People think organizing is a “luxury” service. Or it becomes a taboo topic that no one talks about because they are so embarrassed that they would need help organizing their homes and their lives. Secretly, they hide the clutter by shoving it out of sight every time someone knocks on the door. Friends may even think their home is such a nice, tidy place and feel even more shame of their own mess at home. This cycle continues until living with too much stuff just becomes the norm. Everyone accepts it and struggles with living their day-to-day in psychological warfare with their home.
I found myself right smack in the middle of a warzone at the beginning of this year. I unexpectedly became the caretaker for my grandparents, which included moving my family of 5 in the upstairs of their small home. My grandmother has the too much stuff problem, the “clutter bug.” She grew up with little stuff, didn’t feel like she could have her own thoughts and ideas, and ended up in a belittling first marriage. These problems compounded to create a lovely woman, but one who has trouble letting go of her belongings. They all tell a story and she loves them so.
Various collections filled the home and each one was precious to her. She could tell you where it all came from and what it meant. These collections were housed on antique furniture – family heirlooms – that she cherished even more than the items that filled them. She also had a sewing room, her creative space, which she couldn’t even walk into.
All of this meant that at her age, 73, the home wasn’t safe for her or my grandfather anymore. Paths were narrow, stuff cluttered the walls and was easily knocked off as one of them stumbled along each day, and daily tasks were even more of a chore because stuff had to be rearranged first. Most nights, they didn’t sleep in the bed because it was full of clothes or craft supplies.
Moving an additional 5 people in the home seemed crazy, but with their various health problems and failing hearts, it had to be done and I couldn’t just throw it all out. I love her too much and seeing all of her things ripped from her life would have killed her. Since I had small babies, I had no choice but to make the home safe and I had no idea how I was going to accomplish such a gigantic task.
I looked up organizers on the Internet and found WOW Organizing. The business is owned by Professional Organizer, Ann Custer. She was a Godsend. Even though I wasn’t in Ann’s “usual service area,” we still talked about booking an appointment with her and getting the house under control. First, I wanted to pack up my apartment and prepare the upstairs of Grandma’s home. What I didn’t tell Ann is that I had to find a way to pay for her services first.
A few weeks went by and Ann called me and asked if I was free on such and such dates. I told her that I’d be busy working on Grandma’s house, but other than that I was. She then informed me that she had free time in her schedule and wanted to drive up to Luray, where I lived, to help me get Grandma’s house straightened up. Before I could even speak, she calmly told me that she wouldn’t charge me for the sessions or the travel time. That it was so great to see someone doing the right thing and she knew I was in over my head and desperately needed help. She said if she could be even the slightest help, she felt she ought to. So she did. I have trouble accepting help, but I needed it bad, so I agreed.
When she arrived, she was so warm and friendly with my grandmother and my family. She brought coloring books for my kids and even took the time to read them a story the second day she was there. My grandmother was pretty sick at this time (beginning congestive heart failure that was undiagnosed then), but Ann worked with her patiently to help get her sewing room into something she could enjoy again. When grandma got tired, Ann worked with me. She helped me make decisions about items I didn’t know anything about and where to put the things that my grandma didn’t want to let go of.
She was encouraging and comforting. I felt like I was drowning before she arrived, but her presence was like a life raft and I knew that not only would I float again, I’d sail. Ann worked with us for 3 days and taught me some great organizing strategies that I was able to use to get the remainder of the house ready.
Rarely do you find someone who just wants to help for the sake of helping. At least, to me it’s rare. All I could offer Ann was lots of appreciation and that was enough for her. I’m not a resident of Roanoke, but I wanted to let you all know how lucky you are to have such a star so close by.
Ann still keeps in touch with me to see how everyone is and to continue to encourage me. She sent cards on all of the holidays this year, which meant a lot to grandma. Thanks to her help, we were able to move in grandma’s home and be here each day to take care of them. It’s literally saved their lives and I couldn’t be more grateful for the blessing that made this possible.
Amy Coleman – Luray VA
