Virtual organising sessions are a great motivator
Almost a year ago, professional organiser Lynda Wylie's diary was wiped clean as every decluttering session she had booked in for her business Tidy Rooms was postponed. She wasn't the only one. For the first time ever, the UK entered a national lock down. Overnight business owners were forced to think creatively about how to operate in a world that had closed its doors. Enter virtual organising! In this post, Lynda explains the benefits of virtual organising, and how they can be a great motivator to get decluttered and organised.Adapting to a new reality
As we wrestled with the impact of the COVID pandemic, we looked for ways to stay connected with our friends, family and work colleagues. Zoom became our constant companion and suddenly there was a new way to work and live. The decluttering and organising industry was no exception. Pre COVID, I worked alongside my clients in their homes. Mid COVID, I had to find another way of safely supporting my clients and still contributing to the family finances. Thankfully, many of my APDO colleagues were already ahead of the game and working successfully online. In fact, it's thanks to a training course run by a foresighted and resourceful colleague that I gained the confidence to dip my toe into the virtual waters of online decluttering. I struggled at first to imagine how a virtual session would work. I'm used to providing practical, hands on support in my clients' homes. I love nothing more than being in the thick of sorting and organising alongside my client, usually crawling around on my hands and knees, or in the back of a cupboard or at the bottom of a bag! Peering at a screen didn't seem to offer the same level of personal or practical service I had become used to, but the last year has proved me wrong! It was a huge surprise to discover that remote sessions were a massive hit with my clients - and with me! Together we discovered that these were a convenient, accessible, productive, personal and fun way of getting things done. Clients who've taken the plunge have been impressed at what can be achieved from behind a camera, and they've come back for more. We've tackled kitchen cupboards, craft rooms, photo organising, routine planning, bedroom drawers and paperwork backlogs.
Virtual organising and motivation
So, what makes remote working a viable option for decluttering and organising your home? Here are three reasons I've found it to be a great motivator during a pandemic:1 Home visits are no longer essential
There's no need to worry about spreading germs, wearing masks or social distancing. Simply connect to a FaceTime call, set your camera so your Professional Organiser can communicate effectively with you and you're away! This can relieve any anxiety you might be feeling about having someone in your home and it can allow you and your Professional Organiser to focus on the job in hand without fear or distraction.2 Location is irrelevant
Your Professional Organiser could live 100 miles away or even in another country. This gives you more choice about who you work with as you can choose from the whole decluttering profession rather than being limited to who's on your doorstep. Concerns about travel costs, journey time and special parking arrangements are completely removed for all parties. This can make it a more cost, time and effort effective option for you both.3 You can declutter with or without a professional present
Remote sessions are very flexible. For example, once you've spent time talking together to decide on a goal, the steps needed to achieve it and any possible challenges, you can then agree a time for a return time. You then declutter off camera until the call is resumed at the agreed time. This approach allows you to focus on one clearly defined task at a time, knowing that you will have a review with your Professional Organiser go over what you've done. The check-in slot provides a thinking space in which to reflect on how the decluttering went. You might wish to repeat the exercise until you come to the end of the booking. If you are nervous about revealing the extent of your clutter, this can be a great way to ease yourself gently into the decluttering process. It also allows you time to develop a relationship with your Professional Organiser before tackling further challenges and it increases your confidence.
Sessions in which you and your Professional Organiser remain on the call together also work really well, just like an in-home session when you work alongside each other to reach the desired goal.
With this approach, you may find that sometimes what you're doing can't be seen, so you have to describe what you're doing. Your Professional Organiser may ask you questions so they can understand what's happening and how you're finding things. You might encounter a bit more silence than during a home visit, but this can be really helpful for focusing and processing what you're experiencing.
Give virtual organising a try!
Finding positive outcomes in a pandemic may not have been your experience or expectation during COVID 19, but I can say with absolute certainty that virtual decluttering sessions have been a most surprising and joyful result of this difficult time. As you can probably tell, I'm now a total convert and I hope you might also step out and give this special type of decluttering session a try.If you'd like to find someone to declutter with you remotely, take a look at APDO's Find an Organiser database. You can search under each organiser's specialisms to find those offering virtual organising services.