Survey #282—Full Response from Johanna
| Pronouns | She/her |
|---|---|
| Describe a situation in which someone successfully assisted you with a decluttering or organizing project. What factors contributed to the success of the collaboration? | Never |
| Describe a situation in which you asked for help with decluttering or organizing, but were unsatisfied with the results. What factors contributed to your dissatisfaction? | I never ask because I would probably die of shame if any of my friends saw how my place looks combined with hyper independence from growing up without much support from my parents. I don't even hire a moving company. Since I really struggle with keeping my surroundings organised and tidy, I should probably work on this... |
| Describe a situation in which you successfully assisted someone else with a decluttering or organizing project. What factors contributed to the success of your efforts? | A friend of mine had a huge amount of miscellaneous hardware and tools collected over the years and stuffed in bins and boxes all over the place. She didn't know how to organise the items because she is not very handy herself (like cannot even hang a picture). I am very handy (dad carpenter, uncle plumber) and know how to use all the stuff. I got some boxes with little adjustable compartments and explained every type of hardware and tool to her. We got rid of the outdated and broken stuff and sorted everything into the containers. Then we practiced basic skills like hanging a lamp or putting up a towel holder. I showed her and she did it herself. Her willingness to learn, my expertise and my relentless drive to empower women made it a very pleasant and successful experience! |
| Describe a situation in which you offered help with decluttering or organizing, but you didn’t achieve the desired results. What factors contributed to coming up short of success? | My parents had hoarding tendencies and I never managed to out-declutter, out-organise or out-clean them. Once I moved out, things really escalated, but since they both had a scarcity mindset (born in Germany 1933 and 1943 and never had a lot of money) I could almost never convince them to get rid of stuff. I did not have the knowledge about decluttering and organising I have today, so I probably wasn't a lot of help. When my grandma died, my mom integrated her entire household into her own. We had three or four of everything. Cleaning out the house after my parents died was a nightmare. |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). If we think that your question—and our answer—might be useful or instructive to The Clutter Fairy Weekly audience, we’ll share them in an upcoming episode. | No question, just a thank you for everything! |
| Future topics | Mental health and clutter - if every therapist would see their patients' homes, they'd have a better picture about what's really going on and would be able to better help them with "decluttering" their minds. |
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