I've been a professional declutterer for 18 years. Reframe 'wants' and 'needs' so you don't overbuy.

• Tracy McCubbin grew up around family members who were hoarders.
• Their experience helped her understand the burden that can come with mess.
• She's been a professional declutterer for 18 years and says it's her calling.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tracy McCubbin, founder of dClutterfly. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was in my 20s when people first started talking about hoarding. Before that, no one really used the word, and hoarding disorder certainly wasn't considered a medical condition. Instead, people used words like "packrat" or "eccentric."

I had two family members — one close to me — who fit that description. After seeing a newspaper article about a professional who helped hoarders, I reached out. He came to help my family member, and he also said to me "You should do this as a living."

I had been working as a personal assistant, and I continued to do that for years. I would organize homes and businesses on the side. When I was about 40 I reached a fork in the road of my career, and a friend encouraged me to make decluttering my full-time job. I thought, this isn't a job, it's just what I do to help people.

A home and belongings should serve you, not the other way around

I was wrong: decluttering was definitely a job — a career even. I started dClutterfy 18 years ago, and for the past four years, the business has grossed more than $1 million annually. I have 12 employees and just signed contracts with my first two franchisees.

I usually get a call when people feel like their stuff owns them rather than them owning it. I know from my family members that belongings can become a burden. That's true even for people who don't have hoarding disorder. People will pay for storage units or spend all their time moving things around, which takes away from more meaningful things they could spend time or money on.

I believe that a home is a tool. It should relax and rejuvenate you. I want to help my clients make their homes and belongings work for them. If it doesn't, it's time for something to change.

A clean, decluttered home doesn't have to be perfect

I didn't think too much about my family and my career until I was working with a client who was a psychiatrist. He asked me questions about my background, then said, "You took your primal wound and turned it into your life's work."

That's true. I couldn't help my family members, but I can help others. Doing that feels like a calling.

I don't usually work with hoarders, but I had one client who was in treatment for hoarding disorder (which was officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013). The first time I went to her house, it took her 45 minutes to let me in. Two of my employees helped her multiple times a week over six months. When I went to the house again, she eagerly opened the door and had me in for tea. She told me it was the first time she'd been able to entertain in 10 years.

That's what this work is about: not designing picture-perfect homes but creating spaces that allow people to live their lives.

Reframe wants and needs to avoid buying too much

There are tons of women — often oldest daughters — helping people declutter and organize. Usually, they're not paid for their labor. I've been able to help other women find careers in this space, and I hope to do that even more by franchising.

I'm 60 now and was just married two years ago. Before that, I didn't share my finances with anyone, so I had no financial safety net. Yet, I've managed to support myself very well using these skills, and I'm very proud of that.

Today, despite running a seven-figure business, my life isn't extravagant, but it's full. I travel when I want to. I love a designer purse and enjoy pretty things. Yet, I'm always mindful and intentional about what I bring into my home.

People often shop to feel in control when other aspects of their life feel out of control. It's a quick dopamine hit. I encourage clients to be mindful of that and look for other ways to feel good, like going for a walk. I also tell them to stop saying "I need" and start saying "I want." Most of us don't really need anything else. Reframing your mindset can take away the power of the urge to buy, and with fewer new items coming into your home, you can stick with the systems that really work for you.