Journey to a Professional Organizer

So its been a while since I posted last. I guess I’ve been too busy on my life quest to write about it. In the past two months, I’ve been on somewhat of a roller-coaster. Well, maybe more like a kiddie-coaster, but still some ups and downs. I had a big revelation about my career. It came to me when I was spending my free time organizing my house– and I realized that I really enjoyed organizing my house. I spent hours organizing a spare room in our basement, which is supposed to be my zen/craft room/office. I cleaned it all up and made it into a functional space again. But the thing is, when I was done, I had no desire to actually spend time in the room or use it. I simply liked organizing it. Then I did it again with my husband’s work space. And I really liked doing it.

It occurred to me that I could become a professional organizer. So I started doing a bunch of research, and with the help of my wonderful husband, I launched my own business!! I figured, why not? I’m not working, not doing much to bring in money, the job search hit a lull, so why not do something with myself. It is a very low overhead business, so there isn’t much to lose by starting it. The name of my business is Organizing Happy. I already registered it with the State. I have a website: www.organizinghappy.com. I joined the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), and they have a lot of resources for people in the field. I set up the foundation of the business, now the only thing I need is customers!

Getting started with actual clients has been the slow part. We advertised in the local newspaper and Google Adsense, put up flyers, sent post cards and put up door hangers around our neighborhood. What I am learning is that this is the kind of business that relies on word of mouth and customer referrals as the best source of advertising. And that is a slow process of slowly building a base of satisfied customers.

So in the meantime, I need to resume my job search to find a suitable full time job, and then do the organizing on the side. Eventually I hope to be in a position to quit my regular job and pursue the organizing. First I need a regular job though. Ugh. I’ve had a few interviews, a couple rejections, and now I’m waiting to hear back on one that I’m really excited about– One that I can actually see myself doing and not hating it. So we’ll see what comes of that!

Life Quest = Annoying

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So it turns out that being on some soul-searchy, who-am-I, what-is-my-purpose-type quest is kind of annoying. Or at least it is for me. I just want to know NOW. I want to read a book, called THE ANSWERS, and then at the end of it have a clear vision and path of what the crap I’m supposed to do with my life. But yes, you philosopher people are about to say, “patience, blah blah, and some other annoying stuff”. I know that I need patience. I know this isn’t something I can read in one book and figure out overnight. And that’s why its super annoying. It would probably wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for things like The Bank Account, my mom, and my stupid college degree telling me that I need to go back to work at a normal job.

It also would be easier if being a stay at home mom were actually easy. Another myth of life. Being a stay at home mom is not the most wonderful, fulfilling thing ever in the universe. Most days, its kind of boring and uneventful. Do I love spending time with my 2 year old? Of course I do. Again, I know that this is one of those Cherish Every Moment type of thing, and I do have lots of moments of enjoyment and love and bonding and other mommy feelings that I know I wouldn’t get if I was gone 40 hours a week at work.

I’m just feeling so dang lost and torn. Did I enjoy working? Yes, mostly. Do I enjoy staying in my pajamas all day with a 2 year old? Yes, mostly. But my problem is that neither option is really looking that wonderful and fulfilling right now. So I’m just floating along, feeling like I belong in neither world, like what I’m doing is only temporary, but I have no idea what my permanent place should really be. And again, you philosopher people will say stuff like Nothing is Permanent, blah blah. And again, this is why my stupid quest is really annoying me right now.

So in the meantime, here is my plan: I will continue my SAHM role, being okay with boring, uneventful days, but then at the same time really appreciating spending this time with her. Make the most of it, have fun. I will also not let The Bank Account, my mom, and my college degree keep nagging me about going back to work. I need to take my time in my job search if I am going to go back. I don’t want to go back to another life-sucking job- it would not be worth it, no matter how much it pays.

I think I can handle this plan. I will work on being OK with where my life is at right now. I think if I can do that, then life quests won’t be so annoying.

 

 

Rummaging Through the Past

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I’ve been meaning to go through a few giant boxes of crap that were still at my mom’s house after I left for college. I was always a pack-rat, and I saved everything. I started looking through the boxes, which really were like mini time capsules. I saved notes passed between my friends in middle school (folded into shapes and written with glitter gel pens, of course). I saved papers, homework assignments, art projects, and programs from band concerts. I have a collection of magazines from my adolescence, like Tiger Beat (but only if *Nsync was on the cover) and Seventeen. I also have the full newspaper from 9/12/01 which describes the events from the previous day (I was 15). I saved birthday cards and any letter or card I’ve received from friends or relatives during my childhood. I have several photo albums full of pictures that chronically show my middle school and high school years. (Hey, anyone born before 1990 who remembers the excitement of looking at your developed pictures for the first time?)

The last couple weeks I went through and organized everything. I may have cried a couple times, and definitely laughed several times at some of the things that I found, like a survey my 7th grade class took in 1999 with questions like “Do you fear what will happen after Y2K?” And “Does the Lewinski scandal change your opinion about Clinton’s ability to be a good President?”

In the end I threw away a lot of stuff. No need to keep papers written about the Odessey from 9th grade or a birthday card from someone I even forgot was my friend at one time. But I did save the things that triggered happy memories and had stories behind them. If I had never saved these objects, those stories and memories would be lost. We can only recall so much over time, especially the day-to-day events that seem so insignificant at the time, but provides a moment of happy nostalgia 15 years later. Like the note passed between myself and a former friend in 7th grade that starts with “Sup?” and talks about boring math class and how we couldn’t wait for the day to be over so we could go to her house and play Crash Bandicoot on the original Play Station.

I still save random stuff from my daily life, thinking that someday I can show it to my daughter and she can laugh at how archaic my silly iPhone 5c is compared to her brain-implanted device, the iBrain.1

Don’t be afraid to rummage through your past. Sure, it will bring up unpleasant memories (keep your therapist on speed-dial), but you’ll feel warm and fuzzy and really, really mature compared to your old self, which is a good feeling.

The Alternative Route for Hair Washing: No More Shampoo

This seems like a trivial topic, given my current situation in some serious soul-searching, but this is something I’ve wanted to try for a while, so why not now?  I’ve read about No-Poo movements, and no, it’s nothing to do with poop. It’s about ditching the shampoo and conditioner and taking an approach that is better for your hair.

From my extensive Wikipedia research, I learned that shampoo is a relatively new product, being invented in the 1920s. I also learned that daily hair washing, which I though has always been necessary for my hair, is actually not necessary, and is BAD for your hair.  Basically washing your hair everyday strips it of its natural oils, so your scalp is fooled into thinking that it needs MORE oil. Ta-da, the invention of Greasy Hair! Shampoo companies must have figured this out, and they made products that do a really good job of cleaning hair, so your hair begins to depend on the daily shampoo in order to keep it clean. Cha-ching for those shampoo companies!

The No-Poo movement has a few basic products that can be used as an alternative for shampoo and conditioner. In my case, I will be using baking soda and apple cider vineagar. I came across many other blogs and websites that have different recipes and techniques (by all means, do some more research, I’m not a no-poo expert!). I decided to use this one because it seemed like the easiest way for me.

Here is how I made my new hair wash and conditioner:

You will need two empty bottles. I found an empty dish liquid bottle, which I liked because it has a squirty top thing that I will use for my hair wash.  I also found an old honey bear bottle that I will fill with my conditioner.
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Hair Wash: Baking Soda + Water.  I used 1 Tbs Baking Soda for every 1 cup of water. My old dish liquid bottle held a little over 2 cups, so I put in a little over 2 tablespoons of baking soda. If you have OILY hair (like me) you can add a little MORE baking soda to the mix. if you have DRY hair, you can decrease the amount of baking soda.

Conditioner: 1 part  Apple Cider Vineagar to 4 parts Water. You should buy decent ACV, like Bragg’s Organic. Some cheap kinds are just apple-cider flavored vineagar, which is not the same. You want to find the kind that has gross floaty things inside. That’s the “mother” and its supposed to be the good stuff. (Yes, it is stinky, but get over it). If you have OILY hair, you can put less ACV in the water. If you have DRY hair, you can add a little more ACV to the mix.

There is no correct way to do this– it really depends on your hair type, and trial and error. If one batch doesn’t feel so good on your hair, change it up the next time. The ingredients are cheap, and they won’t harm your hair, so there is minimal risk!

When you are washing your hair with the baking soda mix, you will want to focus on the roots and scalp. Just squirt it right onto your scalp and massage in. You don’t need to get it on your ends (it can dry them out). At first, it doesn’t feel quite right because its not lathery and smooth like your regular chemical-laden shampoo, but we can’t have everything we want in life, right? Leave it in your hair for a minute, then Rinse out well (if you don’t, you’ll know because you’ll get an itcy scalp).

Now for the conditioner. You do not need to condition every time you wash your hair. Even when I was using shampoo, I would still only condition 1-2 times a week. I found my hair got too greasy by the end of the day if I conditioned everyday.  With the conditioner, you should focus on your ends. you don’t need to massage into your scalp– this could cause more oil to be produced.  You can leave the conditioner in for 2-3 minutes, and then rinse out well. Don’t worry, the smell of vineagar will not remain in your hair!

Here’s the deal: This new process will put your hair into a “transition” phase while it is getting used to regulating the oil production and other scientific dermatological stuff.  Your hair might be extra oily for a couple weeks. DONT GIVE UP! Just put your hair in a pony tail like you do on the weekends when you’re too lazy to wash your hair.  After the transition phase, your hair will start to look and feel better that it ever has (so I hear, I am not there yet). You should be able to reduce the frequency of hair washing. Try every other day, then every 3-4 days…and see if you can go a week. Think of how much time you will save in the mornings if you don’t have to wash your hair!

So far I’ve washed my hair three times with the new method, and there isn’t much difference yet. If anything, it seems like my hair is softer. We’ll see what happens in the coming days…

Here are some pictures of my hair before I started the new regimen. I supposed any good experiment requires some before, during, and after comparisons.  To be continued…

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How I Got Lost

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I feel lost on my path through life. This is an unfamiliar situation for me. Here is what my path used to look like: Go to college, get a degree, find a job, get married, buy a house, have a baby. When I was 18, these life events were all a big mystery– I didn’t know what I was going to major in, where I would work, who I would marry…but I knew this is what I wanted for my life, and I looked forward to the future with excitement as these goals took shape.

Fast forward 10 years. Now I’m nearly 28. I have a degree from the University of Minnesota. I found a job with career potential right out of college. I met my husband and we married in 2009. We bought a house in the suburbs. I had a baby in 2012, at the age of 25. Fantastic! All my life goals are complete. Now what?

That’s the scary part. I have no idea. I think I’ve been a little too distracted the last couple years, and I never paid much attention to the future. You can only do so much when you are battling severe postpartum depression, an anxiety-inducing and demanding full time job, and taking care of a baby that was sick all the time with ear infections, pneumonia, and has some developmental delays.

Things have improved immensely with my depression and anxiety (a whole other story to share a different time!). My daughter’s illnesses have been reduced thanks to a new treatment plan that included ear tubes, daily nebulizer treatment, and she also sees an early childhood special education teacher to work on her developmental skills.

The last hurdle was my job. I felt trapped– I had many reasons to stay (good benefits, good co-workers, a semi-interesting career path), but only one reason to leave: a hostile work environment created by my boss. In the last 2 years, I have done everything in my power to make it bearable to work with her. It worked for a while, but it was taking a toll on me and my family.

A few weeks ago I did what I thought was impossible– I quit my job! After working there for almost 6 years, I went into work, gave my notice, and didn’t come back the next day. If you know me, then you might be a little shocked. I’m supposed to be the dedicated, stable, enthusiastic employee. I had no job lined up, knew I would be giving up my family’s health insurance, and my only plan was to use some of my 401k money that I would now have access to upon leaving. This is very un-Me behavior!

So this is where I stand currently: I’m taking a break from all things career-related. I’m not ready to start looking for jobs yet. Mostly I have no idea where I want to begin my next career path. But I’m fine with that. I will be using this time to be at home with my daughter and my husband, who is working from home in his new business venture. I want to make up some of my lost mother-daughter time from having postpartum depression and working full time in her first 2 years. I want to reflect on the crazy whirlwind that has been my life in the past few years, and through this I hope to learn more about myself and have a better idea of what I want for my future.

Care to join me?