With my home staging and redesign business less than a year old, I offered a free Room ReDesign drawing to my fellow homeschooling moms to gauge their interest and gather names for my enewsletter.
When the winning name was drawn, I had to smile. This was a woman who I knew had wanted me to come work on her house, but they have absolutely no money for such a "luxury."
My assistant and I drove to South Central Los Angeles (with a little fear and trepidation, I admit - this is not the neighborhood I usually find myself in). We pulled up in front of the 2 bd 1 bath home which houses the parents and six children (with another daughter and her 2 or 3 children visiting). By the time we finished touring the small home, my assistant and I glanced at each other with the thought of "What on earth are we going to be able to do to help this family?" It seemed totally overwhelming with the amount of clutter and hand-me-down furniture pieces throughout.
We selected the living/dining room to redesign, removing much miscellaneous clutter and a couple pieces of furniture. Fortunately we found some "well-loved" pieces in the garage which we brought in, and rearranged the furniture. Even without touching the badly-needing-paint walls and window coverings, there was a huge difference in the look and feel of the rooms. The mom said, "All kids out! I actually have a space for myself now."
The next morning I got a call from my client and she said, "I just have to tell you what a difference you have made in our lives." In all her life she had never lived in a room that wasn't filled with clutter, and even her children realized that they never give a thought to what they set down anywhere and everywhere. They were so inspired that they had gone through the entire house making lists of what they were going to get rid of. She had already called her family members and told them to get their stuff out of her garage now or it was disappearing. She even called a mutual friend who lives in a very cluttered home and said, "Get over here and see what you need to do in your own home!"
As we talked about she could do in the backyard, I suggested that when the garage is cleaned out, they could turn it into a family/playroom using the furniture that was currently sitting on the back patio. With excitement she said, "That will keep the kids motivated."
Even though I'm currently sitting in a hospital waiting for my daughter to come out of surgery, the warm glow comes back and I appreciate having something positive even now to distract me!
After years of serving others in other essentially volunteer capacities, I had been concerned that starting my own business would make me too "money-focused" and less people-oriented, but I'm finding that working with people and making a difference in their lives is still the most exciting part of what I do. We have seen some great blogs recently on serving others and living out our passion as Tim Russert did, and I whole-heartedly agree! What could possibly be more fun?
Beth
See the Slide Show Here: http://www.realestateshows.com/306292
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