Moving
the Disorganized Client
Problem:
Mrs.
M., a widow in her 80s with no children, wanted to move to
a retirement community from her home of 27 years. Her brother,
who had power of attorney, was anxious to have this take place.
He lived 800 miles away and was concerned about her health
and safety since she had been starting to have some health
problems and had to give up driving. Both the client and her
brother were concerned about how this move could take place
because Mrs. M. had never thrown out much of anything. In
addition, the contents of a vacation home as well as boxes
full of items left from a business she had owned with her
late husband filled her basement and garage.
Her dining room
table was completely covered with an assortment of paperwork
that included current and old mail, advertisements, and old
bills from the past several years. Each bathroom counter was
crammed with perfume bottles and soaps. The vanities were
so full, that it was virtually impossible to see what was
in them when opening the doors. The closets were all full
and clothes were doubled up behind other clothes so that the
doors could not be fully shut. There was not even an inch
under her bed that was free from shoe boxes, photo albums,
and miscellaneous items that had not been touched in several
years. She was very attached to all of her “stuff”
and wanted all her knick-knacks replicated in the new apartment
on each of her end tables, 2 curios, and 1 hutch cabinet.
Solution:
Mrs.
M’s brother called Moving Forward after being referred
by the retirement community. We met with him when he was in
town for a visit with his sister. He had completed a tentative
floor plan but realized that his sister wished to take more
than he felt was possible. We returned and finalized a floor
plan with Mrs. M. using his example as a starting point, and
were able to make a few compromises that satisfied Mrs. M.
while maintaining a safe and functional environment. At that
visit, we introduced her to a Professional Organizer (Mrs.
B.) who we work with frequently. Mrs. B. worked with our client
weekly for about a month to help prepare her for the move.
They sorted through clothing, paperwork, bathroom items, china,
and kitchen goods one-on-one. In addition, Mrs. B. brought
in her own employees to sort through items in the basement.
They quickly identified everything that was there, and grouped
items in categories. They threw out anything that could not
be used, donated, or sold at an estate sale. By the time Moving
Forward returned to pack, all the difficult decisions had
been made, and the pack proceeded uneventfully.
The day of the
move, the team leader from Moving Forward met the moving company
at the home so Mrs. M. would not be alone. Moving Forward’s
leader helped with last minute arrangements such as heating,
plants, and locks, and drove Mrs. M. along with her most precious
valuables to her new home. The leader had taken pictures of
her curios and end tables prior to packing and although our
staff attempted to reduce the amount of items further at the
unpack by putting some seasonal knick-knacks away, Mrs. M.
felt more comfortable having things the way they had always
been. She did allow us to display some of her china and glassware
in a new way above her kitchen cupboards. We returned a week
later to help with picture arrangement and hanging.
Follow
Up:
The
Professional Organizer we initially referred continued to
sort and clearly identify items left in the home for family
to look through before displaying for an estate sale. Once
the sorting was complete, and hundreds of bags of garbage
picked up by the city, Mrs. B. (the organizer) picked up the
client from her new apartment and spent time with her looking
over what was left at the house to make sure she was comfortable
with all decisions made on what to sell versus what to keep.
During this same time period, she created a filing system
for the new apartment to help Mrs. M. manage her paper clutter.
It took a team
of dedicated professionals to carry off this complicated move
in a relatively short period of time. The client’s brother
was kept abreast of every step and relieved that even though
he was so far away, every detail was attended to by professionals
he trusted. After the move, Mrs. M. began to wear make-up
and her better clothing due to the fact that most of her “worn”
clothing had been sorted out prior to moving. She was meeting
new people and had a renewed desire to look her best. She
began to use her fine china which had been hidden under piles
of older dishes and buried away in her basement. She was observed
continuing social outings with her old friends, as well as
making many new ones at dinner and activities that were just
a short walk from her door.
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