WHAT DOES HOARDING LOOK LIKE ?

With the surge of Hoarding shows on T.V. people ask me all the time if I work with hoarders and when I tell them that I do their next comment is usually something like “That’s disgusting. I would just throw everything in the garbage” or “I would just burn the house down”.

Well…. that’s not the right way to work with hoarders. In fact, that would cause more damage. It takes a lot for a hoarder (or a family member) to actually pick up the phone and call an organizer. If you just start throwing all of their things in the garbage you are in fact telling them that “their stuff is not important, it’s worthless” and you have lost them. You have lost their trust and respect. And once you have lost that, the project will be stalled if not halted.

Working with hoarders requires a lot of patience and special training. Having a Certificate of Study in Chronic Disorganization and a Certificate of Study in Basic Hoarding Issues with the CD Client in addition to classes in mental health issues has really helped me to understand how to work with hoarders.

For some of my really severe hoarding clients there are other people involved in the process. People such as mental health professionals, social workers, the health department, lawyers, Adult Protective Services….

Unfortunately, most of these people don’t really know anything about hoarding. I’ve had numerous social workers tell me that “they got other people to help their client throw out the garbage”. At which point my mouth dropped open and I wanted to say to them “are you kidding ?”

It just shows how little they know and understand about hoarding and how to work with hoarders.

For one hoarding client who had no running water the social worker said to me “I’ll give her some dry shampoo and she’ll be fine”. I was stunned and disgusted with the social worker. She obviously didn’t care about her client and did nothing to help her. Her insight into the actual work and time frame that would be needed to get her client to have a livable house was totally unrealistic.

Hoarding is a complex issue. One that cannot be taken lightly. One that cannot be fixed in an hour or day or week or month. It’s not like on T.V..

Organizational Consulting Services

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WHY WE KEEP THINGS

Having a clutter free house or life is not always easy. Sometimes even the most organized people keep things that they no longer need or things they have never used for various reasons. Reasons that don’t even make sense. Reasons that are not logical. Reasons that go back years.

We all do it. Some of us just don’t admit it. Some of us hide it deep in the back of the closet.

So why do we keep things we really don’t need or even want? For a variety of reason. Most of them emotional or psychological.

But things that we no longer want or need really is just clutter. So let it go. And let go of the guilt that goes along with it.

Why we keep things:

* My mother gave it to me (what if she asks about it?)
* My best friend gave it to me
* It was expensive
* I might need it …someday
* I’m saving it for my children (grandchildren)
* I promised that I would keep it forever
* I can use it for parts
* I’m losing weight and might wear it again
* It might come back in style
* I promised to keep it forever
* My husband gave it to me
* My wife gave it to me
* It has sentimental value (even thought it’s broken or ugly)
* I’m going to get around to reading it (magazines, books…)
* I’m going to make _________ out of it
* I’m going to have a garage sale
* I’m going to sell it on e-bay

“I’m going to” seems to be a theme.

You haven’t and are not going to.

So …… get rid of it!


Remember …… LESS CLUTTER = LESS STRESS (sm)


Organizational Consulting Services

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Thanksgiving advice

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

For more information and great advice... re-read :

AN ORGANIZED AND STRESS FREE THANKSGIVING

http://professionalorganizer4u.blogspot.com/search?q=thanksgiving

STARTING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

The holidays are right around the corner. Before you know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here.

I am sure that you are all ready. All prepared. All organized. And calm.

Glad to hear it. Now that makes two of us !

I’m sure that you’ve already been exposed to Christmas ads and holiday stuff wherever you turn. And it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.

The stress is starting to set in. Some people already can’t wait for the holidays to be over. How sad.

It’s supposed to be a happy time. A time for family and friends to get together. But the pressure to put on a great holiday meal and have a festive house is too much for most people.

Don’t let the commercialism spoil things for you.

Dig deep into yourself and try to remember how much you loved the holidays as a child and try to re-create that feeling…without the commercialism.

Start by knowing if you are going to host the holiday meal this year or if you are going to someone else’s house and will only have to bring an item for dinner. If you are bringing an item be sure to ask the host / hostess what they prefer that you bring. Let them set the menu. Don’t force your ideas on them. You can have a chance later.

If you are hosting the holiday dinner then it’s time to get started on planning your menu. Write everything out and go over the menu with your family. Let everyone feel that they are participating in the planning of the meal. Holidays are a time for favorite foods. They will always be the best memory of the holiday.

When planning your desserts also think ahead for the Christmas holidays and plan on buying enough of the baking supplies that you need to get you through that holiday. You might as well get it out of the way all at once.

Once you have your menu set break it down into ingredients and put whatever you will need to buy on a shopping list. Remember, some things you might not be able to buy until right before the holiday.

If you’re like me and like to make enough food and desserts for everyone to take home be sure that you have enough plastic containers or cookies containers for everyone. You can buy inexpensive plastic containers because you might not get yours back for a long time. There are plenty of really cute holiday cookie containers available. Wait for a sale and grab a few. They make great gifts if filled with holiday cookies.



Organizational Consulting Services

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Organizing Your Life - Preparing of the Unexpected

Listen to internet radio with The Joyful Organizer on Blog Talk Radio

Being prepared for the unexpected is something that most people don't want to think about. But it's something that everyone needs to do. Having all of your legal, medical & health information documented and having someone know where to find it.... in case of an emergency, illness or death .... is critical.

Listen to this Radio Show and start getting yourself organized today.
It's crucial.

ORGANIZE YOUR PRIORITIES

Having a big house and new clothes and being able to do whatever you want is great. But at what price?

If you have to work at a job that you hate and work fifty (50) or sixty (60) hours a week and rarely get to see your spouse and kids, is it worth it?

For some people the answer is yes. They are all about materialistic things.

For others they just want to be comfortable and their priority is their family.

But for some people they have to work at a job they don’t like and work long hours because that is the only way to make ends meet.

The bottom line is “what are your priorities?”

In today’s society it seems to be all about “things”. People don’t spend time together as a family. They don’t eat together or play together. Everything is about “instant gratification.

It’s sad. And it won’t be until the adults are older and the kids are gone and don’t have time for them and don’t participate in their lives that the reality of the situation will sink it.

So…. change it!

Organize your priorities!

Don’t waste your time or money on “keeping up with the neighbors”. Keep up with your family. Spend time with your family. Have family dinners. Have family “time” (games, talking, activities….).

Yes, the kids will whine and complain. So what! They will get over it. But if you don’t start acting as a family now you will turn around and your ten year old will be going off to college and you wonder what happened to those lost years. Years that you can never get back.

So cut out the texting and being a zombie in front of the computer and video games and go back to the old fashioned way of actually talking to one another and interacting.

Stop shopping and buying their love. Stop filling your home with “things”. Fill your home with your family.

Make your family your priority. Don’t lose that precious time that you have with your kids. They will be gone before you know it.


Less Clutter = Less Stress (sm) ….. in your home, your business and your life.


Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

START YOUNG – GET KIDS ORGANIZED

It’s never too early to start teaching your kids to be neat and organized. When my grandchild was only two years old she knew that before she left my house to go back home she had to put her toys away. She knew that I had a toy basket where I put all of her books and toys and that’s where everything went. No excuses. I like my home neat and I expected her to help. All it took was my showing her how to put the toys back in the basket and she quickly followed my example.

An organized home doesn’t miraculously happen. It takes everyone in the home to create an environment that is organized and functions smoothly. Having kids doesn’t mean that your home has to be disorganized or a cluttered mess. Children learn from their parents. If you start expecting things from your children at a young age and teach them responsibility you can have a home that is neat and organized.

The point is to teach your child some valuable tools for the future. It is really important to give them encouragement and let them know that they did a good job.

The problem that I seem to have run into is that most of the parents that I deal with have no expectations of their children. Toys and clothes are strewn all over the house and the children are never told to put them away.

Or if they are told, the kids ignore the “request” and the parents ignore the fact that they are being ignored. See the cycle?

In today’s society most households have two parents that work, therefore it’s more important than ever that kids help out around the house. Parents are parents…not maids and butlers. Maybe it’s the fact that both parents do work and have less time than they did years ago that they feel guilty about not being around and therefore allow their children to get away with not helping. They are not doing their children any favors.

By not teaching them to help around the house or to pick up after themselves they are setting them up for failure.

An organized child will do better in school. If they have their rooms organized and their clothes organized they will have everything at their fingertips and will not be late for school and they will be prepared for their classes.

Some parents think that just because they themselves are not very neat and organized means that they can’t or don’t have the right to tell their children to pick up after themselves. This is where I have to remind them that they are the parent. They have rights that children don’t. Remember the old saying: “do what I say and not what I do”?

How many parents are overwhelmed by math and science today? Does that mean that your kids don’t have to do their homework? Just because you don’t get it?

It’s the same way with being organized. Just because you may not be the most organized person doesn’t mean that you can’t expect your child to be. If you can’t teach them to be organized yourself then you can hire a professional organizer to come in and teach them to be organized… just as you would hire a swim instructor if you can’t swim or an ice skating instructor if you can’t skate.

I’ve had parents hire me to teach their children how to organize their room and organize their closets and show them how to fold their clothes (instead of just shoving them into their drawers). Kids tend to listen to everyone except their parents.

Give your child the tools they need to be successful. Start them young and expect things from them. They will thank you….later…when they are grown up.

Some things that kids can do:

2 – 4 year olds

Put away toys
Pick up clothes off of the floor

4 – 6 year olds

Clean up spills
Wipe kitchen table
Learn to make bed
Learn to set the table
Match socks

6 – 8 year olds

Make the bed
Put dishes away
Sweep the floors
Put clothes into the hamper
Set the table
Clear the table
Learn to separate clothes for the laundry
Dust

8 – 12 year olds

Put their own laundry away
Help make dinner
Make their own lunches
Rake leaves
Help wash the car
Empty garbage
Clean the bathroom
Help with actually doing the laundry
Weed the garden

13 – 15 year olds

Clean the entire house
Learn to manage their schedule
Mow the lawn
Yard work
Wash the car on their own
Babysit

16 – 18 year olds

Get an after school job
Go to the grocery store
Run errands as needed
Learn how to make a resume
Learn how to manage money



Organizational Consulting Services

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