Spring Awakenings...A Professional Organizer's Story About Overcoming Stress During The Season of Rebirth and Renewal

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....spring is really here.

Well, sort of.

I've lived in Colorado long enough now to know that just because we have a gorgeous 70 degree and sunny day on April 1st, on April 3rd it can be 30 and snowing...which is exactly what happened when I was scheduled to go to CA to surprise my brother for his 60th birthday a few weeks ago.

The first delay notification text came literally as I arrived at the airport...and then 3 more in less than 30 minutes. I honestly thought I was going to have to spend the night there when the 3rd notification came, indicating the flight wasn't going to take off until around 10 pm because that plane was supposed to come from Philadelphia amidst all of the crazy storms and tornadoes that day on the Eastern half of the US.

When all was said and done, they found another plane to take off, ostensibly a little after 7 pm, only an hour later than the original flight, but after we boarded, of course, the dreaded ICEMAN cometh, and we had to wait our turn for de-icing.

Denver International Airport 4/3/25

But I digress...

Spring is the season for rebirth and renewal. I have written about this before, especially as it relates to being a home organizer and move management specialist. We always see a big burst of activity at this time of the year as people are coming out from their winter hibernation/cocoons and are ready to begin to feel the need to give their homes a good cleanse/edit, whether moving or not. It feels like stress an anxiety are at all-time highs and I believe that we should all try to overcome stress this spring with the tools and community we have around us.

And not to bring religion into this, but Easter and Passover are definitely about rebirth and renewal. I'm not a religious scholar; however, as someone who has celebrated Passover my entire life, I know that many Jewish homes participate in the Passover ritual of Bedikat Chametz, or cleansing of all leavened products. My family never practiced to that degree, but as I sat at a very special women's seder with over 200 in attendance earlier this month, I was reminded of how that ritual does align with the annual surge I experience in this business. And the Ruth Bader Ginsburg quote below in the special haggadah created for the Women's seder really resonated with me as I do believe no matter what the season, I am trying to leave the world a little better despite how truly challenging it can be doing what I and my team do every day for our clients.

While there are tens of thousands of articles online with recommendations for DIY spring cleaning, including a recent one featuring many of my fellow Thumbtack Pros I have had the pleasure to get to know through the years I have used their platform to generate leads (click HERE to read it), #TeamIJS has been helping so many people who truly can't do it themselves. And as I have said repeatedly through the years, we help with zero judgment. Sadly, and not to bring politics into this any more than I want to bring religion into any conversation these days, the number of clients that are not coping well with all of the chaos in our country is staggering to put it mildly.

"I'm completely overwhelmed and don't know where to start."

"I'm drowning in clutter but am afraid to let go of anything."

"I really can't live like this anymore."

These are sentiments I hear over and over and over again.

I pride myself on being able to talk about 75% of clients through the process.

But the other 25%?

They simply can't get out of their own way.

And no, that isn't a criticism.

It's simply a fact...if you still believe in facts.

For those who can afford therapy out of pocket or get a certain number of visits a year through insurance, I cannot stress enough how invaluable a good therapist can be to helping work on a client's internal clutter while my team and I are simultaneously working on their external clutter. The problem is, some therapists just are not very good, and that means our clients are not being set up for success by them, making our job that much harder.

Case and point...I happened to sit next to someone at the Boulder Film Festival in March who noticed the company-branded shirt I was wearing after exhibiting at a conference all day and didn't have time to go home and change before meeting my friend for the film we had decided to see that evening.

This particular person tapped me on the shoulder and wanted to know more about my organizing business, so I proceeded to tell him my elevator pitch about how I think the services we provide are really a necessity instead of a luxury for the vast majority of our clients. They are struggling with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental illness, and my hope is that I can help break the cycle they have found themselves in.

So what does the person who initiated this conversation say to me in that moment?

"There is no scientific evidence that any of those things causes clutter and, in extreme cases, hoarding."

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

WHAT...THE...ACTUAL...HELL?

Seriously, why do people feel the need to attack complete strangers like this?

When I asked him what made him believe that, the response was, "I'm a therapist so I know you are wrong."

Awesome...just...awesome.

Now, I could have gotten into a much more heated debate with this so-called professional, but instead said, "I think this is where our conversation will need to end and I hope you enjoy the film," and turned back to having a conversation with my friend until the film started.

Listen, I realize we are an extremely divided country, but do we really need to argue over why someone is struggling with too much stuff or struggling with anything, for that matter?

If this therapist truly believes there is no correlation between mental health disorders and clutter he clearly shouldn't be counseling any patients about it unless he can still give them tools to get rid of the clutter.

Some clutter, of course, has nothing to do with any significant mental or physical struggle. Some of it happens simply because people don't prioritize it or don't care and live perfectly content lives surrounded by a lot of stuff. And as long as it doesn't impact their mental or physical health and they can easily find anything in their home that they may need, great.

Who am I to tell them otherwise?

But when it gets to the point where it is impacting their lives in negative ways, then science, in my opinion, will always prevail.

The week after the film festival encounter, I got a call from a woman who had just left her therapist, where they had discussed how she was finally ready to get help with decluttering. Her excuse to herself for years had been that she was too embarrassed to let anyone in her home, but her therapist told her that a good professional organizer will be there to hold her hand through the process and not disparage her.

Now that, my friends, is a GOOD THERAPIST!

So, in honor of Stress Awareness Month, I want to truly stress how important it is to, as the theme for this year states, always #leadwithlove whether you are a therapist, professional organizer or, well, any human being.

Source: Stress Management Society

I think I do a pretty good job most of the time, leading with love, but during stressful times, which, let's face it, we are in the most stressful of times right now, it is really hard. I will admit my patience has been tested nonstop lately, as it seems there are fewer and fewer coping mechanisms to remain efficient and focused while doing daily work and tasks.

That said, when the mother of a friend (who lives locally but my friend is out of state) reached out to invite me to her assisted living community's Passover dinner but I was unable to attend due to a previous commitment, I led with so much love to bring her a Passover meal that we shared together on a different night this past week. She had just gone through a very stressful month-long hospital stay due to a significant psychotic episode and was clearly needing some love in person.

This was the text I received when I got home...

The feeling of loneliness, especially during any holiday and not having family nearby, is something I experience and struggle with as well. I'm fortunate, though, to have created a family of friends to share special occasions with, as evidenced by this photo taken on the first night of Passover at a friend's house for what has become quite a tradition for my group of friends, whether Jewish or not, for our annual PassTer/EastOver celebration...

Our small attempt to reduce whatever stress this spring we are feeling by wearing masks representing some of the 10 plagues mentioned in the Passover story

In this season and every season, may we all find ways to lead with less stress and more love.