freedom

How to Get Organized Anywhere at Any Budget

By Hazel Thornton | February 9, 2019 |

I want to help everyone find the freedom of getting Organized for Life regardless of where they live, or how much money they have. But there’s only one of me, and I need to make a living too. Too bad I can’t work directly with all of you for free. There are lots of ways I…

A Valentine for Your Family: Planning for Your Legacy

By Hazel Thornton | February 9, 2018 |

If you got hit by a bus tomorrow, what would your loved ones be left with? Happy memories, or sad ones? Clutter and uncertainty? Or clear instructions and valued keepsakes? What will your legacy be?

Are you too busy to live your life?

By Hazel Thornton | October 17, 2017 |

Once upon a time I was taught the Transcendental Meditation technique. It’s a mantra-based meditation that is done for 20 minutes twice a day, but that is not my point. The thing about the training that keeps coming back to me is this frequent admonishment: If you are too busy to meditate, then you are…

The egret represents freedom from clutter

By Hazel Thornton | March 27, 2017 |

People sometimes ask me why I have a stork for my business logo. Is it my fault that not everyone knows an egret from a stork? Granted, New Mexico is not exactly known for egrets, but I do see one sometimes down by the Rio Grande. Anyway, the egret that inspired my logo lived in Minnesota. Here’s…

“But I paid good money for that!” (The Sunk Cost of Clutter – part 1)

By Hazel Thornton | May 21, 2015 |

When I help a client sort through their things, there are any number of reasons why they have difficulty letting them go. This, despite the fact that they don’t love or use them. “But it was a gift! But I might need it someday! But I paid good money for that!” Wait! WHAT? (Cue screeching…

What I Know For Sure: Oprah Really Gets It!

By Hazel Thornton | February 12, 2012 |

I am grateful to Oprah Winfrey for introducing professional organizers Julie Morgenstern and Peter Walsh to the world at large. She increased awareness of the benefits of getting organized, paving the way for organizers like me to help others and make a living doing what we love. I originally wrote this in 2011, about what has become O…

Are You Living a Balanced Life?

By Hazel Thornton | August 5, 2011 |

It’s popular these days to claim that a balanced life is impossible to achieve. So why try? I agree that it’s a waste of energy to strive for a perfect balance between your work life and personal life. And it’s certainly not going to be balanced every day, or every week. To the extent that…