Organizing is about balance: enough stuff – not too little, not too much; enough stuff in your time available – not too little, not too much.  Its also about having the right stuff at the right time in balance with the priorities of your life.  As many of you know, I work with a significant number of hoarding clients.  Much of our work together involves helping them balance the stuff in their lives with other priorities.

So when one of my clients called to cancel our session this week in favour of supporting his family through his newborn grandson’s critical state following a difficult delivery, I knew his priorities were in the right order.

The pictures we see of perfect, beautiful, organized rooms in magazines are exactly that: beautiful rooms designed to stimulate your creativity to apply colours, furniture, materials, tools and strategies in your own home.  As a professional organizer, I encourage my clients to see those pictures as inspiration – not a target.  We strive for good enough, not perfect.

The difference between perfect magazine pictures and a well organized home, are the wonderful priorities like new grandchildren that are so much more important than the stuff that can overwhelm our homes.  By getting a grip on the stuff, we make room for our other priorities; the grandchildren, the children, the friends.

I will keep my client’s grandson and family in my prayers – his stuff can wait but will soon have to make room for that grandson to visit.

Think you know if someone is managing hoarding behaviour?

Do you think you could tell if you worked beside someone who is hoarding?  Would their work behaviour reflect hoarding behaviour at home?

Probably not – people who hoard do not normally brag about their hoarding behaviour. In fact, most of them are very private and often have not let anyone in their home for many years.  Normally they cannot be identified from anyone else walking down the street or sitting at the next desk.

Professional organizers do not normally go public with the names of their clients ~ client confidentiality is a key ingredient and ethical imperative in the organizing business.

An Unusual Case

So this situation is really unusual. I am currently working with Bruce Kirkland, senior entertainment writer for Sun Media. Having been interviewed for an article on having too much stuff, the reporter, Rachel Sa approached Bruce about participating in a series of articles to publish our work in hopes that other people struggling with hoarding behaviour would see there is hope, and help, available.

I invite you to follow our work and Bruce’s progress. This is a very brave thing for Bruce and Rachel to do.

People who hoard do not normally brag about their hoarding behaviour.  In fact, most of them are very private and often have not let anyone in their home for many years.


Professional organizers do not normally go public with the names of their clients ~ client confidentiality is a key ingredient and ethical imperative in the organizing business.


So this situation is really unusual.  I am currently working with Bruce Kirkland, senior entertainment writer for Sun Media.  Having been interviewed for an article on hoarding, the reporter, Rachel Sa approached Bruce about participating in a series of articles to publish our work in hopes that other people struggling with hoarding behaviour would see there is hope, and help, available.

I invite you to follow our work and Bruce’s progress.  This is a very brave thing for Bruce and Rachel to do.