Looking for a way to make your organizing project more efficient or to support someone else’s organizing project?  Here’s a key tip to reach that objective:  get the family involved!  My experience as a Professional Organizer has taught me that family support and involvement has several positive impacts.  First, the client feels that they are not “in this alone”.  Support and encouragement from family helps to ease the stress of letting go of possessions.  I’ve seen how the spirits of clients are lifted by direct family support.  I have also seen how clients react positively to the relief and joy in their families when getting rid of possessions that the family may have had to deal with in the future.

Another important way that family members support the process is by taking an active role in the decisions to donate, recycle, sell or keep various possessions.  For example, a client may want to keep something thinking that a family member really wants the item. However after open and honest discussion, the client may find that the family member doesn’t really want it.  I have also seen just the opposite, in a situation where a client wants to donate or sell an item not knowing that a family member wants or needs the item.   In conclusion, whether you are engaged in your own organizing project or you are a professional organizer, get the family involved!

“The Boomer Burden” by Julie Hall is an excellent resource.