The Problem and The Solution
One of my clients approached me about organizing their daughter’s room. Her daughter was wanting a “big girl room” and step one for them was to declutter and organize.
This was a fun coaching session and the goal was to not only declutter and show her how to fold clothes (to increase visibility and storage), but also to highlight the most important possessions to my client’s daughter, the stuffed toys and art supplies.
I have found that if a space has not been decluttered there are storage options hiding under all the stuff that will open up once we get started removing the unnecessary items. At the time her stuffed toys were stacked in large baskets and I noticed that the 2 top shelves of her closet were storing items that she didn’t need. After clearing out those shelves we were able to create a visible display for the cherished toys.
During this process I worked very closely with the girl as we cleaned and organized her room. Each day we worked on one section at a time, splitting up her closet, desk area, book shelf, and dresser, into work for different days. I helped remove items from their space and she and I went through each item together. She had to decide to throw out an item, keep or donate. After each session I allowed around a week to give her time to finish anything we didn’t go through and possibly start decluttering the next section.
I like setting aside some time to do a 1:1 with a client and giving them homework gives them time to learn how to declutter/organize and to apply those skills independently.
Tips and Tricks
The main takeaway from this project is to:
start with the easiest section/category of your room, something that is not sentimental, in this client’s case it was clothing.
Tackle 1-2 sections of your room each session.
Use a friend, family member, or professional to get a second set of eyes on your project, this can help you avoid getting overwhelmed.
Just take one step at a time!