I recently spoke with Jessica Ashley, host of the Single Mom Nation podcast. It’s an honest girlfriend to girlfriend conversation where we talk about…well, marriage crap.As a former single mother, I discuss with Jessica Ashley how to move forward with you life when you are single parenting and have to deal with the mental and physical clutter that is left over from your marriage. I was a single mom for many years and have helped other individuals going through divorce or loss, so this topic is one that deeply resonates with me.

The thing about spring cleaning/organizing/whatever you want to call it is there is so much build up around it. There is no official “spring cleaning” holiday per se, but instead it’s the general time of year where we are all supposed to buckle down and get our stuff in order.

To be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I mean, as a type A person to my core there are few things I enjoy more than a good list to check off and for everything to have its place. But, even though everything has its place doesn’t mean that everything needs a place in your home.

It’s officially spring and with that comes the start of spring cleaning and organizing. This year I’ve created a Spring Organizing Series here on the blog, which will be a collection of blog posts dedicated to getting specific areas of your home organized. First up in the series is the topic that I get asked about most often: kids stuff!

As a professional organizer, I should probably tell you that I love Spring cleaning, right? I should probably tell you getting things organized for Spring is a breeze in my home because every room is already perfectly in place and that since we don’t have clutter the process takes minutes to keep up. I mean, it’s literally my job to help people declutter and get their homes in order, but that doesn’t mean that my home always is neat all the time. We are an active family of four and we LIVE in our house. It will never be perfectly neat and that is ok with me.

Ever since I shared on the blog that I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease (more on that here), I’ve received so much support and even more messages from people who are dealing with their own autoimmune diseases. Also, my eyes were opened to how many people are truly interested in learning more about my green lifestyle, and while I am still learning my new normal, I’m grateful to have an outlet to share my journey!

Like many of you, I wear many of hats throughout a day. Between being a mom, running a full-time business and managing my team, plus keeping my house and personal well-being in check it feels like there never is enough time. We are always searching for time to add to our day. Clients always tell me that if they had more time they could do XYZ and I get it. I know that I can’t change how many hours are in a day but I can change what I do in the environment where I spend my days. There are things that I can do throughout the day and week that can get me–and you, too–more in control so that when the kids get home and I lay my head down on the pillow, my mind isn’t full of any clutter due to the physical clutter around me.

When working in my clients’ homes I always take into account their existing aesthetic before introducing organizing products to their space. While I tend to lean on more a neutral palette, I also like to tie in fun prints, textures, and pops of color so that anything that is brought into the house is cohesive with everything else going on design-wise.

Similar to how the new year marks a new beginning, for me, the same goes with each new month. I love being able to check off tasks from my to-do lists (hello, Type A), cross off goals from what I have planned out and succeeded in doing, and most importantly have a visual reminder of what I’ve done already and what’s to come moving forward.

When we decided to redesign my kids’ playroom, I wanted to make sure that my 10 year olds were involved in the process. As a professional organizer, I encourage my clients to get their kids involved wherever possible so that the kids get excited about the process. Plus, when they are involved in the decision-making and final result, I’ve seen time and time again that it helps them keep up with the organization and in general, a more organized lifestyle. Organization becomes a way of life rather than a one time event. And, I don’t know about in your house, but anything to get my kids to put away the ingredients to their most recent craft experiment sounded ideal to me!

Since starting my journey to love a green lifestyle, I’ve been introduced to products that serve as safe alternatives to the products that once used to be in my home.

When I made the transition to rid my home of products that aren’t conducive to my life with Hashimoto’s (everything must be chemical-free), I was overwhelmed with where to begin. Would there be enough alternative products available? Would they work just as well as the products that I had been using over the years? The thing that I quickly realized is that there are so many great companies out there that create reliable, safe products for your home. I’ve stocked every place in my home (from my kitchen essentials to my beauty products) with these new finds.