As a Professional Organizer, a common scenario I see with clients is difficulty envisioning how items will fit in a particular space. I have come to learn that many people lack the ability to estimate if a space will appropriately accommodate their items. An example of this came up recently with a long-time client when she acquired some new chairs.
I arrived at my client’s home, and she was eager and excited to show me some new chairs she had acquired. She wasn’t exactly sure where the chairs would go in her home as space was tight, but she was hoping we could see what we could do. After some conversation, it was clear that positioning the chairs in her living room to accommodate guests was preferred over the kitchen or elsewhere in the home. We identified an area and began relocating items, recycling, and trashing as appropriate. It was determined that an existing chair in the space was not used as intended and could be replaced with one of the new chairs.
Upon clearing some space in the living room, my client moved one of the new chairs into the living room. She was immediately pleased by this and began questioning where the second chair could go. I hadn’t realized there was hesitation on her part that both chairs would fit in the first place. She had never considered putting BOTH chairs in the living room next to one another. In her mind, there simply was not enough space. It wasn’t until I suggested trying to place the second chair next to the first that she was able to see that they could both comfortably fit. They could be pulled apart a little more when entertaining and squeezed together when not in use. My client was THRILLED! She was the one who indicated her challenge with spatial awareness and how she never would have tried both chairs together had I not suggested it.
For me, this was yet another example of the benefit of working with a Professional Organizer or body double to accomplish tasks. It can be easy to get stuck in our own patterns, and having another perspective can offer unexpected results.