Hello! Welcome back to SK Simple Solutions’ blog. I am Shannon McCarthy of SK Simple Solutions. We are a Personal Organizing company that enjoys removing clutter in our living spaces. My previous blogs covered The ABCs of Back to School and Organizing the Home with SK Simple Solutions. The October blogs deal with our journeys toward decluttering parts of our lives that are chaotic, overwhelming and full of emotions.

Meet Kim

Kim Bordelon and I we have known each other for over 18 years. We have raised our children together and spent a lot of time volunteering in our family’s activities. We have fund raised, hosted events, volunteered, and chauffeured our kids to various activities. And now, we are business partners. We started planning our organizing business a year ago. It has been an incredible journey.

“SK Simple Solutions: We founded our company on a passion for organizing and redesigning personal spaces. Our vision is to inspire others to create a truly inviting space and a life free of clutter. Our mission is to provide and encourage use of our Simple Solutions for our clients, by listening without judgement to clutter stories, re-purposing personal spaces, and spreading the joy of a simplified life.”

Kim’s Journey, Regaining My Space Letting Go of Sentimental Clutter

I will be sharing Kim’s journey to declutter her craft supplies, unfinished DIY projects, and rearrange her craft room into a working office. Kim is very creative. She has a passion for arts and crafts, repurposing furniture, DIY projects, making cards, collecting ideas for projects, collecting odds and ends supplies, scrap-booking, photo albums, caring for family memorabilia, and photos for her kids in the future.

Cards made by Kim.

I save all her cards because they are beautifully crafted and should be framed! She has a tremendous amount of supplies for making her cards, scrap-booking, photo albums, boxes of corks, ribbons, embellishments, scrapbook pages, photo albums, photos, glue, glitter, etc. spanning two rooms

More Cards by Kim Craft Room Before Craft Room During the Purge

However, the unfinished projects weighed on Kim and so she began the grueling task of sorting and cataloging photos from the last ten years and listing the DIY projects to be finished.

In another bedroom all the supplies were in two bookcases, bins under the beds, the entire closet and floor. However, the photos began to creep into both rooms because she needed a ribbon, an album, scissors, design binder etc. After a time both rooms became unmanageable and none of her unfinished projects were progressing. And, as we all have experienced, when you start one project you run into many other unfinished projects or ones that look “fun to do!” So, she became distracted.

Her goals were to “finish photo albums, scrapbooks, garden and craft projects that were all around her." Again Kim knew she wanted to make scrapbooks and photo albums with her photos, but it spanned so many years that she didn't know where to start.

The Breaking Point

In her words, “I wanted to find joy and passion in my projects again” But when all I see is unfinished projects, I feel helpless and disappointment.”

Kim was unable to move forward because she felt so overwhelmed. It wasn’t that she didn’t know which projects needed completion but that she had so many ideas for those projects. She didn’t know where to start.

What did Kim do next? She left the rooms. She stopped her projects. At this point she needed a professional organizer. Luckily for her I knew exactly who to call! SK Simple Solutions.

Kim’s vision:

“I wanted to finish and enjoy my projects. Or give it away to someone who will pick up where my passion stopped or never really began.” (After a consultation with her personal organizer this is what she decided.) Here are my goals,

1. Regain space in my craft rooms to

2. Complete DIY projects

3. Organize my photos

4. Create a space for her business

I In her own voice after our planning sessions:

• I will separate the groups already organized

• Clean within the groups

• Give myself a chance to grieve for the Items I once treasured.

• Give myself a set time to finish each day.

• With support and help I hope to never lose sight of my goals.

Hope and Determination

Patience and Inspiration

Adapt and Transform

My first step was to decide to take on this project and stay committed.

Today was the day!! I wanted to go about it with a real goal and a plan in place, and not get distracted!

So, this is what you can expect when you schedule a free 30-minute phone/virtual conversation about your goals. Quite a positive consultation and goal setting meeting!

Here is the plan they agreed upon. SK Simple Solutions’ Plan Outline

Session 1 Separate the functions of the two rooms

Session 2 Inventory supplies

Condense supplies by room function

Session 3 Create a space for her business

Finally, the professional organizer gave her homework to complete before session 1.

For Kim this would not be a 1 Session job with her personal organizer. We estimated that 3 sessions would be needed to meet her goals as well as homework in between those sessions. (Each session is 3 hours www.sksimplesolutions.com

Homework: before session

1. Choose the function of each room

2. Take out the supplies in each room

3. Begin separating supplies by category

4. Photos, business, crafts & DIY

5. Journal your process, feelings, passion, accomplishments, and difficulties.

So, what would you do next? Have you felt this way about a project(s)? How long will it take? 1 day, 1 week etc. Let’s hear from you. Have you ever used a journal to track your frustrations? Your goals? Your Progress?

Leave Kim a positive comment to help her on her journey. In SK Simple Solutions’ next post, we’ll again join Kim on her “Regaining My Space” journey.

SK out! Have a great week! Be Happy!