Fresh Start

Americans have “stuff”—more stuff than we can conceivably need or use. Some 38 percent of Americans have more material possessions than they can fit in their homes even if they have access to a garage, attic or basement.

Increasingly the populace resorts to self-storage units, spending between $75 and $185 each month to receive the overflow. Then, what do they do—they get more stuff.

Why do we have so much? Why can’t we let go of these tangible items? Sell them or recycle them? Perhaps because we develop emotional connections with items that trigger special memories of a person or time. Or perhaps we perceive that they will be needed in the future. Or maybe it is a simple human need to hold on.

Whatever the reason, maintaining our possessions can become more punishment than pleasure and a whole industry has grown up to help us let go. While decluttering may look like a practical matter of disposal, experts say it is, in fact, equal parts throwing away and therapy.

“Some people can’t throw away anything without permission,” said Laura Gratz of Berkshire Organizing. “When I was starting out and talking to other professional organizers, I said I would reach out through realtors. One of them said, ‘No, you need to reach out to therapists.’ I have realized she is right. There is so much guilt about keeping things and it became clear it is more emotional than organizational. It’s helping them with something they can’t do.”

Gratz is insouciant and says she gets along well with people, an asset in a business that calls for both tact and trust. “I need to read the person,” she said. “Some can handle more pushing.”
And others can’t. She has one client, one she sees regularly, who never discards a single item. “I spend three hours with her and she won’t let me touch a thing. Then she writes out a check and tells me it’s been worth every penny.”

Gratz, who has a background in education and nonprofits, said she came to professional organizing late in her career. “I had done a lot of things and then I had a job I didn’t like. I decided to start my own business but didn’t know what.”

Then she thought of her lifelong predilection for tidiness. “I’m the kind of person who enjoys opening a junk drawer, taking everything out and figuring out what to do. I love it and I love my clients. They are all so different.”

She noted that there are many programs designed to help people divest themselves of possessions. There is the “four box” method, in which boxes are labeled “trash,” “storage,” “put away” and “give away/sell”; the 12/12/12 rule where 12 items are chosen to throw away, 12 to donate and 12 to put back; the 20/20 rule where the cleaner gets rid of items that can be replaced for $20 or less in 20 minutes; the 80/20 rule where the homeowner gets rid of 80 percent of belongings that aren’t used regularly; the Rule of Five that removes items that haven’t been used in five years and the draconian sounding Swedish Death Cleaning where the owner makes decisions about stuff so loved ones don’t have to later.

Gratz, who said she did a lot of online research and took classes before launching her business, doesn’t use any of these methods. “There are a lot of gimmicky things about reorganizing. I don’t do that. What I am doing is way more individualized.”

She asks for a tour of the area to be decluttered and simply goes to work. “I know within seven minutes where I have to start,” she declares. “I work in three-hour blocks and I like to start in one corner, open it up and just start grabbing stuff. Clients sometimes say, ‘You’re going to start now?’ and I say, ‘Yes, now!’ At the end of three hours, most people want to keep going. It’s a lot about momentum.

“I hear all the stories about all the stuff—that pen from your grandma that you love. But I keep it moving along. But I must be discrete and kind and build trust, especially with other people’s stuff.”

She does not encourage clients to buy plastic bins or other containers when they hire her. “Almost all the people who hire me have purchased things that don’t get used for organizing,” she reported. Neither does she suggest renting self-storage units. “It speaks to our society that around Great Barrington all the storage units are full,” she said.

She does not work with hoarders. “We all have too much stuff but people need to come to me,” she said. “I thought about advertising but there is nothing I can do to make them come until they are ready.”

Once items have been culled from the person’s possessions, where do they go? “People have different ideas about where it should go,” Gratz said. “I will fill my car for Goodwill and I have contact with woman who helps settle immigrants. I try to connect with nonprofits and I know someone who will buy stuff. The hardest part is convincing people that what they think is worth a lot of money, isn’t but I can recommend antiques dealers.”

Gratz can be reached at 413-274-2247 or by emailing laura@berkshireorganizing.com.

While Gratz moved effortlessly into a new career field, another Berkshire resident entered the field with military precision. Jonathan dos Santos took skills he learned in the Marines and translated them to create a team of workers who provide a range of disposal services.

“I returned from the Marine Corps and was poking around the area looking for what I would do,” said dos Santos. “I became close with a gentleman who runs a rubbish service. He told me the demand for basic junk removal services was huge. He said that because of the older population, there were a lot of people who needed help moving.”

The Donohue Institute of the University of Massachusetts reports that 32.68 percent of Berkshire County residents are seniors aged 60 and older which makes Berkshire County as one of the “oldest” counties in the Commonwealth. This cohort is a source of growing business for dos Santos and his crew. But it requires sensitivity on the part of the removal team.

“This is our fourth year, and Berkshire Removal fully serves Berkshire County, north to south,” he said. “One of the hallmarks of this company is being customer centric.

Catering to an aging population, dos Santos created a company that specializes in working with people. “A lot of times, people are parting ways with certain things they’ve had for 20-, 30-, 40-plus years. We assume this is going to be an emotional thing for them and I like to have the most empathetic kind of process so they are comfortable with it”, he said.

“We just did a cleanup for a mother and daughter. The daughter had had a health emergency, and the apartment was out of sorts. So I went in with a crew and assisted them with moving things around. We laid stuff out so they could see it. It was a slow process but we’re not just moving around stuff; we’re moving their belongings.”

Other times clients have already been through the sorting process. “They may have taken a weekend to decide and have a pile in the garage. Obviously at that point they have parted ways with the stuff.”

He said clients come to him from a variety of sources—realtors marketing a home, nursing and assisted living homes or people who have decided to downsize to a condo or to live with their children. No matter what, he realizes it is “a very emotional time.”

“All my guys are trained,” he said. “A lot of what I use today is from boot camp exercises, learning about teamwork and strategizing together. There is no judging when we have common task. When (an employee) comes on board, they observe and are guided through the process by working with someone. I feel that is very important. (The company’s ethos) gets passed down.”

Materials removed from homes are put to the best use possible. “I’m affiliated with a lot of resources like Dream Green Recycling in Adams, Hubbard Avenue Restore in Pittsfield for furniture and Goodwill. We also work with the Berkshire Humane Society. We’re happy to be a partner to donate money and supplies.”

Dos Santos likes to book two weeks out but said he has established a 24-hour emergency response for when a client must vacate a home quickly. He can be reached at 413-264-9229 or
Contactus@berkshireremoval.com.