Organizing A Transition: How I Helped My Mother-in-Law Organize Her New Life During the Pandemic

If there’s one thing we have all learned and experienced during this pandemic is that change can happen in the blink of an eye. One day our life is “normal” and the next day we are confined to our homes, trying to navigate the social isolation.

In my case, my mother-in-law moved in with us! This significant change meant that we had to reorganize our home in order to make space for her and her belongings. As a professional organizer, I was eager to take on this challenge! It took us five full days but, it was so worth it. Here’s how we tackled it:

PRE-MOVE

Designated a space.

The choices were a spare bedroom with an attached bathroom or a significantly larger playroom. She chose the playroom! With her furniture and belongings, the space in the bedroom would have been too tight. However, this definitely made things more challenging for me!

Cleared the space.

We gave away the cube unit we used to store toys, moved the TV and stand, sold a sofa, and relocated the sleeper sofa to the family room. We purchased a new storage unit to store my girls’ toys in the family room. The room was now ready for my mother in law’s bedroom furniture.

Added storage.

Did I mention there’s no closet in the playroom? Yikes! As such, we purchased a used wardrobe and refurbished it to create hanging space. Also, we added a cube unit to provide additional storage space for her painting supplies.

POST-MOVE

After all her stuff was brought in, I thought it was going to be mission impossible! How was I supposed to fit everything she owned! She had more than 100 pairs of shoes, 90 pairs of pants, countless blouses and sweaters (we live in Florida…) 60 purses, wallets for each purse, blankets, towels, papers, photos and stuff… so much stuff! Her favorite pastime is shopping.

Decluttered…and decluttered some more!

I decided to approach the project, as I approach all my client projects: with respect for her and her belongings and empathy—this was a big change for her. She will be 80 next year and change is hard at any age. My husband and I had a conversation with her because her belongings were spilling into so many other spaces in our home. We first encouraged her to let go of things she doesn’t use and doesn’t need now that she is here with us. To our surprise, she started working on decluttering all her belongings! We did it by category to simplify the process and make it less overwhelming. We took breaks and after we did a first pass, we did a second pass. This second pass was invaluable as she was able to identify more things she didn’t need! She shredded most of the paperwork. I am extremely proud of her for all she was able to let go. There was a lot to organize still but, it was much more manageable.

Organized…the fun part!

The under-the-bed storage space, two dressers, nightstand, and shoe storage furniture provided all the storage we needed to get her clothes, accessories, shoes and other personal belongings organized. We file folded all her clothing “Marie Kondo” style. We purchased a few storage containers for the drawers and under-the-bed to add form and function to her room. It’s now the best looking and feeling room in our home! Phew! She is happy and we are all happy she is with us! It also doesn’t hurt that her cooking is delicious!

Through this transition and this project we chose to embrace change instead of fight it. Tackling this project in a logical, organized way also helped to ease everyone’s anxiety and made the transition much smoother for all of us.

If you need help managing a major life transition or a smaller organizing project, we’re here for you! Check out our two, new virtual services on our website or give us a call! Stay safe and be well!