Doris Puls

Which best describes your home?

∫ I have lots of stuff, to the point where all my storage spaces are full, and I like having all of that stuff.

∫ I have too much stuff and I really wish I could get rid of a lot of it.

∫ I am a minimalist and have only what I need to live. I’m happy that way.

∫ I have very little money to buy what I would like for my home. It is what it is.

∫ I am paying rent on a storage unit because I have too much household stuff for my home.

∫ My home is so bad I try to spend as little time there as I can.

∫ Other (fill in the blank.)

When I get calls from people to organize and declutter, of course, it is because their homes are not the way they want them. Most of the people I work with could do the jobs themselves, but it is so much easier and more fun to get things in order if you have someone to do it with. It takes time and effort to get things the way you want them to be.

My son in Detroit texted me a couple of weeks ago. “We need D&O at our house.” (That’s what he calls my business.) So, jumping at the chance to help, I spent the weekend with them in their new house. They had moved quickly and literally threw everything in the basement. We spent seven hours (that’s 14 hours of time and effort if he did it alone). The time he saves now finding paint supplies and tools was well worth the hours we spent.

When I hear stories of people who have clutter around and they hate it but they do nothing about it, it makes me cringe. With just some time and effort, their situations could be so much more peaceful. Time and effort are the two main factors to getting it done.

Not everyone has, or will ever have, the perfect home, but we can do things to make it more the way we want it with what we already have. Many times, it is just a matter of moving things where they should go and getting rid of what we no longer use or like.

I am reminded of the Bible verse that Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Most times it is not about the money as to how our homes look. We can have more than enough or just a little, but we can make our homes cleaned up and happy places to live with time and effort on our part.

Doris Puls, of D&O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.