I write this blog post with amusing recollections of how things unfolded from late last year to early this year. If you recall, in my last blog post from 2018 (Landers Expert Moms blog), I shared how slowly but surely I need to overcome my anxiety in front of the camera. As if heavens were pushing me to really overcome it, January kicked in with an invitation from no less than Rush Hour in One News TV!
It was an early morning call time on January 18 at the studio. When I thought the filming of Landers Expert Moms was already the most knee-shaking experience I will ever have, there I was in the studio, about to go live! May I just put into writing that it was so cold in the studio, and it was not helping me deal with my shaking knees. Haha! Talk about overcoming your fears!
Of course, no matter how much anxiety I feel, I am thankful for opportunities like this to share my passion to a wider audience. As I mentioned in the interview, I just wanted to share my passion through Neat Obsessions. It was intended to be my online diary of some sort. I never would have thought that in less than a year, my Instagram page would grow to a 46K followership – HUGE THANKS TO YOU!
As my way of thanking you for your continued trust and support, I will continue to share with you tips on how to jumpstart your journey in organizing in case you are new, or how to sustain your system in case you’ve already started.
If you want to know more about what I shared in Rush Hour, this is what I prepared for you:
- “A place for everything and everything in its place.”
I understand how organizing sounds easy-peasy when you say it like that, but when you’re in front of your space with so much stuff to deal with, the principle suddenly turns Greek!
What do you do when you’re already in front of a pile of clutter?
I’ve mentioned time and again that for me, sorting is the heart of organizing. How many times have we told ourselves that we don’t have anything to wear? How many times did we feel stressed because we couldn’t find a pen? (or key? flash drive? adapter?)
The truth is, our things don’t have feet for them to walk or hide some place else in the house. We put them somewhere. We put them somewhere we can’t remember. The more we do this, the more clutter piles up. Imagine the domino effect: the more stress gets into us, and ultimately, the more money we throw away because we resort to buying things we already have.
When we sort, we see how much we have. When I organize in my clients’ homes, I make it a point that they see what they have – this is very important. For example, if my client loves cooking, she has to see what ingredients she has and how many of each she possesses. If my client’s line of work requires her to dress up, then we have to devise a system where she could easily see every top, pants, skirt, or dresses she owns, and how she will be able to locate them instantly without exerting so much effort.
This is how we create space. We put together similar things (tops together), then we find a way to make it easier for the client to find what she needs (black tops together). Imagine, if there were three different spaces where the black blouses are, we would already be emptying two spaces so that they may be used for other purposes.
Decluttering does create space, but it’s another story. When the client asks for help to declutter, I help my client. But if I feel that she’s not ready to declutter, then I don’t initiate.
- “Filipinos are very sentimental.”
We keep gifts, letters, souvenirs, all because they mean something to us. They symbolize love, hardship, and success, to name a few. So if a client already has too many black tops and isn’t ready to let go because some are gifts, then I find a way to store them properly.
As a Psych graduate, I understand that the process of letting go (of someone or something) takes time. By the word time I mean weeks, or months, or years. I respect clients who have the means to purchase, and who practically enjoy keeping or collecting things for whatever reason. They called me for help, and if my way of “helping them” will stress them out, then I am not helping them at all.
In this line of work, I realized, I have to hold on to the very principles that made me start this journey. I cannot impose something on someone just because I see that there’s already too much of a particular thing. When my client is a hoarder, I put order to her things first. Then I trust that when she sees all her things, she might consider letting go. She might. If she still does not want to let go, then I let her be. Those things are not mine to donate or throw away.
What to keep and what to let go have always been my clients’ decision. I understand that people have their own ways of how to make their space livable, and I am here to help them become the best homemaker they can be.
- “My dad is strict when it comes to homemaking.”
You don’t have to be a mom to be considered a homemaker. In fact, I got a huge influence from my dad when it comes to homemaking and organizing. Have you seen his “hardware store” at home?
You don’t actually have to be married either for you to become a homemaker. When you have a space of your own, and you’re finding ways to manage it, then you already are one! Take a cue from our Chinita Princess: (Kim Chiu blog).
Now that I am privileged to help homemakers realize what they can do with their space, I always take note that what I do is basically just assist them, not overwhelm them. I don’t want the process to be tedious for them, or for it to cause anxiety. At the end of the day, what I am after is for my client to be happy, for her to be more comfortable in the space she’s in, and for her to realize that there’s so much more she can do because there’s already a system at home that does not cause anxiety.
I gulped down coffee (even if I’m not used to) after the interview. Doing the interview early in the morning was a great way to start my day, and an even greater way for me to start overcoming my anxiety in front of the camera.
Stay Neat, everyone!
Watch the interview here:
NEAT OBSESSIONS 