Earlier this month I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio for the How To Summit – a conference for professional organizers. People came from all over the country (and world!) to learn, connect and share a sense of community. You know those opportunities and experiences that just fill your soul? Well that is exactly what my two days at HTW were like! I was honored to not only be attending such a wonderful conference but also to be invited to be one of the speakers.
The How To Summit is hosted by the amazing Brandie and Ryan of the Home Sort. There were 175 attendees and 6 truly inspiring speakers (more on that in a moment). For day 1 of the conference we were hosted by mDesign and they graciously welcome everyone into their headquarters. The mDesign team shared information about their company, we were given a tour of their facilities and got to listen to a panel discussion of mDesign employees. We learned so much about the company and it was truly fascinating to see all of the behind the scenes.
The next day it was time to hear from the ladies of Home Sort and as well as a line up of amazing speakers. It was a day truly filled with education and wisdom – more than I ever could have imagined. I was, of course, preparing myself for my speech but also inspired to hear from the other speakers: Ashley Jones Hatcher, Cindy of Cindyology, Jen Robin of LIfe in Jeneral, Shira Gill and Tracy of Organize Simply. They brought so much wisdom, perspective and joy to the table. I felt truly blessed to get to spend time with all of the speakers throughout the two days and they are now lifelong business mentors (and friends).
When it was my turn to speak to the group I spoke about how organizing is not just about bins and baskets but truly about the emotional process that our clients go through each and every time they get organized. As organizers, our job is helping our clients confront and overcome the emotional obstacles that stand in the way of getting and staying organized. Getting organized is a process – a cathartic, emotional journey. If you are unaware, deny, or don’t undertake that journey at all, you cut off the greatest benefit of getting organized – for yourself and your clients.
Over the past 13 years, I have used several principles for working through and overcoming emotional obstacles when organizing. I use these in my own life, I teach it to my daughters and to my clients. The principles are called HEART and it is something I feel truly passionate about. I love nothing more than speaking about HEART and have even shared a peek into that process on the blog here.My speech on the HEART of organizing is not easy and not rainbows and pretty pictures but something I believe deeply. The attendees and other speakers of the conference mentioned they truly connected with my speech and that I made them cry. I am so humbled that my message touched so many but honestly that impact was because I was vulnerable and honest which isn’t common this day in age with Instagram and pretty pictures.
It was a privilege to be a speaker and I am truly grateful for the experience! My heart came back home so full. I learned so much from my fellow organizers and was re-inspired to share my passion for HEART and love for public speaking. I can’t thank the Home Sort ladies enough for organizing this summit of organizers! I can’t wait until next year!
Hi Rachel
I am glad you had an envigorating and informative event.
Having been to similar events the energy level can be so high for the weekend that by Wednesday I usually experienced fatigue.
I suspect the skills and knowledge required to organize an event like that is not the same as the skill required to organize a home and keep it organized.
Please keep us informed on the various tools required to make organizing a success.
I couldn’t agree more! I think a lot of people see organization as this neat and tidy process, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about addressing the emotions that we have around our stuff and helping our clients work through those emotions – even as a web developer. For me, that’s always been the most rewarding part of the job!