I grant you permission

Good Monday dear sirs and madams! I hope you all had a glorious weekend with family and friends frolicking in the sunshine making flower garlands for each other and delicately placing them on top of your beautiful heads. I spent a wonderful weekend in Upstate NY at a friend’s 90th birthday telling stories, eating amazing food, laughing and relaxing. The party was held in her home filled with her beautiful artwork, books, furniture, flowers from her garden and collectibles.

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Everything had a place and every item was shown the respect it deserved because nothing was crammed in sideways or covered in dust. She’s 90 and she knows what’s up. This environment made for the perfect peaceful setting for a party – pieces she had collected and created were fantastic conversation starters with other guests. I had a great time.  And the views from her home? To die for:

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A week ago I was invited to talk on my insanely talented friend Carolyn Castiglia‘s comedy/variety show Right Now! in Brooklyn. The theme of the show was Home and it was a lighthearted discussion about organizing, decorating and cleaning. My genius friend Danny Cohen, of Stencilicious, said during the show that he doesn’t sell his stenciling talent to clients, he sells his patience. I absolutely loved hearing that. When you try to do something yourself, it’s so easy to get distracted, frustrated, angry and annoyed. As a professional organizer who has been helping people make better use of their space in NYC since 2003, I’m not just selling my expertise in organizing but I’m selling my ability to listen carefully and then tell clients that it’s okay to let go. It’s OKAY to say good-bye to old habits that no longer serve you. It’s OKAY to create space for new experiences, feelings and comforts in your home. Even the most high powered executives, heads of departments and bad ass single mothers need someone to gently tell them that it’s within their rights to let go, think of themselves instead of others and say good-bye. I love that moment when their eyes widen just a bit, they relax their shoulders and they do, in fact, let go.

I was so thrilled to be listed as one of SpareFoot’s 11 Best Professional Organizer in New York City. It is an honor not only to give clients ideas and resources but to provide an emotional hand as they step forward and claim the peace and enjoyment that they deserve. Just as my friend Danny offers patience, I offer my ear and give people the literal and metaphorical space to talk things through so we can come up with the best solution for them, not for anyone else, just for them.

And with that, I’m off for a bike ride. I won’t be letting go…of the handlebars. See what I did there?

Enjoy this gorgeous day and enjoy your gorgeous home. You deserve it!

With light, love and less clutter…

Jeni

Father’s Day

Hello!

What a terrific weekend visiting my dad Upstate in New York and seeing friends and family for a variety of celebrations. My dad lives in the cutest two bedroom house in Andes, NY and he’s constantly paring down his stuff to live a more streamlined and organized life. After many years of collecting and storing his finds in his home, he is becoming more focused on the handful of things he truly enjoys doing when he’s not working. He has been upstate for about five years and his various interests (woodworking, reading, Netflixing, gardening, tinkering) are all contained in his one little cottage with care. I noticed a new labeling system he created for his records. IMG_8208

Sorting by genre works for him! It’s not micro organized where it becomes complicated and tedious, but it’s categorized enough where he can find what he needs. Nice work, dad! I guess that’s where I get it from.

You can ask yourself these questions to figure out how to pare down your own collections:

  1. Does this item still work? Is it functioning?
  2. Does this item still speak to me? Do I find meaning in this item right now, not because it’s a piece of nostalgia?
  3. Do I have something similar to this item and this is merely a duplicate?
  4. Do I truly need this item to make me happy in my home?

Happy Father’s Day to all the fun, silly, serious, organized, messy, loud, quiet, fat, skinny, sporty, nerdy and loving dads out there. We love you!

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With love, light and less clutter…

Jeni