THOUGHT: Who hires an organizer?

When I started my organizing company five years ago, I remember one of my girlfriends saying, "What type of person needs to hire someone like you to tell them where to put their socks?" At the time I didn't have the answer because I hadn't been in the business of organizing people's homes and lives long enough... but I knew there was an answer. Now, five years and over a 100 clients later - I have the answer. This past week I met with six potential clients and they were all women. A stay-at-home Mom with four kids - probably the hardest full-time job you can have. A clothing designer - who only makes one design of each of her pieces, no two are alike. A baby doctor - who had spent the last 24 hours prior to our meeting delivering four babies. A pharmacist - who was two weeks away from her materity leave with her first child. A make-up artist - who specializes in making women's eye brows perfect. And a music teacher - whose passion is teaching children how to play the piano. So my answer to the question is simple - women (and men) who are making a difference. Why? Because in this modern world we live in, the expectations on us all are huge. We have to be tough and smart in the workplace, fit and healthy at the gym, present at every school meeting and game (and bring homemade snacks), loving and caring in our relationships, and on top of it all - have a beautiful, organized, clean home. Twenty-four hours, that's all we get and it certainly isn't enough to do it all. I am hired because these unbelievable, intelligent people are out there making the world a better place. My role is to bring calm and order to the place they start and finish their exhausting days. If I didn't do what I do, I would hire myself to help me with my sock drawer.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...

"Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life."

FIND: A diamond in the rough

I love garage sales. There, I admitted it. The last place you'd think you'd find an organizer - a person who spends her days making people get rid of their stuff - is pulling her car over to look at another person's 'treasures' (or as my husband calls it - junk). With a short garage sale season in Vancouver, I sometimes need to go elsewhere to fill that need. Enter Value Village. As I perused the store I found lots of great clothing labels and awesome buys. Stopping to check out the shoe section, I happened upon a section in the back with shelves filled with summer sandals. A pair of pink striped sandals caught my eye and I realized the label read Coach. Knowing that everyone and their sister is knocking off the designers, I got closer to inspect them. Looking brand new and boasting all the right logos, I read inside and saw the name Rikki. Not sure what it is about designers, sunglasses and shoes... but they've taken up naming them. With the price tag reading $14.99 and a perfect fit, how could I go wrong? Upon returning home, I googled Coach Rikki sandals and sure enough they popped up on the official Coach website... my cute, little pink striped sandals with their price tag of $90. Like I always say... one woman's junk, is another woman's treasure.