A few weeks ago, #TeamIJS was called upon to help a woman pack up her home. The client had originally contacted me a few months ago to reserve an entire week to do a lot of decluttering and finally go through boxes she had never unpacked from her last move a few years ago. In other words, she had procrastinated, a very common problem that we see all the time.
And then when it comes time to move again?
More procrastination.
(Side note re: procrastination...click HERE for a very interesting article from ADDitude. a great online resource about all things related to ADD/ADHD. Even if you identify as neurotypical rather than neurodivergent, I think it is still worth the few minutes to read.)
And then we get the panic calls for help...sigh.
I asked this particular client back in April if we could just start the decluttering much sooner rather than later because, you know, "stuff happens", however, she insisted she wanted to wait until the week before her move at the beginning of July.
When we did have a virtual consult two months ago, I saw the degree of clutter and did strongly advise that she try her best to chip away at what could only be described, yet with no judgment, as a hoarder situation. I recommended, as I always do, to create a reminder on her phone and/or computer to set aside about 15-30 minutes a day and just focus on one small area or a few boxes at a time. I made sure to check in prior to the end of June to see what if any progress she was making on her own. The response was always, "I'm trying but I am really struggling". I offered again and again to help get her "unstuck" but she just kept saying, "It'll be fine".
And then I got a text response one day saying she had been bitten by a raccoon and was having some severe reactions that ultimately landed her in the hospital the week we were finally due to do the decluttering and then packing.
Yep, stuff definitely happened...and sadly it meant that we really couldn't do much decluttering without her. What we might think is trash may be, as often is the case, a true treasure to her.
So with her son stepping in at the 11th hour, we attacked the house and garage and...
...after countless bags of garbage and other items that her son did deem as trash that filled a Bagster
...an enormous amount of food and other donatable things taken to various donation centers
...a last minute decision to rent a Uhaul truck to load everything that would fit in it (there was literally not one inch of space left when the door was shut) and take it to a nearby storage facility for the client to hopefully get to at some point in the not too distant future and finally get a chance to edit down as much as possible...
7 team members managed to get the house completely cleared out except for a few remaining pieces of furniture and some more boxes that got taken to storage after we left by one of our newest moving partners that we found through another client and are thrilled to have as part of our ever-growing network of referral sources.
Our hearts went out to our client, of course, but also to her son who we could tell was rather overwhelmed by the role he was suddenly thrust into by his mother to essentially clean up, dare I say, her mess. Again, no judgment, but this was clearly not something he anticipated dealing with, especially while he was moving at the same time.
Moral of the story...don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today or someone else may make decisions for you that you may not like.
Thanks to my amazing #TeamIJS for once again showing up and giving it everything they have to get the job done. It was a dirty job but someone had to do it and we all did it with kindness and compassion for the situation at hand.
Meanwhile, these socks?...
One of my team members found them somewhere and decided they need to be part of our team uniform moving forward. Yes, we are a team of men and women but we are ok with the guys wearing them too. Whether or not they will is up to them. 😏
And this money?...
It's the amount we found over the course of the day. We always take bets as to how much we think we will find and jokingly tell our clients that whoever guesses closest gets to keep it all. When we once found over $20K, but our client revoked our deal! 🤣
So that's what is on our minds this Wednesday. If you've got anything on your mind that may involve hiring us to help, be sure to fill out our contact form by clicking HERE for a virtual consult. Please be aware that beginning September 1st we are going to be charging for new client consults scheduled for 15 minutes or 30 minutes in advance but the cost will be deducted from your project cost if you do end up booking with us (existing or returning clients will not be charged for consults).
We never wanted to have to implement initial consult fees but it has gotten to the point where the time we have to do them is somewhat limited, Unfortunately, we have had too many people forget or cancel last minute and that really affects our ability to protect the integrity of our schedule. The costs and options (virtual vs in person and amount of time) will be available on our website along with the ability to schedule them online and pay for it at the time of booking. We hope you understand and appreciate your cooperation. These types of decisions are never easy for a business owner but sometimes we just have to do it and let the chips fall where they may.
Be well and remember, always be kind,
Beth