The professionals tackling clutter in Taiwanese homes
The decluttering movement appears to have arrived in Taiwan and business is booming. More and more Taiwanese feel an organized home is worth spending money on. Certified professionals are paid to help clients reorder spaces and create systems in order to achieve a sense of clarity in their lives. Professional organizers aren''t maids, but they''re hired to tackle messes big and small. To explore how these specialists work, FTV followed one decluttering guru into a Taiwanese home. Our Sunday special report. Five years ago, the Pans moved to a new home in Banqiao to give the children a bit more room. The spacious and homey flat boasts a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a bedroom for each kid and a playroom.Despite that extra space, today the house is full. Mr. Pan’s variegated “collections” pile up high in every corner. The living room is full of motherboards and computer parts. Mr. Pan’s clothes take up more than half the space in the walk-in closet. They also occupy half of the children’s wardrobes. Gaming equipment is crammed under the bed. Most alarming of all is the shoes.Shoeboxes line the shelves of the storeroom. They’re stacked up on the kids’ wardrobes. More shoes are stored in the custom-made dresser. Over in the corner, the boxes open to reveal even more shoeboxes wedged within.Mr. Pan is fashion conscious, and he says that different outfits call for different shoes. He says that not buying items on sale would be a waste. But for Mrs. Pan, his hoarding habits have been a source of distress for a long time. They have decided to hire the services of a professional organizer. Shirly Yu is here to declutter their rooms and to give their home a fresh start.After a discussion with Mr. Pan, they start with three boxes of clothes in their son’s room.Shirly YuProfessional organizerWe’ll sort the clothing into three piles. Put the things that you want here, between you and me. Next to you, put the things you’re hesitant about, such as new clothing.Things you are certain you don’t want, you can pass to her.Shirly YuProfessional organizerThere is a procedure to follow when tidying up. First you organize, then you store. People have the misconception that all they need to do is buy new storage units. They go out and pick up a few beautiful storage boxes or wardrobes or racks, and then they stuff them with possessions. Their thinking is, “out of sight, out of mind.” I feel that storage units are a very big culprit behind home clutter.During the process, the Pans uncover many similar-looking garments. Some even have their tags still on.Shirly YuProfessional organizerOrganizing and cleaning are two completely different things. A house with no one living in it will eventually get dirty. But there won’t be a mess that needs to be organized, because nobody is living in the house. The biggest difference between organizing and cleaning is that organizing requires you to choose and discard objects. You need to take the item out, take a look at it and decide whether you need it and whether you want to keep it.In 2013, hoarding became listed as a disorder in its own right in the U.S.’ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.Yang Tsung-tsair PsychiatristHoarding has been listed as a new disorder. It’s included in the category of “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.” According to a global epidemiological survey, hoarding disorder affects between 2 and 7 percent of the population. That’s a general study. Another thing is that hoarding disorder seems to affect males more than females.Phyllis is Taiwan’s first organizer to be accredited by the U.S. National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. She’s a pioneer in the industry, and she’s handled many a difficult case.PhyllisProfessional organizerPeople might think that perfectionists make their houses spick and span, but that’s not necessarily the case. Many hoarders are perfectionists. They are afraid of making the wrong decision, so they don’t throw anything away. Over the past few years, tidying experts like Marie Kondo have popularized the art of organization. A new ethos is rising up, one that says tidying up is about self-discovery and having a conversation with yourself.PhyllisProfessional organizerIf you focus only on what you don’t want, you might pick out things you hate and things that you find ugly. But if you change your mindset and focus on keeping the things you want, you’ll find what is important to you. Only through the process of discarding and tidying will you realize that the things you’re most unwilling to part with are what you love the most. Cleaning is not just about scrubbing dirt from the floor. It’s about taking a second look at our possessions, claiming what we value, and experiencing the joy of finding more space in our lives.