To say the least, Melissa and Tammy wooed me!

They made me feel something for them…

And for me, that translated into wanting to help them.

Check out what they had to say and you will see why it wasn’t difficult for me to select these Two Amazing Women as My Winners!

               Melissa’s Story

Hi Patricia,

The clutter and disorder in my life has become my biggest obstacle. I ran across your contest on the internet and it inspired me to do something about the heaviness that is preventing me from becoming all I can be.
So….. 3 Good Reasons Why I Want To Get Organized. 

(How will getting organized benefit my life?)

Reason #1: Getting organized will allow me the freedom to live my life, to focus and achieve my goals.

I am an over achiever with a dirty little secret. To the outside world I seem the confident, pulled together career woman, able to handle anything that is thrown at her.  At home I am exhausted and unable to relax, completely overwhelmed with stuff. Lots of stuff. Old stuff, new stuff….stuff that should have been thrown out years ago…stuff that makes no sense….stuff that is smothering me….stuff that is stopping me…holding me back….occupying my shelves, my life and my mind.  I am stuck…unable to move.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about it….how to manage it…where to pile it, put it, stack it, fold it, categorize it, store it….in case…I need it.

All this thinking about stuff just makes me feel heavy…and nothing ever gets done about it. Something is always more important… I am at a complete stall.

Every plan I have for myself begins with these thoughts….”As soon as I get organized..”, “When I finally have the time to organize….”, “If I could only GET ORGANIZED!”

I keep telling myself I need time to accomplish this…and it never happens.

I have tried to analyze why I do this…why I buy things I don’t need, that don’t fit….that I don’t even LIKE…and why I hold on to everything I buy and have bought…unwilling to part with it….in case I need it….in case it fits some day. In case it comes back in style….like clogs…..I mean..that proves my point…doesn’t it?

Is it because my parents lived through the great depression? “Save everything…it cost you hard earned money..don’t you dare throw money away like that….”

My father collected tools, nuts and bolts…tiny little things in piles…all over the garage…my mother collected paper, books, memorabilia….I still have all of her things…in a storage unit…because she will not part with them.

As I sit here on Thanksgiving night…drinking a chocolate martini…writing this contest entry…amidst piles of paper…bags, books, boxes,dishes in the sink…while my two cats run amok…I can’t for the life of me figure out where to start….

When I have a day off…I think…wow! Today is the day…I can begin! ….It never happens. Perhaps…I am afraid.

I want to break the pattern, I want to lighten the load…shake my wings free and soar! I want to start my own business and free my space, as well as my mind from clutter…so…I can focus. I want to make a difference.

Reason #2. Getting organized will allow me more time to dedicate to loved ones.

Aside from holding down a demanding career, I am a full time caregiver to an ailing parent. Along with managing my mother’s daily needs (diet restrictions, cooking, bathing, laundry etc) I am constantly shuffling around clutter.  Because I am constantly moving things around and rearranging things…I am unable to spend time with my mom that is worthwhile. At the end of a long day, when I finally sit down, it is either past midnight and she is asleep or I find myself exhausted and too short tempered to talk….not very good company to someone who has just spent the day alone with no one to talk to.

I have help with the house cleaning…although…the cleaning lady can’t really do much…because it is impossible to move around the stuff. My house is never dirty…it is just a cluttered disaster! I am embarrassed to have friends and family over. If I do host an event I spend days going on a painful hide and clean binge. It is like being bulimic….buy,pile, HIDE as opposed to eat and purge!  The first floor will be spotless and sparkling:) the upstairs bedrooms and basement will look like Beirut! I have even gone so far as hiding the cats…along with their kitty litter in my mother’s bedroom!

If I was able to simplify my life, I would have more time for my mother and a cleaner, safer environment for her. I could host a party and spend quality time with my guests without feeling like I fought a war!

Reason #3 Getting organized will allow me to sell our home and finally live with my husband!

My husband, is in the military and is currently serving in Afghanistan. He is away from home for many months…sometimes a year at a time. This leaves the business of running the household and managing our affairs to me. When he is home…he works and lives in Washington DC, we spend weekends together. We are unable to live together because our house in NJ needs to be renovated before we can sell it. I would like to complete the project before my husband returns home from his tour in the spring. I don’t want to disappoint him.

We live in a very old farm house (circa 1920)…I have undertaken several renovation projects and now have to tackle the upstairs rooms in our home. The accumulation of clutter (especially upstairs)makes this job ten times harder than it should be. I am embarrassed to take the contractors up to look at the job because of the mess. My husband wants me to get the house ready for sale so that we can finally live together in one place! I just can’t seem to step back and come up with a plan that works.

I would like to have a comfortable place for my husband to come home to. I don’t want to allow the clutter to stop us from living together as a family.

3 Good Reasons:  Why I Want To Work With Patricia

(How will the quality of my life improve by working with Patricia?)

Reason #1:
I need someone to help me find a path!
I can not do this alone! I am not a person who asks for help easily. As a matter of fact my typical mantra is…”I can do this! I don’t need help…I can make this happen on my own.”  Well…this time I can’t. By admitting this I am already improving my life. As much as I don’t want to say it…I need help. I am at my wits end! I need assistance, I need a strategy, I need some sort of a push to get out of this stall pattern and hit this thing hard. I am sick of living like this. I am tried of crying in the shower and feeling overwhelmed!

Reason #2:
I need to be able to get up in the morning and out of the door without feeling like I have put in a full days work.
I can never seem to find anything to wear…my bedroom looks like Filene’s Basement after an explosion. I don’t even know what I have. Although it can be fun to hang out in my room and dig through all of the cool, funky clothes (never, ever bought at full price!)…like the purple faux Persian lamb cape coat….evening gowns..every color ..some never worn with the tags still on them…red and white,candy striped, peep toe, spike heels with bows…(thought they would be cool while lounging by the cabana…WHAT cabana????), I cannot seem to find one single outfit that fits my body shape and size TODAY that is suitable for work. So….after preparing mom’s breakfast and taking it to her…. after packing her lunch….after feeding the cats….after doing the dishes…throwing in a load of laundry….making a cup of coffee….I enter my bedroom and begin the mad Dig and Dash.

I frantically begin the search through one of 6 areas that I store (or semi-store) my clothes in. The guest bedroom has become a place to pile clothes and throw shoes…there are also two closets in this room full of clothes and shoes….I have three closets in my bedroom…along with a rolling clothes rack and another closet in the bathroom…another rolling rack in my entry foyer, stuffed with clothes… and another closet on the first floor…supposedly for coats….although I am no longer really sure WHAT is in there. Most of my clothes are dry clean only…so there is a ton of plastic over the clothes making it difficult to see where anything is.

I begin by tearing off plastic…trying on things that don’t fit and piling them on to an ironing board. After about a half an hour of digging and trying on, and discarding and repeating…I look at the clock…panic, yell goodbye to my mother, trip over one of the cats and run out the door….late for work…again. Sometimes…unable to make a decision, I throw a second pair of shoes into a bag and bring them with me….in case I want to change them
before entering the office. I leave behind a pile of clean clothes…that will just grow bigger as the week progresses.

As much as the paragraph above might have made you laugh…the next will be sobering.

I am tired of living like this. There is no reason for this stupid excess. I should know better. My husband spends a lot of time in third world countries, where people have nothing but the clothes on their backs. I am ashamed of what I am doing and I want and need to stop. I need someone to set me straight and remind me of this.

Reason #3
Clutter and disorganization has stalled my (and our) life, and I want it back.
My husband and I wanted to adopt…we have dreamed of having a family. We talk about it , but there never seems to be a right time.  I have all of the paper work…we even began the home study before he left…but I have never been able to complete all of the documentation required. I am getting older and I fear that the opportunity may have passed. It is sad to think that the clutter in my life has prevented me and my husband from sharing our love with a child. I don’t want the clutter to stop us from doing what is important to us. I hate that I spend so much time with this disorder that I can’t enjoy my life with my husband.  Our marriage is strong…but I am not sure any marriage could withstand this burden over time. I fear that, without help, I will lose everything that is important to me and be left with only regret. I have not been able to make this happen on my own. I need someone that I trust in my corner to help me keep the gloves on. I need a coach.
I want to win this fight.

Sincerely,

Melissa Williams

    Tammy’s Story

Dear Patricia,

I’m so excited to join your contest!

I didn’t hesitate to list my three good reasons why I want to live an organized life.  I absolutely know why!!!

1)    I am ready, r e a d y, READY!!!!!  I’m beyond ready!  I’m mental, physically and spiritually ready to get it right.  (It’s the off season in my business right now so I am not only ready, but willing and able.)
Mentally I need this to help me cope, physically I’m going to be 50 soon and can’t just keep plowing through & spiritually I want the peace in my life to focus on the most important things. Let’s go!!!!

2)    I have no choice.  I HAVE to get a system because my life is sooooo full.  I can’t see my way clear to cultivating the right system on my own.  I’ve seen a lot, read some, listened to those who ARE organized.  I desire it….but I need HELP!  I want to put my efforts into something worthwhile.  I’m afraid to pick the wrong thing, because then, I may not pick something successful and will end up further behind with more wasted time and less of a chance to try again.  Like a failed diet!  No choice.  I HAVE to do this.

3)  My girls.  I have a 10 and 14 year old girls.  I don’t want to have them live in and perpetuate my chaos.  I want to teach them how to balance their lives properly.  I see some of my bad influence in them now and I see them struggle.  I wish I knew how to help them.  Please!  Help me so I can in turn help my own girls improve the quality of their lives too.  My husband, I and my girls all benefit.  It would improve the quality of the life in my family beyond words!

Three reasons why I need YOU!

1)  No fanny patting… I want the BEST!  If I’m going to give it 100% I want someone who is THEE authority on the subject; Someone whom I admire and can truly learn from;  Someone who calms me and helps me complete a thought!  That’s YOU, Patricia!  I’ve spoken with you and have longed to partner up together.  I know I could be a great student!

2)  I’ve wanted to have a session with you forever.  I think I’ve been trying for two years now and with a new business and paying for the girls to go to Christian school…I just have not been able to budget myself in, even though I know the value of it.

3)  My health.  I don’t know how to do this on my own.  If I could of, I would of by now.  NO ONE would be able to understand my life like you.  I’m working only 76 hours a week now (off season!), am an assistant leader in 4H and active in the Christian school as well as a mom and wife.  I keep myself pared down to only important things and keep downtime at home a priority.

I don’t want to run, run, run….so I don’t; but…and it’s a big BUT….I don’t know how to turn down the pressure in my own life.  My business is a convenience store, with gas pumps, liquor store, laudrymat and full pizzeria/deli.  I’m BUSY!!!!  I’ve done good.  People always tell me they don’t know how I do it….but I probably could do it with much less effect on my health and family if I had your help!

Thanks for your consideration!

Tammy Schack and Family