Consumer Case Studies
Relocation Success
A major move requires major planning
Selling your house, finding a new home across town and packing and moving are stressful enough. Now, imagine that your new residence is halfway around the world.
That was Dina McMearn’s story. Her job at Apple Computer transferred her from Austin, Texas, to Ireland. But, before she could relocate, McMearn had to determine — rather quickly — what had to be moved now or later, stored or discarded.
Professional Success
Working smarter, not longer, creates a balanced life
Last year, Kimberly Higby grossed $1,500 a month as a real estate agent. Despite the high cost of living in the Golden State, the single mother of two made do with these minimal earnings.
The real problem was that, besides work, Higby had little time for anything else. Her job often claimed 12 to 14 hours a day and left her feeling she could “never get ahead.” Higby had forgotten the meaning of the word “vacation” because it had been so long since she had taken one.
Home Organization Success
A reorganized hobby room is, once again, a source of pleasure
Diane Simpson dreaded going into her scrap-booking and sewing rooms. The places that had once brought the nimble-fingered embroiderer so much joy had come to generate feelings of distress. “I had gotten to where I didn’t want to go in either room to do anything because I couldn’t find anything,” says Simpson, an executive assistant at Hewlett Packard. “I had tried, myself, to get things organized. I’d get in there and start moving a few things around and get overwhelmed with the stuff and the mess.”
Time Management Success
Keeping track of time puts working mom back on track
Between her franchise cookie business, her husband and their young twins, Jen Shedrick was always running from one thing to the next. Often, her busy life left little — if any — time between tasks.
More frequently than not, Mrs. Shedrick arrived late to appointments. Her days were filled with a whirlwind of activity, yet she regularly felt distressed at not reaching that particular day’s goals. Her bathroom was half painted, a playroom was partially organized, and both remained on her perpetual to-do list with no time for completion.
Home-Office Success
Organizer helps exhausted client transform her business and her life
Angela Anderson gives new meaning to the phrase working from home. Not only was the project manager’s office situated in her California home, but for three or four years Anderson did most of her work from the comfort of her bed.
A power strip in her bedroom kept Anderson connected to her clients and allowed her to plug in a laptop and run a BlackBerry — all while watching television. Because she often clocked 60 to 70 hours a week, she felt comfort was key to getting the job done. Between the sheets and with the TV on in the background, Anderson put in the hours until she fell asleep each night. But she began to realize that what had begun as a dream work situation had turned nightmarish. “All of that was not really conducive to getting work accomplished,” she says. “It’s just not a way to run a business.”
Success Over Hoarding and Clutter
An anxious client learns to trust and let go
A self-described clutter-holic who learned from her mother how to stockpile needless stuff, Linda Swenson made a practice of having more things than she had room — or use — for. “My mother was a bag lady who lived in a house, and she had her whole house to fill with stuff,” Swenson says. “She was one of those horror stories that you hear about.”
As an adult, Swenson came to realize that the horror of a disorganized home had taken over her life as well. But, more than messy living quarters, Swenson’s issues stemmed from the inability to part with objects. She would not discard newspapers for fear that a bill might be tucked inside; throwing away old bills was unheard of. Her closets were brimming with glamorous clothes she could no longer wear. “My house was full of clutter, full of things that I didn’t use,” she says. “I’d have these little paths that you could walk on, but there’d be newspapers or clothes everywhere.”
Transvisual Success
Organizers help newly blind client improve her tactile skills
Imagine trying to sift through voluminous files of paperwork to purge unneeded documents and organize the rest. Now, imagine attempting to do that task without the ability to see.
That has been a challenge for Karen Parsegian of Sacramento, Calif., who lost her sight completely about six years ago.
“I have a bunch of papers that I don’t know what to do with yet: Social Security, medical documents, etc. I’m scared to death to get rid of them, but it takes up so much room,” said Parsegian. “I have not on my own been able to figure out how to pull all these extraneous pieces together. I would get lost in some things.”
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