Ep 8 - How I've changed as an organizer in 5 years

 

Tidy Revival is about to turn FIVE!🎉 Today we take a moment to look back at the incredible growth and mindset shifts that happened through the process and how I've changed in my business as an organizer over the last five years. How I let go of the cookie cutter images of home organization and ✨Spoiler alert✨ changed my whole outlook on decluttering as the foundation of everything I do. You won’t want to miss it!

You can listen right here, on Apple Podcasts, or you can read the transcription below. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello, and welcome back to the Tidy Revival podcast. I am so happy you're here. Today I am talking about how I've changed as an organizer over the last five years. Tidy Revival, my organizing company is about to turn five. I am so excited. I can't believe that it's been almost five years and I officially started my business in November of 2017. Of course, there was a lot of planning and things that went into it. I'd already been doing some organizing before I started my business too. Otherwise, that would've been a bad idea. Today is really about how I've changed in my business as an organizer over the last five years.

Something that I do on the back end that I don't talk about often is connecting with other organizers, both nationwide and globally, in the Inspired Organizer network. I'm a mentor over there. We are comparing notes, regularly sharing feedback, talking about issues, and all the different things that come up. I love staying connected in that community, but it also provides a chance to reflect often on things that I used to feel worked well and how they've changed over the years.

I find myself talking a lot about it with clients and students. Because of my evolution as a business owner, I'm not the same organizer that I was five years ago. I'm not the same business owner that I was five years ago. I find this very interesting. Hopefully, you will too. I would love for you to tag me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc. Feel free to DM me or email me and just let me know your biggest takeaways. I do love hearing from you and I love hearing how you're listening to episodes.

Somebody shared with me recently about the two-parter that I did with Tami a few episodes back. They had a long drive for a meeting and they listened to the podcast as they were driving. Then they listened to the second half on their way back and told me their favorite takeaways. It just means so much. So thank you.

Simplifying is the name of the game

The biggest thing that has changed over the last five years is simplifying. I feel like simplifying is really the name of the game in my business, especially right now. We're doing a lot of big changes on the back end and it's all around simplifying and just streamlining. We're calling it a period of pruning, which is a phrase that I got from somebody that I follow and love. Her name is Denise Duffield-Thomas. We are decluttering in our business practices and it's been fantastic because we're streamlining things. 

When it comes to organizing and working with clients, I used to feel a lot of pressure as I walked into a space. I was going to prove that I had the most innovative ideas around. The reason that didn't work was that if you're walking into a space, You have to envision what it's going to be like. However, there wasn't any decluttering that went along with it. One example is I could look at a closet and think to myself, oh, this person has a lot of handbags. They really love handbags. I need to create a storage solution for these handbags. Then I could make my plan around that. This is based on a real story.  Through the process of decluttering, we realized that handbags aren't actually something that she cares about. She's just ended up collecting handbags out of habit over the years. I would've spent a lot of time and energy creating a solution around something that didn't matter to the client. These days we've changed that. Now we use decluttering as a foundation of everything that I do.

I used to (obviously) declutter with people. That was a big part. That is like the first step in the process, but now I am going into everything using it as the foundation. We talk about that a lot here on the podcast and I talk about it a lot in the course community with my students. I use this phrasing because it is that important.

Decluttering as the foundation of everything

What that allows us to do is create simple systems that are easier to maintain because you are not digging through too much stuff day in, day out. If it is not something that you use, want, need, or love, it doesn't need to be part of your life. when we just eliminate those items, it streamlines things. Everything is simpler. You are gaining more space. Your systems are easier. They're less packed to the brim. You can find what you need when you need it and put it back. You're not having to deal with all of the excess items.

Now, when I walk into a space it's easier for me. It's also easier for the client because I'm not worrying about the finished vision until we're going through things. There are some spaces where I kind of have an idea of the type of solution that I'm going to use specifically, for example, in garages where we are going to need storage space and it's going to be like an XYZ type of model. However, for a lot of spaces–bathrooms, pantries, that sort of thing–we really do need to go through what we're going through before I can create solutions. And, again, it just ends up with a more simple result.

Less is more

The other thing that has changed a lot is that I used to give my one-on-one clients too many options when we were working together directly. I thought that maybe they would know what they wanted if I gave them a bunch of different options for the space. Now, it's really more about me asking them questions to assess what kind of solutions are going to work best for their personality and giving them options around that. This has allowed me to streamline it for them, it streamlines it for me, and I'm getting straight to the point. There are fewer options, but they're more geared toward what is going to work for that specific person. 

We definitely talk about solutions in general with my students, because at the end of the day, they are responsible for measuring their space and figuring out specific solutions. I'm giving more specific recommendations like, these are the types of lines that I use frequently that work really well in these types of spaces. The final double-checking of dimensions and purchasing items is on the student from there.  

Something else that has changed is that I used to do more done-for-you work for clients. I would come into a space, and the client would say, okay, bye–and leave. I would organize some things and that was it. After a while, I realized I needed to hone in on what I felt was the most important work. And for me, the thing that I love is helping a client work through the decluttering process and helping them with that decision-making. 

I love working with people specifically who are overwhelmed with too much stuff because helping them through that process of getting started and the decision-making means that they're able to take that skill set with them and use it anywhere–In any home that they live in. you're also helping people create simple systems that are not just for one specific pantry or one specific bathroom. That is a skill set you can take anywhere. It is a “teach a man to fish” situation. If somebody does something for you, that specific project is done, but you don't have the skill set to do it again.

Also, This is not a knock on those projects at all or those clients. Not everybody needs assistance with decluttering. However, I found decluttering is where my passion truly is and if there are any reductions that we need to do, it's not in my best interest or the clients for me to just be decluttering without them. That is a recipe for disaster. Working alongside my clients is where the magic happens for me. So I've leaned into that. Now my goal is to help people with too much stuff create clutter-free homes.

Community over everything

Another big change that happened–and this is a result of the pandemic–is that I realized over time that I don't need to be physically present to help people create clutter-free homes. I had wanted to get started in virtual organizing, helping people online for a long time. The pandemic really forced my hand due to timing. The blessing in disguise is that I realized I don't need to be physically present for somebody to have an aha. The biggest thing is that I needed to teach what I know and support people along the way. I am touching base regularly, giving accountability, and being available for questions frequently so that you don't have to wait like a month to get your questions answered–you can get questions answered in real-time or very quickly. The moment that things click for somebody… that moment is seriously everything. It is so interesting because it doesn't necessarily have to do with me being physically present. 

The biggest thing is that people need to know that they're not alone. We talk about that all the time here. It is one of the biggest reasons that I started the podcast in the first place. I truly need people to understand that they are not alone because dealing with clutter and organizing can feel very isolating. It can have a lot of wins and questions that people don't necessarily want to just share on their social media because, for a lot of people, this isn't the thing that they want to share with the world. that is fine if it is also more powerful to you and if it isn't, it's totally fine. You're not alone.

The biggest change in the last five years is growing this community online where people can share their wins. They can post when things are clicking. They can post pictures that are before and after knowing that it's going to stay in the group and that we care a lot and that when you post we're going to be cheering you on. But if you have questions along the way, you can post those, too. even the rules in the course community have changed. I guess rules is an aggressive word, It is more like guidelines. I found that people needed to know that it's totally fine if you want to do things in your style and in your way and have a permission slip to not do it perfectly. I think there's a lot of pressure and it doesn't help with the hurdle of getting started. Getting started is the toughest thing for people.

In the course community, we let people know that you don't have to do this perfectly

You can go through the course and listen to it like a podcast without sitting in front of your computer and taking notes the whole time. There are workbooks there for you that you can dig into with specific spaces in mind. but if you want to skim the whole thing, just to know what's covered, glean a bunch of tips and then start taking action– that is fine too. 

We have  Q & A calls twice a month. A big thing that has changed over the last year in the course community is that we stress that you don't have to have your camera on. You don't have to be sitting in front of your computer and listening to the Q & A calls, it's not like a classroom. You don't have to be attentive and present and prove that you're paying attention. They're also completely optional. So if you're not there it's fine. No harm, no foul. But if you want to listen to them while you're running errands in your car, you absolutely can. If you want to be at home and you want to have your camera off and have it muted, but you just want to be working on your projects and only chime in off camera when you have questions along the way, that is also fine. So you can just show up as you are and chime in with questions as you need them. You could even be working on your projects at home, listening to a replay and then asking questions in the group or queuing them up for the next Q&A Call. 

people don't have to be present on a Q&A Call to have their questions answered. They don't have to be present to even submit photos or videos. I don't have to share those photos and videos with the rest of the group if people don't want to and questions can also be confidential.

A real “choose your own adventure”—come as you are, and work on your own timeline.

People need to know that having support and accountability is built in for them. They can pop in and get it as they need it. They can get their questions answered as they come up. They can post what they're working on and we will circle back for accountability. That is really the whole point of the group. This has allowed me to grow a space where people can share. It is a group environment that can be a much more budget-conscious price point than if you had an organizer at home working with you step by step every step of the way. The fact that this is possible and things can click without being physically present the whole time has been a really big game changer for me. It has grown a community and is a big part of my heart. So that is what I'm working on these days.

Pandemic aside I don't think I would change a thing because you have to go on your journey, you have to learn and grow. I became an organizer because I wanted to help people shortcut the lessons that I learned in my journey of getting organized. If you haven't heard me talk about it yet, I am not a naturally organized person. All of this is a learned skill. It's been really fun to help others on their journey too and to shortcut it over the last five years.

I'm not the same organizer that I used to be. I've learned even more and it's so much fun to bring even more shortcuts to people as they're getting started on their decluttering and organizing journey. So thank you for listening to this background episode. It's really fun for me to reminisce about all the things that have changed and yeah, things just aren't the same as they were in 2017, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you have any follow-up questions for me, please let me know and I'll make sure to answer them in an upcoming episode. If there are enough questions, maybe I'll do a part two or something. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe. So you'll always have the latest access to episodes. And of course, as I mentioned, we'd love to hear your takeaways. Feel free to tag us @tidyrevival on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. The Tidy Revival podcast is written and hosted by me, Carly Adams. And it's edited by Brittany McLean. The title song, Maverick, is by Dresden the Flamingo. 

until next time, remember that…

 
 
 
 

Links mentioned in this episode

 
Tidy Revival Podcast, Mindset, Decluttering, OrganizationCarly AdamsTidy RevivalDecluttering, overwhelm, not alone, growth, community