Professional organizer from Mt. Lebanon addresses how to declutter
When it comes to Christmas decorations, there are a few things Mom might insist.
“You should take this Santa Claus. This Santa has been in our family forever.”
Certified professional organizer Jill Yesko described the typical reaction.
“I don’t want to say, ‘That’s the ugliest, scariest Santa I’ve ever seen.’ I say, ‘Thank you.'” And it promptly goes to a less-than-conspicuous corner of the house to gather dust.
Guilt associated with getting rid of such supposedly sacrosanct objects is one of the primary reasons that people keep stuff, as Yesko addressed in a class she led recently at the Peters Township Community Recreation Center. “Downsizing Your Home, Not Your Lifestyle” focused on how to deal with decades’ worth of accumulation when a move to a smaller residence is imminent.
Mom’s unsightly St. Nick – it likely was foisted upon her, too – might be a good candidate for the trash bin once you apply some rational thought, but other items qualify as keepers, no matter what.
“I have a bookshelf that is not well-made, but there’s no way I’m parting with it because it was Nanny’s,” Yesko said about her grandmother, “and every time I put a book in it, I think of Nanny.”
The Mt. Lebanon resident, who owns Discover Organizing Inc., said that folks in her profession often have a certain reputation: “We’re coming in, and we’re just going to make you get rid of stuff. We’re going to force you to say goodbye to things you just love.
“That’s not what we do,” she explained. “We try to find space for the things that you love. We try to guide you through those decisions, because clutter is just postponed decisions, right? It’s just decisions that you kept putting off, so it kept building up.”
Some other rationales for contributing to the buildup have to do finance, such as “I paid a lot of good money for that” or “It was a real deal at the time.”
Still others:
“There’s nothing wrong with it.”
“We think it’s irreplaceable.”
And, of course: “We don’t know how to get rid of things.”
To help address that last consideration in particular, Yesko recommended plenty of planning ahead.
“Get all your ducks in a row,” she said. “Treat this like a real project, like building a deck or painting a room.”
And to get ready, her system is READY:
• Realistic expectations. Set goals that can be met reasonably, such as starting with a small section instead of attempting to clean out a whole garage at once.
• Energetic. Plan to work during times of the day when your get-up-and-go is at its peak.
• Able to act. Make sure you are physically capable of tasks, and make arrangements for help if necessary.
• Decisive. Work when your mindset is such that you are in the mood to make determinations.
• You, and what you really want.
“This house is your house,” Yesko said. “It’s your house. It’s your life.”
For the actual process of organizing, she recommended drawing a four-square configuration in which to put various items, perhaps in the driveway with chalk designating the areas “keep,” “toss,” “donate” and “sell.”
“Managing your expectations is really important,” she said about the latter, “because what the market will bear on that dining room table is a fraction of what you paid for it.”
Even though Yesko started her company 14 years ago and is a long-standing member of the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers, she still will admit to having her “why I kept this” moments.
“I can’t bake or cook at all, so I thought, I’ll get a piece of equipment that will make the perfect pancake,” she said. “Didn’t work. The batter went into a ball and then slid down the side.
“I held on to it because I had perfect dreams of perfect food, and I finally perfectly gave it away last year.”
Visit discoverorganizing.com for more information.