Jen is your average busy professional woman, wife, mom, chauffeur, daughter, sister, friend, and organizer. She has always admired and envied those who live a truly organized life, with everything in its place. She wants that, too! She finds herself feeling very off-kilter when she sees chaos and clutter in her home. So, she created Organizenvy to document her own journey from envy to Zen, one project at a time.

I am a neat freak myself and a surviving perfectionist, so not the best combination. I ask Jen a few questions about how to find that balance. Jen teaches you organizational skills that help you with time management and help organize everything around your home.

Jen, welcome to my blog, and tell my audience a little about yourself.

I live with my husband and teenage son in Scottsdale, Arizona…which is starting to get a little toasty now as we enter May! When I’m not writing about organizing, decluttering, and finding balance, I am typically watching my son play soccer, going for a power walk, or taking in a movie. I’m a proud horror movie fanatic and a Marvel Universe and Star Wars nerd. Oh, and I love theme parks and roller coasters, too!

Talk to me about how you are helping people find balance in a decluttered life.

I’ve always sought to control the chaos in my home and life. One of the biggest compliments anyone has ever paid me was when they walked into my house and remarked that it felt so calm and peaceful. That’s my ultimate goal in a busy life: to have a peaceful place for my family to rest and recharge.

I started my blog Organizenvy to document my own journey to find balance (or Zen) through organization. When I shared my tips with friends and family, I was surprised by how many thanked me for the ideas. I then realized that my journey could help others on theirs. It’s so rewarding!

Tell me how being organized saves us time, money, energy, and gives us peace of mind?

The great irony I find is that people who are not organized think it takes up too much time, energy, and money to get organized. Sure, if you’re looking at a hugely cluttered space, it is going to take some time and energy to tidy it up. And it might require a little investment in containers or other organization tools. But think about how much time is wasted trying to live in and navigate a mess every day? Looking for lost keys, or that missing shoe, or the eyeglasses you set down somewhere. What a stressful way to start a busy day.

As for money, being organized saves far more than it costs. When you’re dealing with paper clutter, bills get lost in the shuffle. Late fees are charged. Coupons expire without being used. Food goes bad before it gets eaten, or you overbuy because you don’t know what’s in your pantry or refrigerator. The list goes on!

Just imagine the peace of mind if we had all of these things under control, every day. It’s possible by making organization a daily practice!

Can you differentiate between perfection and staying organized?

I can not stress this enough: organization is about practice. It is NOT about perfection. I think the idea of trying to create a “perfectly” organized space scares a lot of people, and they become paralyzed and give up before they even start. The picture-perfect images we see in magazines and catalogs are not necessary for a balanced life. All we need to do is find methods and practices that work for us individually. I often use very inexpensive containers and I hand-label them or use an inexpensive label maker. Function is more important than aesthetics, especially in areas of the home that most people won’t see. Gorgeous, farmhouse-style baskets and lettering look AMAZING, but they are not required to conquer chaos.

The practice part of organization comes into play after the initial organizing project is complete. Finishing that pantry makeover is fantastic! But keeping it organized day after day requires consistent effort. If we can incorporate the practice of putting things away correctly into our daily routine (and reinforcing it with our family members), then we will achieve balance in our lives.

Explain the various roles you juggle as an average busy professional woman, wife, mom, chauffeur, daughter, sister, and friend?

I’m like most 40-something women: we wear so many hats! I work from home, so in addition to my professional work I handle getting my son to after school activities and soccer practice, and I’m the homework helper. Thank GOODNESS I’m good at Algebra! (Next year my son will take Physics…not sure I’ll be much help there.)

My extended family members all live in different parts of the country, so I rely on my strong network of friends for immediate support but I also work very hard to stay connected to the family via text, phone, social media, etc. Life is a juggling act, and it gets crazy. And exhausting. Hence my need to re-center myself! I’m too fidgety to practice true meditation, but I do think that organizing and decluttering become a type of meditation for me.

Give me some tips on how to organize spaces like the bathroom, kitchen, pantry, bedroom, or office. Where do you start?

Here’s my absolute most important tip for any space: you MUST declutter before you organize. Believe it or not, this first step is the hardest for most people. We feel an attachment to our things, and guilt over, throwing a perfectly good spatula out (even though we have ten more perfectly good spatulas), and we feel that our worth comes from having all. these. things. It does not!

Ok, rant over.  But decluttering is a must. If you have too many items for space, it doesn’t matter how many cute containers you buy… space will still look stuffed and cluttered. So start there.

Second, look for ways to maximize space. Tall or stackable containers on shelves, over-the-door hanging organizers, in pantries and closets, Lazy Susans beneath the sink or in the awkward corners of the pantry…it’s all about using every inch of space possible.

Third, organize with efficiency in mind. Group items commonly used together with either near each other or in a single container. I do this in my pantry with the peanut butter and bread, and my “popcorn bin” with popcorn, seasonings, popcorn bags, and a scoop. On (horror) movie night, I grab that bin and we’re off! Don’t hide the blender or coffee maker in a cabinet if you use them every day; instead, find a nice spot for them on the counter. And keep the ground coffee and filters in containers next to the coffee maker so you’re not traveling to and from the pantry. You’ll save so much time this way!

Fourth: label, label, label! I personally feel you can never label too much. Even if you know where things are supposed to go, those labels will keep you from “accidentally” throwing items in whatever bin is closest. Labels will also help remind your family members to help keep things organized, too.

Is getting organized a learned skill? Is it something we always have to work on?

I think getting organized is a learned skill for most of us. And it’s definitely something we always have to work on. But the good news is that ANYONE can learn, if they want to, and incorporate it into their daily lives. For those just getting started, don’t feel like you have to do it all at once. Try taking 15 minutes a day (actually set a timer — I’m serious!) and declutter one area at a time. Once that’s done, organize a cabinet or a drawer or a shelf. I find that completing one small project is almost as rewarding as a huge closet makeover, but not as tiring. And every time a project is complete and we stand back and admire the new space, it motivates us to move on to the next project.

Just don’t give up! Start where you are, keep your goals in mind, and make it a daily habit. Balance is within your reach!

The post The Closet Organizer: Finding balance in a de-cluttered life appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

In a world that often celebrates perfection and conformity, the most profound strength lies in embracing your true self. “Just Be You” is a gentle reminder that authenticity is not only enough—it’s everything.

This post delves into the transformative power of self-acceptance, encouraging you to shed the masks and expectations that society places upon you. By embracing your unique qualities and quirks, you unlock a life of genuine connection, inner peace, and fulfillment.

Join us as we explore the beauty of living authentically and the profound impact it can have on your well-being and relationships.

Please tell me what is Debs Decorative Life all about? Who is the audience? Why should we visit it?

Deb’s Decorative Life is about helping busy moms to be less stressed by offering household and life hacks so they can spend more time with their families.  Deb’s Decorative Life inspires and encourages you to “Just Be You, Your Own Unique Self”. I want my busy moms to lead their own decorative life whether it is trying a new recipe or DIYing their own party decorations.

My audience is mainly busy moms with kids.  The single, millennial working woman also follows Deb’s Decorative Life for fast, practical, easy, simple ideas to help get her in and out of the kitchen faster.

You should visit Deb’s Decorative Life if you want to be less stressed in the kitchen and in life.  Anyone can lead their own decorative life if they apply my tips, tricks for DIY, recipes, gift ideas, and family fun. 

How did the blog come about? How is everything going so far?

After years of everyone asking for my household advice, I decided to share my expertise with the world.  If I can lead a decorative life, then, you can too!  People are too stressed and I want to lessen the stress of running a household.

I am happily experimenting with ideas and projects to help run your household in a simpler effective way.  I love it when I get an email from my readers asking me for help.  I am so happy to support them. 

Explain to me the challenges of blogging?

The challenge of blogging is coming up with more new, easy, simple, innovative ideas to keep your household running smoothly.

I am also working on a book or two while I am blogging.

I am also a busy mom and my family depends on me.

I am also a VIP Juice Crew Brand Ambassador for Old Orchard Brands so I always trying to come up with new ideas and recipes to share with my audience.

My website loves to give me tech problems that started over the last 4-6 months.  Updates can cause images to disappear.  There are days when I can barely work on my website and it jumps all over the place when I hit the enter key.

I am determined not to let that challenge get to me!  Somehow, I always manage to get posts on my website.

What does women empowerment mean to you?

When I think about women’s empowerment, I think about strong, confident, determined women who are willing to learn how to run a business.  These women offer help and support to other women in business so that they can both succeed.  Women’s empowerment is about women putting themselves out there so that they can lead, achieve and thrive in business and in life.

We all go through challenges in life. Name a specific life challenge you have been through and how you dealt with it?

I remember, last summer, when our college son got severely sick with migraines that made him sick to his stomach every day for a little over a month.

He was in and out of urgent care about 3 or 4 times a month.

I also had to re-schedule his graduation party because he was so sick.  He even almost missed his 2nd graduation party because he was still sick.  He refused to let me cancel his party and re-schedule again.

My blog suffered!  I was barely paying any attention to my blog.

My son needed me and I wanted to be there for him.  He was miserable, in pain and vomiting every day.

After he got better, I refused to look at my blog stats and my social media followers.

I just concentrated on getting myself back on my feet with the blog and social media.  I wrote blog posts, social media posts and concentrated on getting followers.

I was super focused for a month and wore myself out trying to play catch up.  After a month, I finally went back to my usual schedule.

How do you come up with ideas for your blog?

I picked 4 areas of concentration for my blog DIY, Recipes, Holidays/Events, and Family.  I give household and life hacks for these topics in my blog posts.  I also share my experiments, hints, tricks, and tips in a blog post to help lessen my audience’s stress of running a household.

I want you to give yourself some advice on 26 36 and 46?

At age 26, I would say that if you are living with your parents, follow their rules but go after your dream now.  The risk isn’t as risky because your parents are providing you with a roof over your head and will always have food for you.

At age 36, I would say that you shouldn’t let your kids or family life hold you back from doing something for you.  In the long run you loose yourself and end up feeling empty with regret and anger.

At age 46, I would say that it’s never too late to just jump in and do what you want to do in life.  Go after it!

I want you to give 5 pieces of advice to women under 35?

The sooner you follow your dream, the better.  Don’t wait so you don’t regret it.

You have a lot of time ahead of you.  If you fail, get up and keep trying until you get it right.

Don’t overspend. It only hurts you in the long run and the challenge of paying off debt weighs on you until it is paid off.

You are going to attract or repel people, either way, there is nothing you can do about it. Accept it.

Practice getting out of your comfort zone. That is the key to a more fulfilled and successful life.

How has food, faith, finance, and family made an impact on your life?

I find myself taking pictures of what I eat or make for social media or the blog.

I have a lot of faith and I believe you are on the path that you are meant to be on in life.

My family survived when my husband was unemployed 3 times in 2 years.  It was extremely rough but we got through it.  My household hacks, couponing, DIY, and budgeting really helped.

Family time is important to me and I enjoy coming up with lots of ideas for family fun.

The post Just Be You appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.