Making any life change requires a strong decision. We believe there are 3 qualifiers to any strong decision we make. If these three qualifiers are there, the decision to engage in any activity or life path is easy. On the other hand, if one or more of these qualifiers are missing, then potential for failure increases.
When working with potential organizing clients we talk through these three qualifiers to establish if the client is truly ready for change.
1) What’s your why?
Why do you want to start organizing your home? If you have ownership of this decision, then we are good to go. On the other hand, getting organized to stop your husband nagging is not a strong enough reason to initiate. You should want it for yourself. You might be thinking, “I want to organize my bedroom, to create a beautiful space to wake up to, and not have piles of papers and boxes of items I need to sort through daily. “ Perhaps you have learned over time that your ADD brain needs to start quietly from bed, to ease into a productive day. These reasons sound like a solid why.
2) Do you have the support you need?
In some situations, we may decide on a course of action and be off and running. In other situations, we have trouble getting going and we need a cheerleader right there next to us. I need a trainer at the gym to get me to lift weights and do pushups. I didn’t know how to set up the machines, how to set up a series of workouts focusing on different muscle groups, or what good form was. An appointment with my trainer also increases the likelihood of me making it to the gym.
As professional home organizers, we spend most of our day being a body double to clients, supporting them in organizing a room, or on the project they have postponed because it was just too overwhelming to start. We keep the energy high, yet calm, and we keep them on task. We move donations, trash, and recycling out of the room, and we offer up choices of what to do with things so that clients can choose what appeals to them. We offer up space design and product recommendations to better use the space. What level of support feels right for you?
3) Let’s establish a deadline for this project.
Bringing time into a decision makes it real. Be authentic about the choice and be true to yourself as well. For example, you might make the statement that you will clean out the basement by Valentine’s Day and you plan on buying a ping pong table for that newly cleared space as a family gift of love. (you even know you will use nail polish on a couple balls and put hearts on them) We can start working backwards to plan to be finished by Valentine’s Day.
Conversely, if you don’t even know what day Valentine’s Day is and can’t stand American holiday consumerism, then this decision will not stick. Choosing an ambiguous day just because we asked you for one and then watching it slip by, extending it, and seeing it go by again means you may not be truly committed to tackling your basement project. Put some skin in the game, invite someone you care for over to see your place. Know you want to be proud of the home you show your visitors. Work with us to have the space ready by the date of the upcoming visit. To be truly ready, the project must be a high priority, and its completion needs to be very important to you, important enough to set a deadline.