This kitchen appealed to my old-school senses because it is roomy, with adequate moving room to maneuver from the cooktop to the sink to the dishwasher, much unlike the narrow strips that pass for a kitchen in new-age homes. The all-white surface was a challenge, especially given the staining tendencies of the most used spice in all Indian homes – turmeric! The stone counters provide solace, and the owners of this gorgeous space promised me that they’ve been able to keep the heart of their home stain free for over a decade. I was astounded to learn that this space had not been renovated or remodeled in ten years. It looks brand new. I told them as such, and learned many secrets on how to keep a kitchen clean and spotless.

            “Why do you need me?” I asked them, amazed by the level of their dedication to the neatness of their home.

            “Because we are trying to declutter, and cannot decide what to keep and what to discard.” I could sense their frustration despite their stoic expressions. They’d been through several attempts at decluttering, only to return to the same pile in utter frustration.

            “I need to see the rest of your home to be able to help you in this space,” I warned them.  

            They readily agreed. I spent the next two hours walking through their house, listening to their stories as they told me about their children, the bedrooms the children had grown up in, the living room where all the achievements of the now grown-up children still had a place of pride, the backyard where they’d played for hours during summer holidays. Fast forward to present day, the children are grown up, busy making lives of their own. It will be a while before the empty nest of my clients is filled with sounds of little grandchildren. Now that I knew their requirements, I could help them better.

            Over the course of next month, we went through each possession in the kitchen, each spatula, each bowl. Soon, we had a neat little donation box packed and ready. How’d we get there? Well, the client needed to live through the memories they associated with each item. They weren’t hoarders, they were simply a couple trying to come to terms with the reality of an empty nest in a foreign land they’d made their home a little over two decades ago. Acknowledging the sentimental value of each item, as well as the possible goodness they’d earn by donating it to a home, a loving family that would be grateful for such a windfall, helped in a big way. More importantly though, my clients acknowledged that being given the time, the permission, the luxury to walk down the memory lane one last time holding that tangible beacon helped them realize that the item itself held no value to them. It wasn’t even all that special or expensive. Some were, in fact, broken or chipped to the point of being unusable, and could not even be donated.

            The beautiful kitchen cabinets were now neatly organized, matching their elegant exterior. Gone were the several dozen plates and cups and sippers. Now, they have a well-planned, well-organized, and largely well-coordinated kitchen set.  Memories, the thing that makes us human. Being able to revisit those memories on call is a gift. The clients were grateful for that gift, and were soon able to declutter to a healthy, manageable extent.