Hi, I’m Kim and welcome to my (kinda) new blog. Starting over is a theme in my life, so, while this blog welcomes all who want to read it, my main focus will be women who want a fresh start. I’ve had a couple of blogs before and quite frankly, I simply abandoned them. Not this time.
Can you identify?
Living in chaos. If you know what it’s like to live in a mess, to not know where things are, then this blog is for you. I used to be there. Today I am a Professional Organizer, helping families sort their homes and their lives.
Freedom-stealing situation. If you know what it’s like to feel like you are just existing and NOT living a full and happy (abundant)life, then you know how confining it can be. Maybe your freedom-stealer is an abusive relationship. Mine was my very own addiction to compulsive eating.
Hopelessness. If there was ever one thing in life that you wanted so badly, but felt you could never have it, then you know the feeling of hopelessness. I was in my mid-40’s, never married, never had children. At nearly 250 lbs, I was also Morbidly Obese Level III. I had no hope that my life would get any better. Little did I know that my life was about to change.
If you’ve known ANY of these situations, then this blog is for you. Read on to find out how I went from living a life of messy, chaotic hopelessness to one of serenity and joy.
2010: From Chaos to Order
That’s when it started. At 240+ lbs, 45 years old and no prospects of ever getting married, I had lost all hope. Oh, and I had no job. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
July 17th, I said enough is enough and stopped compulsively overeating. The picture below was taken that very day at a local music festival. Smiling, but not happy:
Little did I know that I just took the first step on an amazing, life-changing journey. I have not looked back in regret.
Not long after, I entered a spiritual program of recovery using the Twelve Steps. Through those steps, I came to realize that not only was my eating chaotic and disorderly, but so was my life.
Weighing & Measuring
To lose the weight, I started to weigh and measure every piece of food I ate. This is by far one of the most humbling spiritual practices I do to this day. The detritus of excessive eating was gone; I was losing weight. What else in my life was surrounded by clutter?
Me. I was.
Surrounded by Clutter
Through weighing and measuring my food, I discovered a deep love for organization & clutter-free living. Getting rid of what was no longer necessary, both with food and my surroundings, I cleared the path for the purpose of my life.
First Comes Children…
It happened by accident. It was 2011 and I was working part-time and one of the women I worked with asked if I knew of anyone who could babysit a few days a week.
“Me!” I said.
And VOILA! I had two beautiful boys enter my life. They were babies and EVERYONE said the job probably wouldn’t last long.
WRONG! There is now a THIRD baby, and EIGHT YEARS LATER and I am still working with this wonderful family.
Then Comes Marriage…
2013 was a VERY lucky year for me. I met, fell in love with and married my husband, Mark. I was 49 years old. We met in May, got married in October. We are more in love today than we were 5 years ago. He knows me as only a woman with a healthy weight and a healthy attitude towards life. That is miraculous!
Enter Organizing Through the Back Door
Along with taking care of two children, I was also doing the occasional cleaning job. Well, it didn’t take me long to realize that what my clients really needed wasn’t someone to clean up after them, but, rather someone to teach them how to organize their belongings. Let me be clear: Cleaning and organizing are two different things. Cleaning involves cleansers & rags. Organizing involves bins, trash bags and various other items. I couldn’t clean my clients house UNTIL the stuff on the countertops & floors were organized and put away. What I was doing was simply putting a band-aid on a wound that needed stitches. Or to put it another way, I was giving them a fish to eat for the day. I wanted to teach them how to fish so they could eat for a lifetime.
The Birth of Good Orderly Direction Professional Organizing Services
I had no idea that such a thing as “professional organizer” existed. All I knew was that I saw people like Peter Walsh from the show “Clean Sweep” who treated people with kindness and empathy while helping them clear out their clutter. I wanted to do that. So, I started my business. After a few fits and starts, the name “Good, Orderly Direction” took hold.
Click here for my Facebook business page: Good Orderly Direction Professional Organizing Services.
So What Does Selling Bags Have to do With Any of This?
One major reason why clutter exists is because we are afraid of making decisions, or we put off making decisions indefinitely. Learning how to make decisions can be a daunting task and so I wanted to simplify some things for my clients. One of the things that was super-easy for me to do was provide an easy way for my clients to purchase the things they need to have an orderly and serene space.
Enter Thirty-One Gifts.
Thirty-One provides a solution to one of my clients problems: “We’ve gotten rid of all the clutter. Now how do I store what I have?” By being an Independent Consultant, I can more easily provide storage and organization solutions to my clients. That’s one less decision (where do I buy the stuff to store what’s left?) my clients have to make.
But still, why Thirty-One?
Because the name, “Thirty-One” is rooted in scripture. It comes directly from Proverbs 31. And, in case you missed it, my organizing business ALSO has spiritual overtones (Good, Orderly Direction)
As a Catholic, my faith permeates my life. When I was in the disease of compulsive overeating, God was pretty much out of the picture. Self-directed, my life was in chaos. God-directed, my life has been restored to order.
Check out my Thirty-One Facebook page on the sidebar over here–>
Or just go to Kim Thompsen, Independent Consultant, Thirty-One Gifts.
Thank you for reading this far! I am so glad you are joining me on my journey!
Kim
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Faith + Works 