ClearSpace Success Stories
There is nothing I love more than to see the faces of my clients as we make progress with clearing, downsizing, or transitioning. In each instance, they feel a sense of freedom and relief. Here are just a few of the success stories I’ve been honored to help make possible.
Creating a more functional space
“Amy” was referred to me by an interior designer who discovered that this client actually needed a way to better manage the space they had, rather than making any major construction or design changes.
We began by going through the home, room by room, box by box, and removing items that no longer served Amy’s lifestyle. This is always done with care and consideration, in contrast with the rapid-fire “get rid of this” approach that can feel callous. Reviewing items often makes it much easier for the client to let go, and gives them the sense that they are guiding the process instead of having something dictated to them.
Once items were removed, we then organized and stored the things she wanted to keep—resulting in a living space that was clear, functional, and completely in tune with the life Amy wants to live going forward.
Closing a family chapter with care
“Julie” reached out to me to assist with clearing the longtime home of her parents, who had built it in the 1940s. We removed several tons of detritus from the house and property, setting up an estate sale for items that could be sold while clearing those that had little or no monetary value. Then, when the home was empty, CleanSpace Cleaning Services—our partner company that focuses on deep cleans—took care of the final/pre-listing cleaning.
Just as important as the physical work, however, was the emotional process. Julie told stories about the home, her parents, her upbringing, and even the relationship her family had with the community. Talking through these recollections as we went through the entire space together allowed her to peacefully close a chapter of her life.
Taming the paper monster
I have worked with this client, “Jill,” on a number of projects—so when she needed to go through years of old paperwork, she felt comfortable calling on me for support. Many of these boxes had traveled with her from house to house, year after year, taking up physical space in her home and mental space in her head. We reviewed everything, stored what was necessary, and recycled the rest (after shredding it, of course).
Like many of my projects, several positives emerged for the client: First, she was able to gather and organize important personal and tax documents, which was important from a practical perspective. Second, some of these boxes had been following Jill around for so long in part because they represented times in her life that she felt reticent about reviewing. Our work gave her the opportunity to process things on an emotional level, addressing feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and shame, but also recalling memories of joy and happiness. She felt that a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Keeping an older parent involved
This project involved three clients in the same family—two adult children, “Tim” and “Jonathan,” and their elderly mother, “Helen.” My work primarily centered around assisting Helen with downsizing her home of 37 years to a smaller condo, where she could continue to live independently without the burden of maintaining a large, two-story home.
One room in the house was of particular importance; Helen and I went through the entire space, packed the items that would be taken to the new condo, and recycled or discard the things that were no longer needed. The goal was to ensure Helen felt ownership in the process of leaving her longtime home and in setting up her new space.
Once we completed the clearing process in the single room, she felt confident leaving the rest of it up to the kids, and would weigh in only when she wanted or when a specific question arose.
Working individually—and preserving marital harmony
“Heather” and “Dan” are a married couple who wanted assistance with clearing and organizing spaces in their home—they weren’t moving, but wanted more control over their stuff. As is often the case with spouses, they had very different ideas about what should be kept and where things should go!
I worked with each of them individually on defined areas of the home that we agreed upon beforehand. By separating the work, both Heather and Dan were able to clear and organize areas they felt strongly about, without the frustration that can occur when there are disagreements about particular items or differences in philosophy.
They were pleased with the results, and even found some common ground along the way—meaning they will be able to manage their space more effectively in the future, too.
Taking it slow and steady
After years of accumulation, “Sarah” finally reached the point where she felt her stuff was beginning to control her rather than the other way around. When we met, she outlined what she was feeling and where she ultimately wanted to be—and together we determined where it made the most sense to start.
Some of Sarah’s spaces were quite full, but had items that actually took very little time to review, sort, and replace or remove. For these tasks, it was just a matter of accountability, having someone to help her work through it all.
Other areas, however, took a great deal more time due to emotional attachments. For those we began by working in three-hour increments, because with so many decisions to be made, Sarah found herself tiring mentally. We made significant progress each time we met, and eventually were able to expand our sessions to make more progress. Today, she feels like she has the room to truly live in her space again.