I have been home sick since last Sunday. My doctor says I have the flu.
So I have been watching a huge amount of television, and catching up on news and talk shows I haven't seen in a while.
What I did catch yesterday, strangely enough, was a Channel 2 KCBS news story about a woman in Stanton who is getting evicted because of her clutter, piles of junk in her apartment she shares with her 88-year-old mother.
Last September, when I was at a wedding in Italy, 1-800-Got-Junk contacted my organizing colleague Chris McKenry to see if he could gather organizing colleagues to help Los Angeles-area resident Rebecca Zanville and her mother, Ruth (pictured above, right) clear the junk.
The Professional Organizers did help. I was just sorry I couldn't physically be there. 6-8 organizers worked a full day pro-bono to help this woman clear her house, and successfully tackled part of the living room. You can see the touching video of the day's events on the KCBS-2 website by clicking here.
So the news piece I caught last night was an update on this woman. And it was really disturbing. She hasn't changed and now she has an Orange County Superior Court date on February 23, when she will ask for more time to find a new home.
There's only so much we can do for clients. Participation, maintenance and homework assignments are a large portion of our success. She was given a year's free attendance for a Clutter Support Group in Torrance, helmed by Ann Gambrell, a founder of the National Association of Professional Organizers. But the woman couldn't go because her car broke down. Neighbors offered to drive her there, and she refused. Now it's time for the courts to decide what the future has in store for her.
Picture above courtesy of Paul E. Rodriguez of the OC Register
