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Bless This Mess
Organizing (BTMO)

A Lifetime of Organizing

Born This Way

I can honestly say that I have always had a passion and ability for organizing!  I’m convinced that, while in utero, I kept a self-devised checklist monitoring the development of each systems and process as it was being formed, making sure each was proceeding according to plan and on schedule!!

The Early Years

When I was a toddler, my mother noticed that I was organizing my bathtub toys! It wasn’t long until I graduated to organizing and reorganizing my drawers and closet.  When there was nothing left to challenge me there, I took over my sister’s room.  Soon, just organizing wasn’t enough, and to our parents’ amazement, we began trading rooms, furniture and all!  But I didn’t stop there;  I hit our pantry, refrigerator, cabinets (the Tupperware space was my favorite!) and even helped my dad organize his workshop out back.

As I babysat my way throughout middle and high school, I expanded and refined my organizing skills.  When my charges napped or went to bed for the night, I organized the family’s kitchen and/or pantry which made me a hit with parents, bringing me referrals for new babysitting gigs!

Adulthood

When I got married, my organizing skills became even more broad as I faced new challenges. Anytime we made a move to a new home, I commandeered all of the details. I organized and packed our belongings before we moved, having everything packed, labeled and neatly aligned, perfectly prepared for the movers.

Once we moved in, I had everything unpacked and in its the proper place with all the boxes broken down and out of the house within 24 to 36 hours. I was a pro at moving by the age of 22 years old!

About 7 years after we were married, I found myself the mother of a precocious 2-year-old and newborn twins. This gave me ample opportunity to expand and explorer new horizons in the world of motherly organizing. It was phenomenal! I learned so much during that period of my life as I developed, tweaked and perfected new systems that worked for every little thing in my ever-changing household.

During those years of coordinating a household, I was DELIGHTED to find that my family and friends were impressed that:

• my kitchen ran like a well-oiled machine (even though I wasn’t much of cook).
• my kids each had a dedicated built-in cubby located in the mudroom as they walked in from their day.
• I designed a system to coordinate the deposit of everyone’s belongings into the proper spots after school.
• everyone’s calendars were kept up to date and easy to edit as necessary.
• I devised a desk-top filing system that managed the massive influx and outflow of paper we had to filter daily (I still use the same exact system today, as do many of my clients!)
•  I conquered the laundry monster – even with a five-strong household.
• our garage was clean and well-organized with room to park both cars.
• I even built a room in our garage from the ground up to store “all things garage” so that the rest of the space could be for the kids and their friends to hang out.

The Later Years (2013-Present)

I experienced a tremendous life change in 2013 which presented the opportunity to learn the new skill of downsizing.  This entailed leaving my 2400 sf home where I’d lived for the past 8 years and temporarily moving into a one-bedroom apartment.  I learned a lot during that time about making difficult, necessary and smart decisions about what was important enough to take with me and what could stay behind.

This experience was a whole new learning experience which prepared and uniquely enabled me to work closely with a variety of clients in various downsizing situations.  In my own experience, I made decisions with the future consideration that I would soon be moving into a home with my 3 kiddos at which time I would need much more than I was originally taking with me.  I’ve learned there are often extenuating circumstances that shape the decision-making process.

I have a special affection for Senior Citizens who are downsizing from their lifelong home to an assisted or independent living situation as well as those who are getting a jump on the downsizing of their belongings even before it’s time to move into that garden home.  I’ve learned all the tips and tricks to living in a small space.  I’ve also learned to LOVE IT; the simplicity of small-space living is so liberating!!  Truly, anyone who has any reason to downsize is a client who I love to serve.  So often it’s a tough move to make, and my compassion for my clients is at its best when it’s most needed.