HOLISTIC LIVING IN THE HOME
Volta revolutionizing domesticity one house at a time
During quarantine times this past year, Lois Volta and Jessica Sabo, co-owners of The Volta Way, saw how their unique domestic service was making an even greater impact on their clients via Zoom sessions as they were restricted to their homes.
“They saw the need for a radical rethinking of how they have been living in their homes,” Volta said.
Their service, which ties mental health into the concept of cleaning and organization for a holistic household, has been higher valued and in increasing demand ever since.
“They saw the value of The Volta Method and its unique mental health approach to domesticity,” Volta said.
The uniqueness of Volta’s approach is that clients have to take a look at themselves first before tackling other issues in their homes, such as cleanliness or the decluttering of possessions.
One thing in common with most clients is that they are looking to make a lifestyle change.
“Most people who come to me are overwhelmed and they feel like they don’t know where to start,” Volta said. “They are having a hard time getting motivated and haven’t been taught properly on how to navigate their home.”
In the process of working with Volta, clients learn “The Volta Way Method” — a method that helps them attain a holistic approach to the care of their homes and the state of their living space. They offer their services to individuals, couples and families.
One of the primary topics that is typically addressed in client sessions is a lack of gender equality in the home.
“Even the most progressive people we know might not be exercising gender equality in the home,” Volta said.
Oftentimes Volta finds she serves as a buffer between couples who are in the process of sorting out an equality issue and have come to Volta for support and guidance.
“I’m an external voice in the home to manage expectation,” she said. “A lot of times it’s teaching men.”
Volta will take a look at the effects of everyday living habits with her clients who are prone to leave messes behind — from how one might leave a dirty sink or mirror behind after brushing their teeth, to dirty counters and cookware left behind after cooking in the kitchen.
“If we can teach people to see the effects of their everyday choices and then how it impacts our lives and the way we live, and the happiness and health of the home,” she said.
When in a partnership in a home, Volta said that we as individuals get to accept if we want to accept what she refers to as disrespectful behavior in the home — a home in which someone else expects their domestic partner to clean up after them.
Overall, Volta noted that domesticity and cleaning, in general, are devalued and that there is typically still an expectation that women should be the ones to do it even in cases where both heads of household are working full-time jobs. This is the reason some harsh realities come to light during sessions with Volta.
“They are expected to do the second shift,” she said of women, adding that in that case, “You are not living in a harmonious and respectful environment where you are equally living in your home.”
When it comes to families with children living in the home, during a session with The Volta Way they emphasize the role we as parents play in the type of children we are raising.
“We send them to school and camp and they respect the space,” she said, adding they should be expected to do the same at home. “There are different parenting styles to grow our children into being aware and empathetic, respectful human beings of our spaces.”
Volta said that if we can teach children to be respectful of the people in their home, in turn, they will be better equipped to be respectful of the earth they are inheriting.
In sessions, Volta also gets clients to think about the day-to-day decisions that contribute to possessions that accumulate in the home.
“I try to get my clients to think about what they bring into their homes and then how do we manage that more holistically,” Volta said. “You can’t get to the heart of the issue unless you look at our spending habits and the way that we live — our everyday micro-decisions.”
Based in Philadelphia, Volta offers consultation services online to anyone regardless of location. They also offer in-person sessions to residents of Philadelphia.
Both Volta and Sabo serve as home life consultants, with Volta’s expertise lying in the development of the Volta philosophy that has evolved since she founded the business in 2015, along with the organizational and cleaning side of the business. Sabo, who joined Volta in 2020, comes with a mental health background.
While Volta still has teams on hand to conquer organizational services and chemical-free cleaning, they start by addressing the root of the home’s needs with a complimentary 15-minute session to get a sense of where the client might best benefit. Services and packages are customized to each household and their personal goals.
According to Volta, who is a domestic feminist columnist for GRID magazine, anyone can learn The Volta Method as long as they have a willingness to learn. Volta said that clients can learn enough tools in just one session to start transforming their home life.
“I can’t get people to care, but as soon as they do, I’m the person to help them,” she said.
Volta takes pride in her work where their goal is to revolutionize the home by empowering people.
“I could do this for hours and hours with clients — it’s my happy place,” Volta said. “We get these immediate results. We get to see households do 180s and couples come together in very tangible and happy ways — it’s amazing.”