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In early 2004, in the midst of some “What do I want to do with my life?” soul searching inspired by the realization that I was no longer happy in my job, I happened to read a newsletter article about getting organized for the new year.

The article mentioned the new-to-me concept of professional organizers— people who work with clients to help calm the chaos and bring more order to whatever parts of their lives need it. My first thought was, “Hmmm, interesting, but I don’t think I’d need to hire someone to help me get my stuff together, as I’m pretty organized myself.”

It was only several days later that I belatedly realized that I could in fact become an organizer and share my organizing skills and passion with others. And voila: The Organized Life was born.

In 2016, I started the process of transitioning away from The Organized Life, and closed my business a few years later. I still love tackling my own organizing projects, and every so often I come out of retirement to work with friends, family, and former clients to help with theirs.

Clients

Throughout my 14 years in business, I worked with hundreds of clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, with the goal of not only helping them tackle whatever organizing challenges were weighing them down, but also of making the whole concept of organization feel more approachable, no matter clients’ starting points.

I strongly felt—and feel—that there’s most definitely not one “right” way to get or be organized, and that organization doesn’t mean minimalism, having to let go of stuff you love, or needing to adhere to a level of perfection that doesn’t make sense for most of us.

Book

My book, Organizing Your Home, part of the Knack series, was published in 2008.

The world has hundreds of organizing books (and, in fact, I have another one that’s slowly in the works!), but what I love about this one is how visual it is, with lots of photos throughout, along with plenty of sidebars that offer tips, mini projects, and other tidbits.

My goal in writing Organizing Your Home was to help demystify the organizing process and make it accessible to as many people as possible, no matter how you define "organized," what size home you live in, or what your style is.

Though Organizing Your Home is out of print, you can still find copies through many online bookstores, and might even be able to track it down in your local library or in the used books section of your favorite neighborhood bookseller.

TV

In 2010, I had the opportunity to work with a local client in conjunction with the TLC show "Hoarding: Buried Alive" and was featured in the opening episode of Season 2 (called A Homeless Man with a House). In December 2011, I shot a follow-up segment, which aired as part of the opening episode of Season 3, called Where Are They Now?

Bennie, the client I worked with, struggled with hoarding and overconsumption for many years before deciding to take back his home and his life from the stuff that was literally crowding him out. I was truly impressed with and humbled by his determination to clear out his space and regain control, and was honored to work with him.