Oh Patio!

The summer season is upon us, and it is the perfect time to take advantage of the porch, patio or roof deck. But what can you do if your outdoor space is a cluttered mess?

I worked with Rachel about two years after she renovated her house. Her screened patio had been the ideal space to store excess items during the renovation, but she had never found the time to unpack it. She was anxious not to let another summer go by without having access to her patio, and called me to help. She scheduled a time near the beginning of summer that coincided with one of her town’s twice-monthly recycling pick-up day.

When I got there for our appointment, Rachel showed me the space and we talked  about what items she needed to keep and how we were

going to sort them. We designated temporary storage areas nearby for recycling, things to keep, trash and things to donate, using bags, a trash bin, a laundry basket and whatever Rachel had available that we could use. We had to throw out a lot of items that had been damaged by the weather, since the patio screens had been protected by a tarp that hasn’t held up to two years of wind, rain and snow. Rachel knew her family wouldn’t really miss too many of these items after not having touched them for two years, but we also found a few happy surprises along the way, things Rachel forgot about or had been searching for.

We threw out worn and damaged games that Rachel’s children had outgrown, and put salvageable ones in a pile to keep or donate. We sorted through a lot of boxes full of books, papers, photos and tchotchkies. Rachel had clear goals and knew what she wanted, so we got a lot done during her four-hour appointment. We were more than halfway done when the time was up, and Rachel had a good sense of what was still needed to finish the work. We scheduled another appointment before I left to keep the patio organization on track and to start on Rachel’s next project, a spare room. Rachel liked knowing that she had the tools to complete the patio on her own, but that I would be there to help her finish if necessary.

When I came back the following week, Rachel was eager to show me her progress on the patio. It was all cleaned out:

the tarp was gone, broken tables had been tossed, important items had found homes elsewhere in the house and there was a donation pile ready to be sent to her favorite charity. Sheepishly she told me that, because she knew I was coming, she and her husband had cleaned out the patio the night before.

It was clear that having a deadline worked for her. We were both pleased to devote all of the second appointment to organizing the spare bedroom.

I can help you meet an organizing goal from start to finish, or just get you started and arm you with strategies to finish on your own.

Side note: These blog stories feature real clients and their organizing solutions. For the purpose of client privacy, all names have been changed.