ease Up was cathartic. After we dropped off the car load of donation items, the release of tension was unbelievable — knowing that we were finally rid of items that were just taking up space was almost liberating in a way.
We had finally designed some white space into our lives and I felt like I could breathe again.
The reaction of our five year old was probably the best part of the next day: when I gave her a tour of our newly organized kitchen, she squealed with nothing but delight and excitement. The smile on her face was unforgettable and the words she said next completely encompassed the experience of working with the organizing experts: “It’s like a brand new house. I love it!”
Ease Up—The Organizing Experts in Toronto, can help transform your overwhelm. Find out more about our Organizing and Decluttering Services here.