I just got off the phone with a dear friend. Her father died about three weeks ago and then she suffered another great loss when her cat passed away shortly after.

With much hesitation, she began sorting through her father’s belongings. During this process, her goal was to organize her home and to adjust to life without her loved ones. This is very hard to do when there is so much emotion attached to specific items. It’s also extremely challenging to organize anything if there isn’t focus, stamina and direction. For most people, organizing can be difficult, but when you experience any form of loss, it takes on a completely different dimension.

I recently organized several rooms at my church that included the offices, bookstore, prayer room and break room. I had three great volunteers, yet it took us about six hours, not including the prep time. It would have taken one person a week to do it alone and they would have been exhausted. It’s important to remember that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, which can be your motivation to reach the final organizational goal. If you feel yourself starting to spin out of control and are making a greater mess than you began with, just stop and ask for help.

Clients typically hire me when they’ve made a failed attempt to organize and are so stuck that the only thing they can do is seek assistance. Or, they often try too quickly to organize on their own, especially when they’ve experienced some sort of crisis. This isn’t the way to go about organizing. You need to be in a good head space. Take your time and don’t panic when you need to decide what to let go of in order to move forward with a fresh, organized life. This certainly isn’t easy, but if you take it one baby step at a time, you will not be overwhelmed and deterred from continuing toward your goal.

My theory is that people would like to live a life free of clutter, but many aren’t up for the big effort it takes to get to this level. That’s why things sit there not getting done, depression sets in, you are paralyzed, and then when you really are determined, there is no strategy. Keep in mind that it’s not as hard as it looks. If you catch yourself moving things around again and again, call me. It may be the best thing you’ve done for yourself in quite some time. Help is always available when you know you need it.

Lanna Nakone has been teaching people how to gain mastery over their physical environment since 1998. She is the author of “Organizing for Your Brain Type” and “Every Child Has a Thinking Style.” Her Web site is www.organizedworld.com. She can be reached by e-mail or by calling (707) 524-9896.