find a new life for us...and our possessions

There is no glamor in decluttering. It's heavy lifting, heavy lifting, and very emotional (more on that in the next column). Especially if you're staying in the space for a long time and dealing with memories that will last a lifetime. Hiring a professional organizer (with the ability to call on members of her team when needed) to guide and keep us on track while achieving our goals at an accelerated pace was invaluable.

House 'n Order founder Tracy Marsh agreed with what I thought was an impossible timeline of six weeks. She unveiled the main bedroom storage area, attic, garage, pool shed, and all cabinets and closets before posting to her Collingwood home in mid-June. The process was complicated by the fact that she navigated Rick Dodd Custom Painting's wonderfully flexible crew of four.

"You eat frogs first," Tracy said in response to my question as to why we started in the basement. Productivity methods include working on and completing the biggest and most difficult tasks before moving on to other tasks, he added. And as we surveyed the space filled with the remnants of former condominiums, offices, and our daughters' youth, there was no doubt that this was exactly our "frog." }

Tracy explained that she edits items by classifying them into Toss, Recycle, Keep, Donate, Sell, and Maybe Pile. She also specified a medium sized tote for my daughters, my husband and myself as well as a memory box of jumbo totes that I was looking for. After editing, group items into specific categories, place them in labeled containers to organize them into spaces, complete each room before moving on to the next area, and repeat the whole process.

Another great benefit of using Tracy's expertise was that she made it easy for us to dispose of, donate and sell our property. Her husband and I decided to find an eco-friendly solution rather than dumping the unnecessary but functional contents of our home in a local landfill. Like previous moves, you'll end up wasting time packing and paying the company to transport unnecessary mess.

Tracy obtained quotes for various removal services, but she ultimately concluded that it would be more economical for her to use a trailer to move to the landfill. has decided. Divert recyclables, textiles, electronics, metals, wood, hazardous materials, and more.

Then we started the complicated dance of redistributing the contents of the house. This was especially difficult as donations flooded charities that had stopped donating due to COVID. We also quickly realized that organizing our own garage sale was a hassle and thought a community garage sale would be an answer to our prayers, but we just arrived with a trailer full of household goods. , realized it had closed prematurely due to being overwhelmed by donations.

Tracy is very innovative about appropriating "our stuff" and most nights she leaves with a van full for multiple donations. Two of our favorite charities are Beaver Valley Outreach, The Net Shed, which provides quality programs and services to improve the well-being of those in our community, and Meaford Public Library, which donates proceeds to the Meaford Public Library. An infrequently used bookstore run by volunteers that donates to .

Another effective strategy of hers was to put difficult-to-transport objects on the curbs. Most were recovered within minutes or hours. On one lucky day, a lot of what I had prepared and what was in the trailer was scooped up. By a man who arrived in a flatbed truck. Tracy also had endless tricks with buyers, including private sales, specialty stores, consignment sales, and upcoming auctions.

So, ideally, after all, I would have been more careful with what I brought into the house in the first place, but my husband and I, due to a great deal of creativity on Tracy's part, were formerly loved. Breathe new life into items you no longer need.

Since beginning her writing career as a travel journalist over a decade ago, Dee-Anne Wessel has broadened her research and written about how to live a fulfilling life. increase.