When former teacher Brenda left a 30-year classroom career behind, she thought it would usher in a new chapter of her life. However, the clutter around one area in her home became the ultimate block, stopping her from truly moving on.
The mess ‘spread like a virus’ around Brenda’s NYC apartment, until she hired a professional to help, and realized the key to decluttering her home was actually clearing her work desk and getting rid of it.
Here are the vital decluttering processes she went through, and what led to a new lease of life for Brenda, both in her home and beyond.
Why decluttering Brenda’s desk was the key all along
The desk Brenda had planned lessons from and marked her students' work at for years had become her apartment's center-point for clutter.
The 53-year-old explains, ‘It was organized chaos. I knew I was in trouble when I would run out of space and things were just being piled on top of one another. I had an idea of where things were, but it was an eyesore. Its purpose had become to hold things, not to do work.’
Though Brenda had left behind three decades of classroom teaching and her workload had disappeared, the clutter around her desk, which she saw as a part of her identity as a teacher, did not.
She says, ‘That desk represented success, purpose, and love. It reminded me that I once did meaningful work and that no matter what, I would always be a teacher. It was evidence of that, but ironically, it also brought up sadness and loss.’
A finite storage space will force you to ruthlessly declutter and this woven rolling one will not only wick away any sense of a clinical home office, but serve its function while looking aesthetically pleasing. Embracing biophilic decluttering will allow for long-term tidiness at home.
Brenda's emotional clutter block
The clutter from Brenda’s desk became a source of frustration, and ended up holding her back from the activities she now wanted to pursue.
Brenda shares, ‘The clutter was like a virus – it spread! First to the sofas, then to a rocking chair and ultimately to the chair and bench in my bedroom. As it did so, the overwhelm of decluttering it all increased. Additionally, I had bags of books just hanging out on the floor.
‘Without a place for them all to go, the challenge of decluttering them felt daunting and the very real impact of clutter in general made me feel like I was not able to invite people over and host.’
These wheeled, stackable and flute-fronted storage bins are perfect for housing books and other hobby items. When you’ve decluttered a collection, you can collapse the bin away till you next need it or use it somewhere else where added storage is more needed. They also make nice display cabinets in compact city apartments without taking up too much floor space.
The fix came in manageable baby steps
Gala Magriñá, Holistic Interiors Expert and Designer helped Brenda unpack the emotional baggage her old work desk carried and finally declutter successfully.
She says, ‘I knew the desk was a problem when she told me that it was broken and that she never did work there anymore. Those are very clear signs that something was amiss and she was holding onto something deeper.
‘Because it was so hard for her to get rid of, I broke it down into super small steps and allowed her to cheat a little as she did not understand why she had the clutter. Like many people, she got stuck in an all-or-nothing approach.’
Many people feel overwhelmed when tidying, but when clutter is stopping you doing the things you want, such as socializing, it’s a sign that it’s time to streamline things deeply.
Beautiful storage baskets are not just a great small space storage idea, but can be useful holdalls for clutter you are gradually working through. This handcrafted one features natural materials over a durable metal frame for longevity.
Gala advises, ‘It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pressure of doing it all at once, so instead of just tackling Brenda’s desk, she’d immediately start thinking: “If I get rid of the desk, then what am I doing with my sofa, or the empty space or the coffee table?” and so on. This spiral is where people get paralyzed when decluttering.’
Finding the right organizing solutions
Brenda admits she had tried many ‘Band-Aid’ home storage ideas instead of investing in the things she really needed to get on top of clutter, but they never stuck.
She explains, ‘I bought a little drawer organizer from IKEA to hold my office supplies, because honestly, I love office supplies and don’t want to part with them all. Hello, former teacher! Eventually, I ran out of space with extras spilling into a box on the floor, a basket on the dining room table, and on the sofa.
‘Then I ended up with two additional bookcases from a friend that she got rid of because she was moving, but because they were for product displays and not books, they felt like misfits in my space. They’re also turquoise, which just isn’t my style: A lesson in only taking in what you need and love!’
Much like when decluttering for loved ones in their 80s, it is often the case that as people’s lives move forward, they inherit whole collections, furniture or other mementos they find difficult to let go of. It’s why sentimental clutter should be ruthlessly decluttered to allow your home to be fit for the purpose you want to use it for now.
A 24-pack of non-slip, easy-clean drawer organizers will keep your belongings in an easily-accessible setup that makes the most of the space you have, and help allocate homes to items without a dedicated space. This will help you maintain it moving forward.
Rolling carts can be fabulous storage additions and organizers for apartments. Their contents can evolve as your hobbies and needs do.
Organize belonging into lidded woven baskets like this duo to keep your home tidy and easy on the eye. These can be stacked and looked decorative whilst remaining highly useful.
In the end, Gala eased Brenda into her decluttering journey by allowing herself to ‘throw all of the items into a cardboard box and tuck it away in the closet. The ideal thing to do would have been to edit down all the belongings in the desk and then find a new home for them, but this little step got the desk out!’
The desk was broken already, so Brenda got rid of it and was finally able to deal with the reality of her classroom teaching experience drawing properly to a close.
Brenda says, ‘Walking away from my teaching career was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It left a gaping hole in my soul for many years.’
Luckily, after the desk was out of her home, Brenda began to see hope and opportunity for new hobbies and time well spent in her home.
A new lease of life for Brenda and her home
Brenda says, ‘I’ve always wanted a “library” and a reading nook, but NYC apartments aren’t always conducive. I am starting by replacing my sofa, which I’ve never loved, and am eyeing a two-piece sectional sofa. I would love to pair it with a storage ottoman so I could store my work stuff there, but am still on the hunt!'
When living in compact spaces, multi-functional furniture is a lifesaver. Doubling up a comfortable footstool in Brenda’s new reading nook with a hidden ottoman feature may be the perfect solution.
While Brenda’s hunt for the perfect items continues, she has grown comfortable with the space left behind by clearing out her old work desk and the spread of clutter that went with it. She now feels good about saying goodbye to all it represented.
Brenda says, ‘I have gotten used to the empty space and have realized that there are other places where the things on the desk could live. Clearing the desk made me feel accomplished, but getting rid of it made me feel liberated! I was no longer a prisoner to a perceived failure or loss.’
Brenda, who now works in Ed-Tech publishing, has been able to reconcile within herself that she doesn’t ‘need a desk or a classroom' to prove she’s a teacher, as it’s deep in her being.
In fact, after working with interiors expert Gala, Brenda says, ‘I am reconsidering whether I really want to replicate work in what should be my sanctuary, and I'm excited for the new possibilities.’
She’s now turning the space the desk once took up to hold what she really loves.
Brenda says, ‘I am excited to fill it with books that bring me comfort without feeling overly cluttered. I feel like a whole new version of me, and as though a whole new world is possible. I'm thankful there are people like Gala who understand that to have beauty at home, I don't have to compromise who I am or what I love.'
If you’re struggling to get rid of work related items at home when you leave a job or retire, Gala has some tips.
She says, ‘As someone who took a career leap myself, I think it’s about assuring yourself that when one door closes, another opens.
'Remind yourself that by getting rid of the old that no longer serves us and reflects who we are in the present moment or who we want to become, we are literally making room for new opportunities, clarity and things to come into our lives. Who doesn’t want that?’
Delve into our library of tried and tested decluttering methods library to find one that's for your clutter blocker, the amount of time you have, or organizing style.
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