Oops! Not all the pics posted. I guess I tried to add too many! Let me try this again… I had only three days for this, and @thewalkers3 (Wendy Walker) and I basically overhauled my entire home - except for one very terrible hot mess room (“The Box Room”). I recognized how far things had gone (see my previous posts), and wisely asked Wendy to help! I really thought through the overwhelm, was clear on the scope of this project, had a clear plan, and a clear goal! Throughout these three days, Wendy and I would strategize together, and bounce ideas off each other about organization solutions! (Honestly, that part was super cool! That was a clear bonus of doing this with an organizer rather than someone who dies not have this gifting. It was fun to share ideas and build even better ideas together!) At least four very full trash bags were filled. There is a generous pile of donations that Dad and I will pick up today, and Dad will take them to the Assistance League thrift store where my stepmom volunteered regularly in her healthier days. As we were wrapping up on Friday, Wendy said she did not think we would complete this project in the time available! That just shows you how severe this was! Each day was roughly 9AM to 4PM, but I smartly arrived about three hours early to start unloading “The Black and White Room” and staging work areas to give us a head start. I have been living on Dad’s couch to support him for a year, and spent all waking moments at his house for the year prior, even doing my Zoom classes from his kitchen. My home had become a disaster zone. If we were decluttering and moving things from his house to mine, things would get dropped off and we would just leave, out of concern for Dad’s energy levels and whatever else we were doing - typically visiting my stepmom in her Alzheimer’s home. That would be a total of about four hours of driving, so I needed to be very mindful of Dad’s energy level. At that time he did not feel emotionally strong enough to go visit her on his own, but he is able to do that now. Yes, my dad is an amazing driver! Anyway, I will attempt to show just a couple before/after pics to give you a clearer idea of his much was accomplished! I am so, so happy to have this much done! My goal was a livable space! There is much more to do in each space, but I was not going to focus on minutia at this point. I definitely had a MACRO rather than MICRO focus for these three days. Dad came by to fix the closet rod holder that had broken (must have been an earthquake because there was other odd damage, too). He was STUNNED when he walked in! It really had gotten so bad, and he knew why. He said, “This looks much more like YOUR home!” Wendy and I already have a basic plan of attack for “The Box Room” and start/finish dates. Details can only be formulated once we unload the space and see what is truly in there! This promises to be very scary and seriously overwhelming. That one room alone will be far more involved than the rest of my entire home has been! Stay tuned!

Posted by Lorie Gibson at 2022-04-16 11:17:03 UTC