Make the Transition Manageable From the Start
Our team of decluttering professionals can assist you with:
- Sorting through belongings to help you determine what to keep, donate, sell, recycle or discard
- Assisting you with determining a location for important papers, valuables and keepsakes
- Arranging to have unwanted items removed
- Preparing your home for cleaning, repairs, staging or moving
Decluttering and organizing services from Caring Transitions can help:
- After a life transition
- When downsizing
- When preparing your home for sale
- When settling an estate
- When clutter has gotten out of control
- To help facilitate conversations between family members
Decluttering isn’t about living in a minimalist space. It’s about having a functional space that’s tailored to you and your needs. When clutter gets in the way of your everyday activities, it can make your living space less functional and safe (Mayo Clinic covers this at www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/fall-prevention/art-20047358). Whether you’re downsizing, preparing to put your home on the market, or simply trying to get a handle on everything you own, decluttering can help you gain control of your living space and pave the way for your next transition.
Work Through Clutter One Decision at a Time
Organized household belongings
- Do I need it? Could I possibly need it in the future?
- Does it have sentimental value?
- Did I receive it from someone else or does it belong to someone else?
- What should I do with it, donate, sell, recycle, discard?
When clutter has gotten out of control and is making day-to-day activities more of a challenge, our decluttering and organizing services can help. We’ll create a decluttering plan and tackle one area at a time, rather than viewing decluttering your entire home as one big insurmountable task. Not only will we help you reclaim your living space and create an organized, functional environment, we’ll help you create a system to keep it that way!
Match the Level of Help to the Job
When a loved one passes away and family members are unable to get together to sort through their things, we understand that decluttering an estate can be a challenge. We can help sort through personal effects and items of sentimental value so that you can distribute things among family members equitably. Our team can also help you sort through and organize financial, legal and medical records, as well as other important paperwork, to make it easier for you to tackle loose ends following a loss.
While decluttering an estate or downsizing a family home may benefit from a team of trained professionals, Caring Transitions understands that there are times when hiring a decluttering company is overkill. If you’re looking to sort through a single drawer, shelf or closet, or want to gather up a few bags of unwanted clothes to drop off at a local charity, then, chances are, you probably don’t need to call in backup.
That said, if you’re trying to clear out your home for upcoming construction or home-improvement projects, sorting through important financial records, or preparing your home to be sold on a set timeline, our decluttering and organizing services may be just what you need.
Set Aside Items That Need Special Handling
No matter what your circumstances, it’s important to remember that you’re in control of your stuff. As such, we always work with clients to identify any items or objects that should not be thrown away, items that belong to friends or family, as well as items that should be set aside and dealt with separately, such as:
- Important documents (financial, legal, medical, etc.)
- Sentimental items (family photos, letters, heirlooms, etc.)
- Valuables (jewelry, collectibles, etc.)
- Items that belong to others
- Damaged items (hazardous materials, old medications, broken electronics, etc.)
Once we’ve identified items that require special consideration, we’ll set them aside for you to sort through at your convenience, which helps to ensure that nothing is mistakenly discarded and can help to avoid conflict among family members.
Decluttering and downsizing are just the first steps. With Caring Transitions decluttering services in Chicago, you can get help organizing your belongings and finding a place for everything that makes sense for your needs. Once we’ve determined which items you’d like to keep, we can arrange frequently used items within easy reach while consolidating and clearly labeling off-season belongings to make them easier to find down the road.
As clutter is cleared away, you may find that your home has some immediate needs, for example, clearing out your basement may reveal water damage that needs to be addressed, purging your closets could help you realize that you need to replace outdated shelving, and downsizing your furniture collection may make it easier to navigate your living space safely.
Start With One Concrete Goal
Not sure where to start? That’s okay, we’re here to help! Start by identifying a goal, whether that’s decluttering your home ahead of a move, helping to sort through an estate, making your living space safer, or simply carving out more living space to enjoy.