Getting Your Edge: How to Rightsize your Home and Life.
Life Happens to Everyone! These events can force changes in how and where you live. How you react and manage those events is what matters. Join Judy Gratton and Dennis Day, two agents with over 22 years combined experience in real estate, as they provide you insights into managing the twists and turns life throws at you, so you can land on your feet and in the right place. Whether you need to downsize from the forever home, upsize to handle a growing family, or moving an aging parent into a safer setting, the “Rightsizing” Podcast will share the information you need to “rightsize” your home and life. Using their personal experiences and interviews with experts in a variety of fields, like: financial planning, estate sales, or living abroad, our hosts will dish out the information and advice that will help you take on life’s challenges informed and prepared. For more information about the Edge Group Real Estate Team and the Freebies click here: https://edgegrouprealestateservices.com/
Getting Your Edge: How to Rightsize your Home and Life.
Conquering Clutter: Downsizing Your Stuff and Living Simply
Is clutter driving you crazy and stopping you from making the change you long for? You are not alone! A cluttered household is a natural part of living an American consumer lifestyle and remaining in your home for a long time.
Want to do something about it, but feel overwhelmed by the thought of sorting through all that stuff?
Meet Lisa Hawkinson, our guest for this episode, who turned her love for organizing into a thriving business: "How2getorganized.com". Lisa’s journey is nothing short of inspiring—from being teased as a child for her neatness to overcoming health challenges and helping others bring order to their lives. Learn practical downsizing strategies from Lisa's own experiences, like setting attainable goals, dedicating time, and starting with less emotional items. We'll explore the importance of a supportive friend and the benefits of letting go with a generous heart.
Helping elderly family members downsize can be emotionally challenging. This episode is packed with heartwarming stories and creative solutions for making this process smoother. We discuss the significance of understanding and validating seniors’ feelings, especially when cognitive impairments are in play. From taking photos of sentimental items to creating new ways to honor their memories, Lisa shares invaluable tips on how to make these necessary transitions with compassion and respect. You’ll also hear about the delicate balance required to assist aging parents while honoring their emotional attachments.
Unlock the secrets to an efficiently organized kitchen with Lisa's expert advice. Discover game-changing tips like using Lazy Susans, expandable shelves, and rectangular containers to optimize your space. Lisa introduces her unique touch, reach, walk, and hike strategy to keep your kitchen functional and clutter-free. Plus, learn about the supportive Smooth Organizer community, an affordable resource that offers guidance and accountability for decluttering your home.
Finally, we share success stories like Charlie's journey of preparing his home for sale, emphasizing the power of willingness and supportive companions in achieving a more manageable lifestyle. Tune in to take the first step toward right-sizing your home and life.
Happy days everyone. This is Dennis Day with the Edge Group Teams how to Right-Size your Home and Life podcast. It's so great to hear and see you. We are back with an excellent episode. Judy Gratton, tell us how are you doing?
Speaker 2:I am doing fabulous, dennis, loving this summer weather.
Speaker 1:I know, isn't it great? Just people complaining about the gloom and the doom, and they're not wrong. I mean, it is dark and cold and wet in this winter, but gosh, these summers just are incredible. It doesn't get dark until 10 o'clock and it's just not too hot and sunny, beautiful, so I can't remember the last time we had rain here, so it's been amazing in the Seattle area. Here Today we have our guest. Host is Lisa Hawkinson of how to Get Organized, and her business is there to help people. So tell us, lisa, a little bit about your background, who you are, what your business does to help people, specifically the people who are downsizing.
Speaker 3:Thanks, dennis. So my early, early childhood I liked organizing and I was teased for it mercilessly. My sister was highly praised for her art but I was teased. So I was very ashamed of liking order. And when I was 38, I was at a women's group and found out that was a good thing. I went okay, I like that. That really helped my family, because my husband was ADD and my son was ADHD. We just homed as a family. It was great.
Speaker 3:And then late in my 40s I had a virus, very common virus that just took me down. I was in bed or on the couch or lounge chair for two years. It was unbelievable and as I saw the light coming at the end of the time, I'm going to get better. So I got off the lounge chairs, walked to the edge of the deck and I just kind of suddenly prayed God, what do I do for the rest of my life? My kids are going to be going to college. I don't want to be a sad empty nester. And almost all day I heard help people get organized and I thought that is weird, but that'd be fun. I didn't know there was a National Association of Professional Organizers 15 years before that. So I just got started.
Speaker 3:My naturopath at the time recommended I see a woman and so I went to visit her. My first question was, after I looked around a little bit, I said do you say to use Band-Aids? And she said I'm not that bad, and so the book I started to write, I'm just okay, she's not going to read. So I just put that weight aside for about off and on for about three years and got a lot of progress but never really did. Well, she had all her medications out in the countertop. All the pill bottles were open. Her oven was full of plastic bags and saran wrap. It was just unbelievable.
Speaker 1:I had never seen anything like it would you consider this some close to hoarding?
Speaker 3:oh yes, and so I've now drawn my own boundary lines. They have to have a therapist on medication and I get to have the therapist's name number, because it's just too hard for some to move on and they have to really want to. I've helped some that can move on, but so many just are so reluctant. But once I teach them how, if they're open to it, they can gain ground in that. So I help people downsize and declutter or get ready to move whatever stage they're in.
Speaker 2:You know when you're helping someone downsize, so they're downsizing. They're not decluttering or just organizing, but they're downsizing and like what are some of the really common challenges around that one?
Speaker 3:It's really how do I get started? Because it's just so overwhelming. And so, just to get them started in the I usually recommend, have a goal of like within six months or whatever period of time I want to be done, and then make a weekly appointment with yourself, like a doctor appointment, like every Tuesday for two hours or whatever, and don't cancel on that. You have to show up and do some downsizing and start with the least emotional things like oh, I can let go of this easily, so it's letting go, it's not getting rid, I don't getting rid sounds like it's junk, it's just letting it go somewhere else. And that helps them a lot.
Speaker 3:And I try to help people grow a more generous heart to let go of those things that they no longer use or need. So I really try to imprint in their brain need, use, need, use. Are you using it? Do you still need it? How much would it cost if you really had to? That rarely happens, excuse me. So some people will box things up and say if I haven't looked at in a year, I'll let it go. So whatever works for them, just to get started. And then go deeper. And it's really good to have a friend with you Someone who's kind and won't ridicule you and just say are you kidding? You're not going to get back in those pants again. Let's be real.
Speaker 2:You know, what I've seen, too, is a lot of people overvalue. You know, what I've seen, too, is a lot of people overvalue. I don't want to say overvalue, because whenever they bought what it was, it was very valuable but anymore so little like China crystal silver, coats silver, not sterling silver, but silver plated flatware. I just I'm downsizing and I just talked to an estate sale person and I like I have Noritake China from occupied Japan and he said to me Noritake China is not worth anything. He said.
Speaker 3:So this is where you grow a really generous heart and say, okay, the women starting over in life need new things in their kitchen and so they can take a full set. A couple of women can split it and they can have new dishes. Or people just starting out or young people starting out. So I just love finding a thrift store that has a mission that I just have a resonate in my heart with and so I want to put my stuff on their shelves to sell to help their mission. So I've had men who will finally get down to downside their garage because there's a place in Totem Lake. They donate to search and rescue dogs in the state of Washington. We'll help a dog, they'll give away some hammers and different things, so that's fun.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's a challenge.
Speaker 3:It really is. Yeah, I just feel like, okay, I got blessed receiving a set of mugs in 1969 for my wedding present. I can't use them anymore. We're going on a two-year sale trip, so I put things at my front door. The young people at that time were about ready to leave home on their own. They would shop at my front door. That was fun. I loved it.
Speaker 2:Oh cool, that might be a good idea. I'm thinking of want the china. I don't just want to put it in a value village, I want to know that somebody wants it and appreciates it. So I'm happy to give it away if I knew that it was going somewhere that people really wanted it.
Speaker 3:So a place like Mary's place might be a place you could check women who are starting over.
Speaker 1:Oh, I like that. Well, we'll keep a running list here of places that will really benefit others to donate to. One of the things our family does is it's a buy nothing group.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:And it's very specific to a neighborhood. You have to prove you live in that neighborhood and so forth, and you have to give things away, and those who take them cannot then go and sell them on eBay or other places. So that's a free Facebook group, and we've gotten rid of so much stuff. We've also picked up a lot of stuff too, so I'm not sure we're in deficit. No, not really.
Speaker 3:So how do you? Have go ahead I live in both. So there's a thrift store I love and they took a bothel fire engine that was being retired and it's in uh, peru, and it goes through, says bothel, going through town, but they, they got this fire truck down there. I just love their heart, their mission, mission, which one is that it's called Helping Hands and they have a thrift gently used furniture store in Clearview too.
Speaker 1:How do you help your clients determine what to keep and what to let go?
Speaker 3:So I keep using that term need use. Will you wear that again? Would you buy it again today? Does it still fit? And just really get it done. I want to help people live a simpler life, especially when they get older and then and also not trip and fall in their place because they have so much stuff. They've kept all their in-law stuff or their parents who've passed away and they haven't dispersed it yet. And so just to really think of I want a simpler life. I only want the things I need and use as we get over some far less stuff.
Speaker 2:We have been working with you, with someone, and can you explain how you use the dots?
Speaker 3:Yeah, the dots have been very helpful, so I use a green dot, for this will go with me to my new place, or a yellow dot I'm going to sell this. There's another dot color for it's going to be dumped, or another dot for it's going to be given to a thrift store. So I have place movers that will take things to their new place, to the junkyard and to a thrift store of their choice.
Speaker 2:You have people who do that work for them.
Speaker 3:Yes, I do. I just have to help them make the pile, the staging areas. So Habitat for Humanity is great, but they won't come in the house. You have to have things in the garage ready to go or in the driveway. So that's a good thing to know, because some things just physically can't move. So my people can actually go in the home and pick things up and haul it out.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, very good.
Speaker 3:There are several places that do that, so I love recommendations. I love to be a resource. I've had people go in and take out freezers and refrigerators.
Speaker 2:What do you do with people who struggle with letting go of sentimental items?
Speaker 3:Yes, so I try to help them remember. That item is not the person, so a woman who kept her mother's dustpan for three years. I can't judge, I don't laugh, but it's I'm going really a dustpan. That's not your mom. Are you turning into a sconce? How can you use it? I tell them a good thing to do is take a picture of it and have an album with those special pieces I have one for myself and then when you let that thing go, tell the story with it. So my aunt, always, we always have bean casserole and you might even put the recipe in there, and so the casserole dish goes away. I've had people come back to me over 10 years there and comment on how Aunt Eva's dish I don't know if that was Aunt Ellen's so just to help them keep track of who it was, just knowing the stories with them is really special in my heart.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. I think that's a wonderful idea.
Speaker 3:So then I also have dots, where you have an area for family or friends, and I've had grandmas that want to give things to their grandkids, but they don't see them often enough, and I say, well, let's take a picture of them on your phone, let's text it to them and tell them if you want it, please pick up by a certain date or I'm going to give it away. One grandma said I got a call within 10 minutes. She was thrilled.
Speaker 1:And she gets to see her grandchildren too. What a treat, that's true.
Speaker 3:So I'll tell you the 10 years before my mother passed away. Every time one of us six girls went home we had to put a sticker on something we wanted when she passed away. So we got close to that time and I said Mom, you know, we put stickers on everything we want. There's some things I know we will probably sell. Where would you like the money to go? So she could tell us that we could honor her wishes. That was really fulfilling.
Speaker 2:That's wonderful. I love these ideas. Good, thank you. We've dealt with so many people that really are struggling, especially when they're leaving that home, family home and all the memories for every little thing. And you know, eventually I made mistakes. It was like, oh yeah, you know, people were trying to tell me their story around an item and I was trying to get them to pack it up and leave and you've got to let people tell their stories.
Speaker 3:Right, right. So when I was 18, I lived with a woman in Arizona. She worked in the State Department and she had a lot of diplomas and certificates and she was going to be moving with her sister into assisted living. And she said what do I do with all these things? I said take them out of the frame, put them in a very large scrapbook so she could take them with her. She loved that idea. I had no idea I had that skill back then.
Speaker 1:Can you talk about what are some of the reasons why people have this trouble letting go?
Speaker 3:They attach too much emotion to that piece, that item, and that's true with mugs. I mean people just collect mugs like you can't believe and you have to go which ones are really important and how much room do you have? It gets down to what season of life are you in? Do I entertain 50 people once a month? I had a woman who told me she had 56 mugs in her cabinet. I said how often do 56 people show up?
Speaker 3:If you have that, make you put in a tub and then be able to retrieve it, but just get it down to what you need and use. So some people I've talked about you could break the mugs and put them in cement steps in your home, outside your home. Just really have a more generous heart to just let go. Let go, let go. Be real about what chapter of life are you in, so that it's that spring, summer, fall and winter? I'm in my winter chapter. I don't need very many mugs. I'm a second time widow. I have four nice matching mugs. I have two or three I just love for my personal use. But if I have a couple people come over I can have a few nice mugs. So it's just a reality of where you are in life. It's hard to accept. Just talking about people helps and, like you said, just listening to their story.
Speaker 2:I try really hard to do that now with people and you know it's very hard to admit to yourself that you are in the winter. That's so true. Yeah, I can attest to that personally. It's like I don't, I'm not going there. You know I'm not, I'm not done yet. So oh, yeah we're not done.
Speaker 3:But when I'm working with two clients now who have mental impairments, some cognitive impairment, it gets even harder. They're so attached to those. You would think that that was the living person in this item. I can appreciate that when I hear the story. Okay, let's find a place for it, if we can.
Speaker 2:I've run into this several times, where the family is frustrated, somewhat angry with their parents for making this move so difficult. They want to rush them through it. They want them to. You know, they just want to fix it and and put them somewhere it's, and it becomes this battle between the parents and the kids. Do you deal with that at all? Do you run into that? Oh, I have.
Speaker 3:So I think it's helping those adult children I'm assuming they're adult 30 plus people. Yeah, it's like you have to understand this is your parents heart and mind. That's wrapped up in this item. Listen to their story when you then validate them on that item, how important it is to them and, if possible, let them keep that item if it's not a huge item, but just validate them and just help work them into that thought of being generous with their heart. Mom, you've loved this forever. You got from grandma, but you know what? You can't use it in your new place, small place, we don't have room for it. We need to let it go. Where should we let it go? And we can find a place that would really help them and that might help them move through the process.
Speaker 2:That's really good. I want to stress that if there are any family members listening to this, you've got to remember this is your parents' lives and their history and their story and you can't just rush them out of that because someday Right.
Speaker 3:And I don't want to be deceptive, but I have heard women tell me that they have taken things from their mother that they then pass on. But their mother thinks they have it. The mother will never know they passed it on. But that comfort of the mother knowing they took it, it's not lying, it's being generous, it's being kind to their mom's heart really.
Speaker 1:Have you been in a situation where the younger family members are pushing, pushing, pushing and there are consequences of that?
Speaker 3:Again, it's talking to them to help them understand that they're just in different places in life. They don't understand what it's like to be 70 or 80. Now, it's just not possible. And she has to say people don't understand what it's like to be 30 when they're 10. So try to understand.
Speaker 3:This is a challenging time of life and we go through those seasons in life. Here in this summer or spring season, how happy for you. But your mom's in winter, very close to frost, you know, and so let's love her all the way through. Winter, very close to frost, you know, and so let's love her all the way through, be kind to her, be kind and show her love. And so I've often told people whose parents are so more functioning spend time with your parent, maybe once a month. You say mom, where did you get this? Why did you get this? Why is this important to you? Find out the story behind it, because that will make you. She just loves being with you and loves telling the story of her items and that's just a very pleasant time for everybody. And you might make notes where mom say well, mom, when you're no longer here and using it, where would you like it to go and have them tell you.
Speaker 3:So I had one lady who was near death and the doctor told the older son mom's not going to make it through the night, so he started giving her dolls away and mom came back to life in 24 hours oxygen. She's doing fine. She was so pissed Her dolls were gone. I said well, you didn't tell him who gets the dolls. So go through now and let's identify where the dolls are going, because they were so special to her.
Speaker 3:So it's our, our responsibility as an adult to be an adult until our last breath. We turn into adult at some point in life and you're responsible all for life, all through life. You don't owe it to your kids to give them a garage stuff full and say thanks, you take care of kids, take time off, work time without pay, vacation time, just take care of all my stuff that I should have done as an adult. So I'd like to I hammer on groups when I'm talking to them just be a blessing to your kids. Have them say oh, I'm so glad dad got rid of all that stuff, I don't need all those tools.
Speaker 1:It's interesting because we often hear that parents don't want to be a burden to their children, but it often happens.
Speaker 3:That's right. I have a friend who just this last week found her mother dead at home.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's awful, and she called the police a wellness check and there's mom dead. But she had a very pleasant look on her face. She was very happy for mom and she'd been told that she didn't have a certain surgery which she chose not to. She might be dead in six to 12 months and six months later she passed away. So now they're going through. Even envelopes are not open. They're finding things that they could never find if they're looking for it. And one gal, she even found her baby teeth. Her mom had saved her baby teeth.
Speaker 3:I might have to say I did that for a while, so that's another way. So I tell people, when you're downsizing, seriously downsizing, and thinking about final stages of you're in the winter, go through every shelf, every closet, every cabinet and see what you have, and because you might be ashamed or embarrassed of what you kept. So I had talked to a realtor one time and she had given her elder dog to a woman who did that out of love. She was an older woman and when she passed away they found seven dead dogs in her freezer. So her kids were not paying enough attention to where mom was and what she needed. She needed someone to dig a hole or take the pet to a vet.
Speaker 2:So stay in touch. Yeah, I had a client who did that and it was more a matter she could not, because she was also a dear friend and she could not bury them. She wanted to have them cremated together at some point in time, but she didn't really have the money to do it. And so, yeah, when she passed, I knew they were there. I called her son-in-law and said just before you start going through things, you need to know that these animals are in the freezer. It's amazing. She loved those animals dearly and couldn't let them go.
Speaker 3:Someone told me recently and I can't give all the details, but they had an amputation and that amputated part was in the freezer it's like. Are you kidding me?
Speaker 1:Surprised.
Speaker 3:a hospital or whatever would allow that I know, I know I don't know how they got that part home. It was kind of a small part, but still it's just bizarre what people will do. Don't know how they got that part home. It was kind of a small part, but still it's just bizarre what people will do.
Speaker 1:You don't work with just people who are downsizing and ready to move. The hard part of any sort of activity is maintaining it, doing it over and over. I mean, I can start an exercise program and in two weeks I've kind of abandoned it. How do you help people maintain their declutter once they've uh sort of achieved that?
Speaker 3:well, it's a mindset that they keep need use, need use and as you're going through things, you go oh my gosh, I have 12 pair of glasses in this drawer. I didn't realize that, and so they. I need to give them away and periodically once a year or once a month go through a room. I know a couple that goes through one room every month and they see, doesn't need paint, what do I need to downsize in it? Let go of, and so a system that works for them on a monthly or yearly basis to stay on top of things and just keep in mind the goal of having a simpler life.
Speaker 2:Do you have any organizational tools that you recommend or products that you suggest that people use, especially when they're getting into a smaller home?
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 3:So I like to think about everything has to have a purpose and a place, not just a place. We can't just put the mayonnaise anywhere. It has to have a purpose and a place. So I like those rounds. Lazy Susan's, under my, my sink I have a 25 inch round, so things come to me. I'm not digging and forgetting their stuff in the back. And there are little shelves that put in, so that space above the mugs usually there's another set of mugs that could go there, so they have little shelves you can put there and so you have double, double stack cups. Very good. And I like rectangular containers for flour and sugar, not round, because they fit better and you can stack brown sugar and powdered sugar on top of each other and you can see what you have. So you have to have visibility and access so I have easy access and easy availability. Find these things. Do you remember that store? It's called storables. I love that store. It was like cocaine. I'd buy a whole bunch of stuff and I told the guy one time I said this is like cocaine. He looked at me like I was so weird, but it's just so cool. So I worked with a client that she was kind of short and she had a pantry that was two levels came together In that corner. I put a round in each one so she could get to it and see what she had. She could get to it and see what she had. And then they had those expandable shelves in kitchen stores. You pull apart this two-sectional piece and there's three levels. So you have your canned goods on three levels, okay. And then you group like things, so all your vegetables go together, your soups go together, so you know you have access to it, you can see what you have.
Speaker 3:My other key thing is the strategy of touch, reach, walk and hike. So if I'm staying at my kitchen sink the things I need there I need to be able to touch it without walking to the other side of the kitchen. So my cutting board is near there. I don't walk to the other side of the kitchen which I've had women tell me and I need the replaceable garbage bags under the sink. I don't need to walk across the kitchen, which I've seen women do. I go, bring it back here. So then after I leave, they go to that closet off the side of the kitchen to get their garbage replacement bags. Oh no, they're not here. What leads to say, oh, where I need them. So they go back. Oh yeah, they're under the kitchen sink. Your dishwasher is close to your kitchen sink so you want to be able to touch and reach, put those things away. You don't need to walk across the kitchen. Walk is a couple steps away.
Speaker 3:Touch, reach, walk and hike is to a second bedroom or a bedroom closet, even out in the garage for some things that use seasonally. So I had a woman in a very small condo. She had a huge Christmas bowl in her kitchen. She was wasting space so I helped her with that system. So not only the tools, it's the placement of things. So I want to be efficient. So the things you get to very infrequently are the very top shelf. If you're getting to more often, the middle shelf, that makes sense. My mom got to the point where she couldn't, with her arthritis, couldn't put things away, so she had a drawer with her plastic plates. It was so smart, I was so proud of her.
Speaker 1:Lisa, you are a giving person. This is kind of a mission. It sounds like it's a sort of a mission in your life and you want to help people but you need to make a living. So tell us how you are compensated for your time helping people.
Speaker 3:So I do do things on an hourly basis, but I don't do the heavy lifting anymore and I can give people direction and I can have them be accountable to me, and I've moved all my skills into what I call a smooth organizer community, and so I ask them what their goal is, their intention. They report to me on what they're doing, their accomplishments, and I want a report on what's funny that you find. So a woman last week told me she was working on her office. She found eight staplers. I'm like are you kidding me? When I'm talking to audiences, I say, okay, I have an old toothbrush under my bathroom, my kitchen sink, Do you have one? And I'll get one or two people around the faucet. I had a woman with 36 toothbrushes under the sink. I go what is the plan? Are they color coded? What is this deal?
Speaker 3:So I have this group it's called Smooth Organizers and my goal is to help them realize that the best place to be is to be able to list be able to list your house in 30 days. So what do you have to do to get to that point? And so we work towards that. They may want to take six months to do it, or they may want to take 30 days. I've had to do that before and so we just work on that goal and that timeline and so they have accountability and they have some humor along the way. So it's free to widows I charge $300 for a year and people usually get it done within a year their choice.
Speaker 2:Very good Okay.
Speaker 3:So now, when you say you charge $300 to join the group, you're talking about the Smooth Organizer group. Yes, and we do face, I do videos and I make calls and we will do a live Zoom group together.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's a cool idea. So they don't have to necessarily have you come into their home and do the work. Right, that's it. Oh, I like that.
Speaker 3:So a widow I worked with before she's a recent widow. I worked with her before she was a widow on her little small apartment condo on Lake Sammamish and so she wanted me to go through and I helped her organize her kitchen and so she did all the work. We just talked weekly and she really got to a place where she had control and didn't have too much stuff. Now her husband has passed away so she goes. Now what do I do? So I did visit with her. We talked about what she could let go of and she agreed. It's a very touching thing as a widow to downsize and live a simpler life as a single woman.
Speaker 2:So I have a heart for widows. Are widowers allowed into that group as well? Have you run into them?
Speaker 3:Sure they are. Yes, they are, but I'm a part of three widow groups, so that's who I'm around mostly.
Speaker 1:What resources would you suggest for getting rid of this stuff responsibly, not just throwing it all in a landfill? We've mentioned the Buy Nothing and you had the Habitat for Humanity. Are there other suggestions?
Speaker 3:Well, I would Google thrift stores in your area and find out what the mission is for each one and which one grabs your heart the most, and that really helps. I think that'd be the best thing and I have. I have resources, so people can reach out to me for resources. I have someone and you probably do too, Judy for estate sales. I have someone in Gig Harbor that really works with collectibles, so if you have a wonderful collection, we could send pictures to him and he could tell you what to do or how he could sell it for you.
Speaker 1:Do you help people set up for estate sales?
Speaker 3:No, I don't. We just get it down to what they're going to. I don't place it. No, but we can thin things out.
Speaker 1:Can you talk to us about one of your success stories that you'd like to share?
Speaker 3:Oh, Charlie comes to mind immediately. Charlie heard me speaking at a group one time and In about 10 years, there, he called me and said Lisa, are you still doing that stuff? And I said yes, and so he had me come to his home. He says I want to list my house in 30 days. Can you help me? Without taking a thorough look, I said, sure, we spent 240 hours and got his house on the market in 30 days. He got top dollar in his neighborhood. The realtor was really happy.
Speaker 3:So he had a three bay garage. So he had a bay for to family, a bay to his new place and a bay to thrift stores and it really worked well. He was so proud so I had his testimony on my, my signature page, because he's he was in marketing and he was a very talented man. There's a beetle size pile of things. He had things he had used as a caterer, so he could not touch it emotionally for almost to the end and he finally said, okay, I can do it. And so then we went through. He picked out a few things, but he let go of a lot of it.
Speaker 2:It's willingness. You've got to be open and willing to change, and it's really hard for me for anyone to go.
Speaker 3:Change is something we're not too fond of, period, so he was moving from a 3 000 square foot home to a probably two-bedroom apartment with a 13 year old son, and so I laid out on the on the hall all his stuffed animals. I said now how much of this can go? He had a six foot stuffed alligator. So what are you going to take in?
Speaker 3:a bedroom right now, where does a guy sleep? So you had to really get it done. Okay, ask him what top five things does he want to take? So I'm. My parents moved from ohio to arizona with the six girls. My dad took a station wagon with all our belongings, everything in it, what the girls were allowed to keep, one doll and that was it. Everything else had to go. So I learned early in life keep what you need and use absolute love. So I tell people you have to have a few lovely things. So when I moved as a widow, I wanted a theme in my condo, my apartment. So my theme is nautical because I've done a lot of sailing. So if you walk in here and look around, you're nautical. It's not overwhelming, but you get a sense of what it is. I've been in a home that's very Spanish oriented and you'd really get the feel that they're from Mexico. It's wonderful.
Speaker 2:What are some common misconceptions? Do you think about downsizing and organizing?
Speaker 3:I think you're not scrubbing your life and you're not scrubbing your life of memories, You're just being more selective because you just don't have room. So that woman I told you about that I lived with had a lovely home. She eventually lived in a sister living with her sister because her sister needed her companionship. They were older. She lived in assisted living with her sister because her sister needed her companionship. They were older. She was allowed to take one bed, one chair, one picture and all my life. I went, okay, I will take this picture or that picture. I mean, that's just been my mentality. And she had five outfits. She was just complete office jewelry, jacket, pants, whatever. She just alternated, changed every day. It was just one less than life. I didn't realize, I was learning that at the time.
Speaker 1:Is it hard for people to get started because they're so overwhelmed?
Speaker 3:Once they talk to me, they feel like they need to start, but I give a soft kick on the butt with my slipper. Okay, when do you want to have this done? Let's just start with the unemotional stuff. So let's walk through. What can you let go of easily? Do you need all 50 shot glasses from every state? Which two states are important to you? So just start whittling it down.
Speaker 1:Anything else you'd like to add? Lisa spent terrific information.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you so much. Just encourage people to just be honest about where they are in life. What do they need and what will they enjoy having they cannot have? Have the pool table, the grand piano in a one-bedroom apartment, you know? Just get into reality and be very selective and have encouragement. Have a friend or or me along with you to encourage you doing a good job. Keep going, let go, let go, let go, be free. Everyone I've ever talked to I'm in the senior community I just say have you taken anything with you that you didn't need? They just laugh at me, they go. Oh yeah, I can't believe. I still have to downsize. So I had one lady that she absolutely insists on taking 40 pair of slacks to assisted living. I mean yellow, green, orange, blue, tan. I could not convince her. She only needed three to five, but she was thinking she's in a fashion show every day. So it's just the reality of where we are in life. I am my own client truly your smooth organization group.
Speaker 2:Do you have people from other parts of the country? And I do yes, I have.
Speaker 3:People have. I've helped people. They're not currently with me, but, alabama, make a move. There's things you can do over the phone, just getting them the system, how to pack, how so I've had to do it myself with babies, and so there's a system for doing it at whatever stage of life you're in. So the smooth organizers can ask me questions and we learn from each other. So I just recently learned of a auction place in Mount Vernon called McMillan's I think, and it's an online auction. I have a widow that buys things for a dollar and then she donates them. That's just her heart. She'll buy a whole set of dishes for a dollar and she'll go donate them, and I have to call them and find out how do you get your stuff there? Do you take pictures of it, what do you do? And the Zoom calls. So I learned that from a widow in a widow group. So it's just, we learn from each other and can pass it on that's a wonderful.
Speaker 2:I really like that organization. Well, can we post that on our site?
Speaker 3:I will. Yes, I will send you. Oh, I'm going to pay you one more thing. Yes, smooth organizers. But I just learned of a new thing I just bought. It's called knock box and, okay, next of kin box, and I'll hyperlink that to you, judy, so there's different levels you can buy. So I already have file box. It's everything my kids will need. The moment I pass, I thought I had things in order, but this makes it in better order and you can just do it so quickly. And so my friend who found her mother dead, she goes Lisa, tell me how long it takes you to fill that up for what it needs. So I'm keeping track of my hours on that.
Speaker 2:Wow, very good, very good.
Speaker 3:So smooth. Organizer and knock box, that's the best thing. Pictures is another thing. What do you do with pictures? So legacy box is great. I've used them several times. There's a place in Linwood that you can personally go to that I have also used. But I've taken my son with ADHD. He didn't want all this picture. She goes mom are you kidding? I go, these are treasures. So I put them in lockbox. So he has on a DVD and he has a memory stick with all his pictures on it. So legacy box, legacy box, so what? And then knock box.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, the legacy box. How do you the photos?
Speaker 3:because I have so I bought a package and I estimate how so different levels. So I put 25 pictures in a package with a sticker on. So I basically bought that package worth that would go on a dvd. And I also sent along eight millimeter things that we used to take pictures with eight millimeters on our camera. As they turned that into dvds too, so you can buy it at whatever low you want. So you kind of have to talk to them. But that's why I also like this place in linwood, because I can actually talk to them, say, can you just duplicate this? They can do that. So now I have some slides I'm going to take to them. It's expensive to go through kenmore camera or even costco to have it, but it's doable. So you've just got to get it into day's technology. You don't want to throw those memories away.
Speaker 2:No, and I'm literally sitting here going someone, one of my relatives who passed, handed down well, my great aunt, who was a hoarder when they were taking the house apart, they asked me what, what I wanted, and I knew she had done a family history and I'm like, well, I know she's done, you know, a family history and anything you see that looks like it might fit into that. I got 200 pounds of photos.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:I can't believe it. And reading cards from her husband during the war, and I mean just and, and her yearbook from high school. Like the yearbook from high school I definitely want to keep and my daughter definitely wants that. But all the photos, a lot of them, are people. I don't even know who they are and so I've had to unfortunately throw those away. But I've also heard that like the old time really old time photos, people like those for crafting. So I did have a garage sale and I put a box out. Nobody took. I was like, free take them if you want. Nobody did so Legacy Box and the name of the place in Linwood is and it's audio visual.
Speaker 3:I can send you that too Great.
Speaker 2:We will put these links and especially your smooth organization we want those with this podcast so people can reach out to you on that one.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much. I'd like to help a lot of people. That's my legacy. I can't just throw my brain away. I love doing this. It's my passion and I love helping people, and especially at the winter stage of life it's hard for people to move through that. It's so easy when you're 30 or 40. You're just accumulating like crazy, and then there's a time when you've got to thin down are the younger people collecting just as much as the no?
Speaker 3:they really grabbed on to. I think when our mothers changed our diapers she said you'll keep this and you'll keep that and you'll keep more. I mean, how did I ever think I had to keep baby teeth? That's just ridiculous. So the younger people are more minimalist. My sons like that. Both boys are. I'm very careful when I give them something, because when you give something away, you have to realize it could end up in a burn pile, which some of my stuff did, and I have to just go. Well, I'm okay, I gave it away. I don't want it. They used it for a period of time and then they just didn't have the heart or motivation to donate it, which I think they could or should have. But it wasn't their mom at the time to do that, to tell them no, no, no, lisa, if someone wanted your skills and is ready to tackle this, how would they get ahold of you? They can call me or text me at 206-915-9911 or email me at lisa spelled E-L-I-S-A at how2getorganizedcom. Love to talk to them.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much. This has been really helpful. And, judo, we know this is an issue, but you know, with the boomer generation, our generation, and rooms full of stuff, rooms full of stuff, garages full of stuff. Thank you, lisa, thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 3:I enjoyed this very much.
Speaker 1:This has been Getting your Edge how to Right Size your Home and Life podcast. Thank you our guest, Lisa Hawkinson, of how to Get Organized. Thank you, Judy. This has been wonderful. Take care, everyone, We'll see you next time.
Speaker 2:See you next time. Bye.
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