Allow me to explain…I have never been a “cat person.” Growing up we had a dog for 14 years. Our beloved “Lady” died during my freshman year of college. My earliest memories of my childhood go back to the night that my father brought her home in the inside pocket of his overcoat. We all sat on the kitchen floor and called her by her name so she could learn it while getting to know us, her new family.
When a family member begins an organizing project in their home, little do they realize how much their efforts will impact their family, let alone their pets. Recently I had a fun session with a client that I have been working with for several months. We had a packed agenda that included moving heavy bins from the dining room to the basement in preparation for guests, as well as moving a very heavy dining room table to remove the old rectangular rug and replace it with the new circular area rug.
When I find myself prepping for a day of heavy lifting, I make sure that I am prepared with my trusty knee pads, my back brace and my “core” ready for action. First things first, we moved the two dogs to the backyard so that they were not underfoot. The one pet that remained in the home was the cat. During our choreography for the move, we knew that we had to be careful, go slow and be mindful of the weight of the table.
The cat was keeping her distance from this discussion and initial planning. But once the furniture began to move out of the dining room, the cat jumped into action. She was prancing on chairs, on the table, and rolling around on the carpeting once the table was removed from the space. When we rolled up the old carpet to remove it from the home, the cat began to crawl inside it to explore. Both I and the client said at the same time, “Don’t even go there!” What fun we all were having.
Once the new rug was down, we were getting ready to move the table back into the dining room and we turned around to see the cat rolling on her back every which way and playing with the plumb line that we hung from the chandelier to establish the center of the new rug. I was amazed at how the cat was entertaining herself with every little thing; a piece of lint, a piece of string, a new rug to rub herself on and the plumb line hanging from above.
It just goes to show that organizing is not just a family event for people, it impacts the pets too. As we were closing in on the end of our organizing session, we let one of the two dogs back inside to sniff around. She was curious about the smells of the new rug, and a bit perplexed by the change of the flooring (the new rug had a completely different footprint than the old one). She was walking around, sniffing, and then finally lay down on the floor next to the table with a bit of a huff. The cat was resting with her body half on the rug, half on the floor, as if protecting the new floor covering from us busy humans.
My next appointment of the day was spent in a one-bedroom apartment with a client who has a very curious cat. As we were sorting through papers on the dining room table, the cat would position himself on top of the papers as we completed each pile. Then he was pushing a pair of bookends around on the dining room table as if they were a set of dominos. When the client and I took a break, the cat was climbing up my knee pads with his front claws and head bumping me to show me his affection.
I feel blessed for the opportunity to service my clients and their pets with organizing skills and an open heart and total love for their four-legged family members. And because of my exposure to the world of felines, I can honestly say I am becoming a cat person too.
Happy Organizing!
By Eileen Bergman
Eileen Bergman is a Professional Organizer, a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). Eileen is listed in the resource directory for the Hoarding Disorder Resource and Training Group. Eileen may be reached at 973-303-3236 or [email protected].
