In The Service Of Others

I had the privilege of being a part of a pro-bono organizing job last week which was coordinated through the National Association of Professional Organizers' (NAPO) Colorado chapter. As a part of NAPO's Get Organized or "GO" Month, the Colorado chapter partnered with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to educate patients and their families on the health benefits of staying organized, especially during treatment of serious illness. In addition to two presentations for their meeting on January 17th, two lucky winners were selected to receive four hours of organizing with four organizers! If you couldn't guess, that's a lot of bubbling, energetic organizing "juju" in one place - enough to send many people running in the other direction.

When I was asked about participating in this event, I jumped at the chance. For me, working my organizational magic is a joy, and to do it for someone who has dealt with health issues and therefore can benefit so greatly from these services is a no-brainer. This served as another great opportunity for me to demonstrate my commitment to being in service of others.

Linen closet BEFORE

Oodles of stuff!

The client with whom we worked was as sweet as could be and was excited for this kick-start to getting her house decluttered. And the team with whom I got to work were top notch: Dawn McCloskey, Charee McDonald and Julie Kessler. Amazingly, with four organizers pulling her in many different directions, she did a beautiful job of staying focused and making decisions about what stays and what goes making it a fun and productive afternoon. 

In the middle of the big "Sort and Purge"

I focused on the linen closet while the other organizers tackled bedroom closets and a desk that was being devoured by papers. You'll see from the pictures that it was transformed from a closet bursting at the seams to one where each type of item, be it medicine, hair supplies, linens or lotions, had its proper place and was easily accessed. Her morning routine will now take less time and be a peaceful process...and who couldn't use a little more peace in their lives?

Linen closet AFTER

Everything labeled and in its proper place