My organizing career began unofficially as a child, growing up on Amelia Island, Florida. There I discovered my organizing “gene” when I found I enjoyed keeping the junk room shipshape and tidy. Later, in East Tennessee, my current home, my organizing skills were honed by raising three sons and four daughters.
Life, though, is not just about being organized – Life is to enjoy! Helping clients get organized is very satisfying to me because I’m contributing to other people’s quality of life. My business philosophy is “Simple is Smart.” What’s the simplest way we can organize things?
My clients range from residential to business. My intent is to help them accomplish their goals. How?
- By listening to determine what systems will work best for them.
- By using proven techniques for dealing with procrastination, clutter issues, time management, motivation and chronic disorganization.
- By helping them to move forward by working together in person or through phone coaching.
- By teaching organizing principles as we work together.
My profession is one that requires constant education. My credentials and continuing education include:
- ADHD Specialist certificate
- Board of Certification of Professional Organizers – Certified Professional Organizer (CPO) in 2007
- Served on the national board of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals
- The CPO certifications require extensive continuing education
- National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO) & Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) have valuable yearly conferences – I have been a presenter at both.
In the corporate world, I teach productivity and time management seminars. As a productivity expert, I have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest and on WBIR-TV (NBC affiliate, Knoxville, TN). For many years, I wrote a regular column for the Knoxville Business Journal. I taught classes on organization and productivity at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for 15 years.
People often ask me about my office. It is located about 50 feet from my house and I call it the “Biltmore Birdhouse”. While it was being built, some house wrens moved in, and I could just see them thinking that they had found themselves a house the size of The Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. Anyone is welcome to stop by and give me some gardening advice; I always could use it.
Once again on a personal note: I love my profession. My career as a professional organizer and productivity expert has allowed me to become an author of two books, a columnist, a speaker and teacher, and to really help people. It allows me to spend some time each year working in Amelia Island where I grew up, and that has provided my favorite job experience: I walked across the sand dunes to work with a client. When not at the beach, I enjoy feeding the birds, gardening and trying to keep my house cat happy.
Now that you know Mary, meet the team!