I’ve noticed this a lot recently when I’ve been helping clients organize their closets or dresser drawers. We are sorting the items into categories, and the client says, “Oh, I don’t wear that. I keep it because it has a special memory associated with it.” As soon as I hear that, I say, “Then this isn’t clothing. This is memorabilia.”
Read more →Today, my sister and I finished clearing out our family home of nearly 40 years. It wasn’t the home we grew up in — we moved out of that apartment three weeks before I graduated high school. But it was where we introduced our parents to the men who would become their sons-in law; where we brought our children to play with their cousins; where we mourned our mother three years ago and helped my father reestablish his new life, which ended two…
Read more →I’ve always loved these lyrics from the musical The King and I, which Anna sings in the introduction to the song Getting to Know You: It’s a very ancient saying But a true and honest thought That when you become a teacher, By your pupils you’ll be taught. As a Professional Organizer for the last seven years, I can vouch for this. Although clients hire me to teach them how to live their lives in a more organized fashion, I frequently…
Read more →Have you been saving something for years because “it will be worth a lot of money someday?” Ah, yes, that mythical “someday”. I often encounter this with my clients. It could be something (or a collection of things) that they have been saving since childhood. Or it could be something they have inherited in recent years. It’s never been easier to check the value of your collectibles. Just go to eBay and search for items like yours. You’ll see how much…
Read more →Yesterday was Father’s Day. My sister and I decided to celebrate with my father at his apartment, the first family gathering there since my mother passed away nearly four months ago. With my 19-year old niece home from college for the summer and my 15-year old daughter about to leave for camp, it seemed like a good time for us to go through my mother’s jewelry.
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