The Curse of the Professional Organizer

Kimberly Ogborne • Sep 27, 2021

Pumpkins, Scarecrows, and Fall Signs Oh my!


Professional Organizers (P.O.’s) have a neat perspective on how they view life and how they view material possessions. Organizers are constantly in homes that are chaotic and filled with clutter. They are able to bring vision, clarity, and peace to a space and often their own homes are minimal and intentional. Organizers have a gift, a gift that they share with others and that they want to continue to pass on. I am often very thankful that I have a gift that helps others and that makes a difference. But sometimes I think, could it also be a curse?

Fall has arrived here in Ontario and there is no shortage of fall activities that families are partaking in.  People are eagerly going apple picking, buying pumpkins for their front porch, and decorating their fireplace mantles. Stores are filled with fall decor enticing buyers to fill their shopping cart with seasonal items. Fall photos across social media are being shared and influencers are telling their followers where they can buy fall pillows and how to decorate a 3-tiered cake stand full of all things pumpkin spice. Before you go on thinking I’m bashing fall, I’m not. Fall is my favourite season. The crisp air, the comfy sweaters, and the coziness that the season brings, I love it! But as a P.O. when I see these photos on social media or when I walk into a home decor store filled to the brim with fall decor or any seasonal decor for that matter, my first thought is why? Why are we spending our money on decor that will only be displayed for one month maybe two at the most just to be packed away and forgotten for 10 months? Why are we decorating our homes with decor that we will use for this year but not like the following year and then will have to buy something new? Why are we cluttering up our bookshelves and mantles with little tidbits of seasonal and holiday decor which only adds to the visual clutter? I can't help but think through theses questions, asking the why's and questioning everything that comes into our homes, and that is the curse of the Professional Organizer.

(*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through any links. Regardless, I only recommend products that I use personally and/or believe will be good for my clients and readers. You may also use the items in the links as an example of what to look out for when you are shopping. But remember, always be intentional of what you bring into your home.)




Let's Fall in


I’ve composed my top 5 fall decor buying tips to help you be more intentional with your purchases as well as keeping the spirit of the season alive in your home. 


1. Decorate for the season, with a splash of the holiday. Fall holds two major holidays: Thanksgiving and Halloween. Oftentimes we go big on the holiday decor with a touch of the seasonal. We have storage boxes filled with cobwebs, scarecrows and skeletons. We might be able to pull off at least one month with the holiday decor displayed before storing the decor for the next 11 months. But what if we reversed it. What if I told you that your home can still feel and look festive decorating for the season with a splash of the holidays? Would you give it a go? You could potentially get 3 months of your home feeling seasonal and less things to store away. How do we do this? These leads me to point two.


2. Avoid buying anything that has the holiday name on it. Instead go for colours and textures. It’s so cute seeing the pillows that say Happy Thanksgiving with a playful turkey, (ok just kidding I don’t think they are cute, but some might) or having a blanket that has a bunch of pumpkins embroidered on it. We want to choose items that can be displayed for at least 3 months at a time. For example, pick a blanket that is rich in Fall colours, burgundy, red or burnt orange. If you choose a red one, just think you could keep that out for Christmas season and get another 3 months out of it! If you do like those holiday pillows, purchase pillow covers instead of the full pillow. You can use the same insert and just switch out the covers for the seasons. It's easier to store just the covers than the actual pillow. You can find pillow covers here. The more intentional you are with your purchases the less you will have to buy.


3. Go big. I used to think that I needed all the little pumpkins, and all the little things to make my home feel seasonal. Being a minimalist organizer has helped me out on this issue.  This is when size matters and the bigger might just be better. This can be scary at first or a little risky but when you have the right scale it works and means you are buying less and adding less visual clutter. Go for one large pumpkin in the centre of your dining room table instead of three small ones. Go for wider vases and candlesticks. They will take up more room and have a larger impact. You can find examples here. And again, look for items that can be used for mulitiple seasons.



4. Go real.  How quickly we are to buy the fake fall leaves, fake pumpkins and fake whatever. And guess what, you will have to buy a bin or two or three to store them! Why not just cut some branches from your yard or stop on the side of the road for that pampas grass then at the end of the season just toss them in yard waste. BOOM! No storage needed! 


5. Purchase items that can be used for multiple seasons. I've already mentioned this a couple times but can't stress the importance enough. When we have items that we can use for multiple seasons that means less storage bins and less things that we need to buy. For example, you can use the same candlesticks for Fall and Christmas and all you would need to do is switch the colour of the candle for the holidays. Use black candles for Halloween and white for the winter and Christmas season. But make sure you burn those candles, they are not just decor but can be useful in creating ambiance. If you prefer electric candles, you can find some here. I use these candles from September all the way into February. 


The curse of the Professional Organizers is not technically a curse but more of a way of having a different perspective on material possessions. I understand that I am not speaking on behalf of all Professional Organizers but I can say most of us want you to live more intentionally, live with less, and to embrace the season.


Join me on October 1st at 2pm for a LIVE Group Coaching session on how to implement Minimalist Organizing into your fall decor.

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Kitchen and Pantry Makeover

Kitchen and Pantry Makeover

By Kimberly Ogborne • 20 Sep, 2021
Kitchens are the heart of the home, so they say. It’s a place where family meals are made, where guests typically gather to chat, and where the majority of our time is spent. Kitchens are essential no matter the size. But when it comes to kitchens, oftentimes it’s the most unorganized space in the home. There is no rhyme, reason, or rhythm to how kitchenware and food is stored. We tend to pack our upper cabinets full of serving dishes and coffee mugs that we don’t use. We shove every gadget in a deep drawer which forces us to go on a hunt for the right one every time we open the drawer. We store our bulk food on top of the fridge and even bulk food on the floor. Our counters are filled with kitchen appliances and loose papers. Does this sound familiar? Now, I understand that with some kitchens the size does matter. That it becomes tricky cooking and storing food in a small kitchen. I am not going to touch on small kitchens right now as that would take up an entire post, but I want to let you know that small kitchens require more thought, more organizing and a lot more minimizing along with creativity. I hope to touch on small kitchens in a couple of weeks. Let's Get to Work I had the opportunity to work in a beautifully designed kitchen with a separate room that held the pantry. My clients had recently moved into their new home that they specifically designed, and they knew exactly what they wanted for their pantry. They had the beauty but now they needed the function and that’s when they contacted me.

Reflections of a Former Stay At Home Mom

By Kimberly Ogborne • 13 Sep, 2021
Today is the first day of the second week of school and the first full week that all three of my kids are in school. For the past ten years, there has always been a child home with me and now there is quiet, maybe too much quiet. As I sit and reflect on the little years and this new season that I am entering, I hope to take what I have learned and help encourage other moms in those little years. I understand how hard it is trying to find balance between keeping your home tidy and spending time with your kids. I know what it feels like to be burned out, overwhelmed, and tired of the day in and day out of caring for a home and for littles. Don’t get me wrong, there were more days full of joy, laughter, and happiness when my kids were home than those burned out days and I’ve never regretted once staying home with my kids. I want to make your life just a little bit simpler if you are feeling burnt out. If I can do that for you, then you can have more days full of joy and laughter and less days of feeling burnt out. Here are my top 8 toy simplifying tips: 1. Create one space for toys. Having one space will help your kids know where their toys are being stored and will help keep the toys contained. When I had two kids under two, I knew I wanted their toys stored on the main floor so I could easily watch them and get things done at the same time. I realized for this season of life I needed to transform a space in my home to meet this need. I took our formal dining room and turned it into a playroom. For a time, we did not have a formal dining room and I was ok with that as we would only need that when company was over. I found creative ways to make our guests feel at home when they did come for dinner and they never cared about not sitting at a dining room table! My need for a playroom definitely outweighed my need for a dining room. If you don’t have the space to dedicate a full room to a play room that’s ok! There are ways to section off a room and creative ways to store toys, see point 4. We loved our playroom so much that we actually transitioned it into a reading room as our kids grew older. Just because your floor plan says a room should be a certain room doesn’t mean that it will necessarily fit your season of life. So don’t be afraid and change it up!
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