Is Your Clutter Costing You Money? The Surprising Link Between Organisation, Shopping & Your Bank Account 

Is your home costing you more money than you realise? Molly Benjamin sits down with professional home organiser Jess Schultz, who has organised over 400 homes across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and South East Queensland, to explore the surprising link between being organised and your finances. No judgement, no Pinterest-perfect pantries, just practical advice for busy women who want their homes (and their wallets) to feel more under control. Whether your house feels completely out of control, you’ve got bags of op shop donations sitting in the boot of your car, or you keep buying products you already own, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Where to start when your whole house feels overwhelming (hint: it’s not “start with one drawer”)
• The biggest organising mistake that makes everything harder than it needs to be
• The one category of clutter that scares professional organisers the most, and the simple fix that costs about $100
• Why being organised can save you money and help you spend on what actually matters, like a holiday
• Intentional consumerism vs minimalism, and why Jess never preaches the latter
• The “use it up before you buy more” rule for skincare, makeup and toiletries
• How to turn your junk drawer into a household utility drawer
• Why pantry canisters and storage products can create more work than they save
• How to deal with sentimental clutter, guilt and unwanted gifts
• Why you should always ask before passing things on to family
• The dog poop test, a decision-making trick that might change how you declutter forever
• Whether a naturally messy person can become a tidy one

Perfect for: Australian women juggling work, family and a never-ending to-do list, mums in the thick of it, and anyone who wants to spend less, stress less and feel more in control at home.

The biggest takeaway from this episode? A good system should serve you, not stress you out. Start where the overwhelm is, keep the momentum going, and be intentional about what you bring into your home. 🎧

You can find Jess on Instagram at @collectively_organized (she shares most of her tips in Stories) and at collectivelyorganized.com.au, where you’ll find free downloads including cleaning checklists and a digital declutter challenge.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why Your Home Organisation Affects Your Money
02:16 What a Professional Home Organiser Actually Does
03:11 Do Organised Homes Stay Organised? Maintenance Explained
04:03 Where to Start When Your House Feels Out of Control
05:11 Organising a Busy Family Home: 400 Homes of Experience
05:59 The Biggest Home Organising Mistake: Double Handling
07:11 E-Waste: The Clutter Category Organisers Fear Most
08:04 How to Get Rid of Old Phones and Laptops Safely
08:55 Can You Be Too Organised? Perfectionism and Pantry Canisters
09:59 Are Organising Products Worth It? Containers, Baskets and Tubs
11:26 How to Declutter a Junk Drawer (Make It a Utility Drawer)
12:56 Organising Toys and Baby Clutter as a New Mum
14:22 Shopping Bags and Packaging: The Clutter Taking Over Your Home
15:55 How Getting Organised Saves Money: Intentional vs Minimalist
17:18 Use It Up Before You Buy More: Skincare and Toiletries
18:48 Sentimental Clutter, Guilt and Unwanted Gifts
21:20 Decluttering Hacks: Momentum and the Dog Poop Test
23:24 Can a Messy Person Become Tidy?
24:37 How to Work With Jess Schultz and Where to Find Her

RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE

Free downloads on Jess’s website: cleaning checklists and a digital declutter challenge
 Jess’s guides for organising your closet, pantry, and home with kids are also on her website

CONNECT WITH JESS SCHULTZ 

Website: https://www.collectivelyorganised.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collectively_organised/
Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/collectively__organised/?invite_code=f4c922f9cb1e4606825b7b785958669c&sender=1141521974208677938

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Buying a property? Need Financial Advice? Time to sort the Will? Let us help connect you with an awesome woman in finance! https://directory.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/
Newsletter: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/newsletter23

TAKEAWAYS

SOUND BITES

"Would you clean it off or throw it out?"

"If it got dog poop on it, would you keep it?"

"Can a messy person become a tidy person?"

"Would you clean it off or throw it out?"

"If it got dog poop on it, would you keep it?"

"Can a messy person become a tidy person?"

TRANSCRIPT

 [00:00:00] Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of Get Rich. I'm your host, Molly Benjamin. Now, how many bags of clothes do you have sitting in the boot of your car? I currently have two. One for Vinnies, and one for a local charity, Baby Give Back, that I need to drop off, and they've probably been in my car for a good three to four weeks.

[00:00:23] And what about old phones and laptops that you meant to get rid of, but you just haven't got around to it? What I found so interesting about today's conversation is it might not seem like there's a direct link between your home and your money, but there is. Being organized changes what you buy, what you keep spending money on, and what you could be doing with that money instead, like actually go on holiday.

[00:00:46] So Jess Schultz is a professional home organizer based on the Gold Coast, and she's organized over 400 homes. When I first got introduced to her, I was like, "Tell me everything you know." Because I feel like for people, when you just feel like your house is slowly becoming out of control, it's kind of hard to bring it back.

[00:01:06] So she's literally telling us how do we do that, and what are the biggest mistakes people make when they organize their own home. Plus, she, she has this really funny dog poo test that I'm kind of into now. So if you listen to the end, that's when we talk about it. There's been a lot in the media recently on just, like, dodgy people in the finance industry, and that was another reason I wanted to build this directory, my directory of trusted finance experts, from mortgage brokers to money coaches to insurance brokers.

[00:01:35] Because these are people we know, we love, we trust, we've used them ourselves. You are gonna be in safe hands. So head over to our website and go check out our directory if you need to connect with a money expert. All right, let's get into today's episode, and then after this, I hope we're all feeling like we can tackle our homes, if you are someone whose home needs to be tackled.

[00:01:57] All right, let's do this. Well, Jess, thank you so much for coming on The Get Rich Podcast, because people might not think, "Oh, is there a direct link to money?" But I think there's such a big direct link to being organized and money as well in so many ways.

[00:02:12] 100%. Right? Yes.

[00:02:16] So just to start off, Jess, can you explain to our listeners what do you actually do?

[00:02:21] So I am a professional home organizer, exactly like you sort of see on different Netflix shows and all over social media and things like that. I go into specifically more busy women's homes and organize their stuff. I'm a whole home organizing specialist, so as much as I do a lot of pantries, and pantries and things like that is where it started for me, I help women with every aspect of their home.

[00:02:52] And even sort of flowing now, sometimes with some of the women I've been working long term with, it can be quite life concierge-like as well. Different things like helping them list things on Marketplace, talking through life admin sort of schedules and things like that. But mainly just working through stuff in people's homes.

[00:03:11] And do you find once you, like, set up, like, a beautiful home and you've got it all organized, do people keep it or do you find yourself back there a year later?

[00:03:20] It's sort of a bit of a mix, and a lot of people leverage my service for how they may want to with the maintenance side of things as well. 'Cause it's like anything, you've gotta maintain it, and therefore you make the decision, are you going to maintain it yourself or are you continuing to outsource as part of the maintenance?

[00:03:38] So I do have what I refer to on my Instagram quite a bit as returning or regular clients, and some people can be really snippy about this concept and go, "I can't believe you've worked so hard. Like, why can't they upkeep it?" But it's, I'm like, "It's like anything. People just make a personal choice whether they're going to upkeep things themselves or they're going to continue to engage my service as part of the maintenance as well."

[00:04:03] Yeah. Oh my gosh, I love it. Yeah. And I guess for someone who's like, "Do you know what? I need to get onto this, but it just feels so completely out of control. Like, my house just feels out of control," where do you recommend they start?

[00:04:17] So the thing with where to begin is, and so much of like the basic information that's out there is, you know, start with a drawer, start small, which I really don't live by.

[00:04:29] Like, I've organized in over 400 homes now. Wow. And really, I always say start where your line of sight is really creating that overwhelm, so therefore it's generally two spots. It's where you either enter the home when, like, you're coming back home for the day. So, like, is it the entry or is it somewhere along the pathway from the garage to where you're walking?

[00:04:55] Or does it actually need to be your bedroom and your closet and en suite? Because that's where you're starting your day. So have a think at where the energy is really lagging in either starting your day or returning home. That's where you've gotta start.

[00:05:11] So you've done over 400 homes. Yes. I bet you've seen a thing or two.

[00:05:16] Look, I really have, and I think, too, in home organization, a lot of organizers, and like we all say, like we don't judge, but you really do hit a point where you're just absolutely immune. You really don't judge because you're like, you have seen it all. Yeah. And it's just, you know, and particularly, too, I work in homes a lot with busy women who are like business owners, but they've got three or four kids as well.

[00:05:44] So we're talking like households of five, six plus people in it. Whenever, whether it's children and they're small, it's still six people in a household. Mm-hmm. There's gonna be mess. There's gonna be life to be lived.

[00:05:56] Yeah.

[00:05:57] So yeah, seen it all.

[00:05:59] I guess when you see people trying to organize their home themselves, what's the biggest, I guess not like mistake, but yeah, I guess what's the biggest challenge you see they all have?

[00:06:09] I think it's more the double handling and delayed decisions. Like say if you are tidying up your office and there's, maybe you've got some clothing in there that you've been meaning to take to the alterations to get repaired, and you actually just pick that up and you move it to the front door. Or you move it to the garage.

[00:06:28] You're not actually dealing with it or going like, "I need to be realistic. Am I really gonna take these to the alterations and get repaired, or do I just need to declutter it out, like exit this item out?" I feel like people move things around their home so much- Yeah ... and double handle that it's, you know, they're saying they're time poor, but it's like they're not dealing with things in their entirety or exiting them out in their entirety.

[00:06:53] Like, they'll take a bag of donations and move it to the garage for three months before they actually drop it off in the Vinnies bin, and stuff like that. It's just there's so much of this, this double handling that's making it harder than it needs to be.

[00:07:05] I have a theory there's so many cars with bags of clothes from Vinnies that just have not been dropped off yet.

[00:07:11] Oh, 100%. But I think, too, everyone's so used to talking about the clothing category, that if I'm really honest, the biggest category that always scares me now in people's homes is e-waste, like electronic waste- Mm ... and old devices that haven't been wiped or, like, old phones that are just sitting there because, oh, you haven't really got everything off it yet- Yeah

[00:07:31] and things like that. Like, the e-waste category in homes and, like, just old Mac computers that are sitting at the bottom of cupboards and things. That's, that's probably the biggest category that everyone is struggling to fully execute confidently out of their homes.

[00:07:48] I was guilty of this last year when I moved back to Queensland.

[00:07:52] I found, like, two Mac laptops and a few iPhones, and I was like, "Right, time to take these to the Mac shop." What do you recommend people actually do in this situation when they have quite a lot of e-waste?

[00:08:04] Yeah. So if there is several devices that they just need to confidently extract the data off of them and save them onto a hard drive and wipe them clean.

[00:08:15] And once again, it's like anything, if you're just really busy or you're procrastinating it, you're really not gonna create the time. I always recommend a local IT guy to just come and pick the devices up from your house, do it for you, bring you back the one terabyte external hard drive that's got everything on it, and him telling you it's wiped.

[00:08:33] And then you can just exit them, recycle them, or sell them on if they're still in good condition. But it's like anything, I just think be real about where you're going to spend your time and what you're really going to do. Is it just something that you do need to outsource so that it's done?

[00:08:48] Yeah. That is so true.

[00:08:49] I think we try and do so much, but when you can just be like, "Look, pay $100. Sort out the issue."

[00:08:55] Oh.

[00:08:55] And then it-

[00:08:55] 100%. Do you think there's

[00:08:58] a such thing as being too organized, or is there a healthy level of mess that should just be accepted?

[00:09:04] I think it, when it crosses over to unhealthy is when you're trying to keep it to such a standard that it's creating an anxiety in you rather than a feeling of control.

[00:09:16] Mm.

[00:09:16] It shouldn't cross over that it's out of this perfectionism stage as well. It needs to serve you. Mm. And this is, I think, too, a big example that I always give people of this is with speaking basic about pantries and pantry canisters. Mm. Because I go, like, "Canisters are fantastic, but let's have a look at how many you're going to be upkeeping.

[00:09:39] Like, are you creating work for yourself by decanting so many ingredients in your pantry?" Like, we need to have that balance between, yes, it's looking beautiful, but we don't wanna be creating work if you just don't have the time to regularly clean them, refill them, et cetera.

[00:09:56] Absolutely. That's great advice.

[00:09:59] So we are constantly being sold products that promise to help organize our homes, like the drawer dividers, the, yeah, storage tubes, fancy containers. Do you rate these products or do you think they can actually create more clutter and more time-consuming tasks?

[00:10:15] It just depends on the space of the home.

[00:10:18] Obviously, it depends on what you're like as a person. The biggest thing that I am loving, that so many people are becoming aware of their own behaviors and what they're likely to upkeep and what they're not. Mm. So as much as, like, there's beautiful white baskets, say, that you can put things into and stuff like that, there's so many people who are becoming more aware of their personal object permanence issues and going, "I can't have...

[00:10:43] Even with a labeled tub, I can't have things in white tubs because it's out of sight, out of mind for me." Yeah. "I need clear containers so that I can actually see through."

[00:10:52] Yes.

[00:10:53] So stuff like that. Because obviously Instagram, it looks great when you don't see the visual clutter of items through a clear container-

[00:11:01] Yeah

[00:11:02] and stuff like that. But some people, in order to adhere to those systems, they need to have a visual. They need that color trigger of that item to remember that it's there, no matter how descriptive a label could be. Yeah. So that's where I think everything has its place. Mm. Has its place, but if you have personal awareness of what you are committed to upkeeping- Yeah

[00:11:24] that's the best way to go.

[00:11:26] Yeah. Love it. Let's just quickly talk about the junk drawer because a lot of us have them, and it's kind of like every piece in the junk drawer, like, there's a story behind it. It's like, "That was because of this, and this was such and such gave it to me, and this one, oh, I need to take that one back and recycle it.

[00:11:43] This one." So there's always, like, so many. It's not just a junk drawer. It's just, like, a lot of stuff in there that needs to be sorted.

[00:11:50] Life things. Life things. Things to live life.

[00:11:52] We've got a lot. So what is your method for tackling it without spending, like, a whole day on the junk drawer and then not adding to it?

[00:12:00] Yeah. So I think it's like anything, that what you're finding is incidentally dropping in it, work with it by breaking it up into categories. So say for me, it's generally I see in people's homes, like is it a drawer insert for the batteries? Is it a drawer insert for the household parts or bits from things that you're not ready to quite part with yet?

[00:12:26] Is it like a drawer insert for shoe polish and some extra shoelaces? Like really have a look at is it stationary, is it having a lip balm in the kitchen- Yeah ... or hand cream that you can grab. Have a look at what the categories are, and like anything, just divvy up that drawer with dividers and label the sections so that you are categorizing it, and it becomes a household utility drawer rather than a junk drawer.

[00:12:52] Yes, okay. I love that. Rebrand. House utility drawer.

[00:12:56] Yes.

[00:12:56] And I've just become a mom this year, and- Yeah ... I have to say, it's funny how quick just toys become everywhere. There's books, baby clothes, oh my God. I don't know if this is cheating, but with all the toys, I've just been getting a big box and just putting everything in the box and just like putting it to the side.

[00:13:14] Is that legitimate organizing, or am I cheating?

[00:13:17] Well, particularly in the first year, and look, until you sort of breach in- like breach into the stage where it's toys with all different parts, then you start to sort of micro organize. But honestly, in the early bubba stages, you're already adjusting to such a new phase of life.

[00:13:37] Yeah. If that one basket in the corner of the living room with the under one-year-old toys in it, that's a system. It's fine.

[00:13:45] Great.

[00:13:45] Like I feel like, yeah, so many Pinterest and Instagram photos seem to like overcomplicate that process, but it really doesn't need to be.

[00:13:54] I know, and I'm like, do you know what?

[00:13:55] This is never making my Instagram anyway.

[00:14:00] As long as you are happy with it in how quickly it is for you to maintain that system. Yeah. That's the other thing. Any system that you create in your home, any space at all, it needs to really require minimum effort- Mm ... from you to maintain, or otherwise it's not right for you.

[00:14:18] Yeah. It might look like it works for someone else online. It's not working for you.

[00:14:22] Yeah. Apart from the e-waste, what do you see people holding onto the most, that they always are like, "Oh, I didn't need to keep that for years and years." I know for some reason I have so many phone, old phone boxes, and I'm like, "Oh, I'll use this for hair clips," or, "I'll use this for something else."

[00:14:38] And I'm just like, "Nah, I'm chucking them all out."

[00:14:41] I think like anything, the biggest category that's building up in people's homes now is bags, like shopping bags in general. Mm. So touching on packaging in general and, like, nice boxes, pretty Mecca bags, the Lululemon bag. L- because so many people are getting their groceries delivered, so it's this excess of, like, Coles and Woolies paper bags.

[00:15:05] To me, it's just the amount of bags in people's homes in any category now is just- So wild ... wild.

[00:15:11] Yeah.

[00:15:11] Yeah.

[00:15:12] So just, you don't need that many bags. Just get rid of them. Just get rid of them. No reason.

[00:15:15] No, I actually, I DM'd, like, Coles and Woolies about a system for, like, leaving out the paper bags. Like, can they take them back instead of just, like, when they're delivering the next grocery order, can you just start leaving them out for them- Yeah

[00:15:32] to be returned and reused that way? Because it's honestly, like, with people opting more and more, and once again, like I said, particularly who I work with, like busy moms with businesses- Yeah ... and things like that, they're doing a lot of their online grocery orders. Yeah. But this category is just becoming so unnecessary in the home.

[00:15:49] That's a great, a good point. I hope, Coles and Woolies, if you're

[00:15:52] listening. Yes.

[00:15:55] Help us be sustainable as well. Yeah. What's the biggest transformation you've seen in someone's life after you've helped organize their home, beyond just having a tidy house?

[00:16:06] Yeah. I think you'll like this. It's more from an economical perspective, like finances.

[00:16:11] Because when you get organized and you become aware of what you have-

[00:16:15] Yeah ...

[00:16:16] you become aware of the volumes that you have in each category. You are confidently using what you have in that category. What you incidentally stop spending, that you work towards actually going on a holiday or doing something more worthwhile with that money than just continually buying stuff in your home.

[00:16:40] So I feel like that's always the biggest, and when people actually really become aware and text me the numbers of that. Or when we've done a garage sale or a big selloff, like, what they've made from that. I never preach minimalism. I'm always about intentionalism, and I say this from a consumer perspective.

[00:16:59] I don't feel like minimalism is realistic for how much we're marketed to, and we're only human and need dopamine. But I feel like being this intentional consumerism and what you bring into your home and be organized with and what you use, it just, the impact it has financially, huge.

[00:17:18] Yeah. I totally agree with what you're saying, and I think sometimes, and again, generalization, but sometimes we will go shopping for shopping's sake.

[00:17:27] And it's like, "Do we actually need anything right now?" I don't think we do. So what else can we be doing with our time? Is it we wanna meet our friends for coffee? Maybe that doesn't have to be at the shopping center. Maybe we can do something else. But I do completely agree, like, being disorganized can cost us money.

[00:17:44] And I know even when I did, like, a big re-haul of all my toiletry and cosmetic products, I was like, I have five moisturizers. I only need one, and I'm not gonna buy any more moisturizers until I've used that last one. And I really kind of became intentional about, actually, I'm gonna use everything till it's done and only replace it when it needs to be replaced.

[00:18:03] I feel like that's such a huge unlock for-- And I've had this conversation time and time again when it's come to skincare and makeup because obviously, like, just with how many products there are now, how bright and shiny and fun, like, Mecca and Sephora are, there's such an art to being able to track your own inventory in your life and go, "Yeah, I am going through shampoo quicker than I am conditioner.

[00:18:32] I really only need to buy shampoo today. I don't need to buy shampoo and conditioner 'cause I've got four other conditioners that I need to finish using up." Like, it's just, it-- there's definitely an art to the use it up before buying more and the impact that that's gonna make for you.

[00:18:48] Yeah. Okay, I've just got a couple more questions.

[00:18:51] Sure. I'm just loving this conversation. I find it so

[00:18:53] interesting. Oh, good. I'm glad.

[00:18:55] And I feel like so many women also, it's, yes, men and women, but it's the women who are- Looking after the home a lot, and just trying to bring in these systems that are gonna help them. I was even listening, it was, like, on ABC Radio the other day, and it was just like, "You know, when you get home, put your keys in the same place every time."

[00:19:13] And I was like, that's such a simple thing, but I don't do that, and I need to do that. Just to make life easier.

[00:19:19] 100%, yeah.

[00:19:20] Um, so how much do you think of our clutter is emotional, and we're keeping it because of either guilt, memories, just in case? And on top of that, what about gifts we're given where we're like, "We're just not gonna use this."

[00:19:32] Do we literally take them straight to the op shop? 'Cause that feels a bit like, it feels a bit ungrateful, but also you're just like, "I don't want it in my house. I'm not gonna use it."

[00:19:39] I think it's not the percentage that we have. I think it's how much energy we give to the sentimental and the guilt clutter in our lives, that a lot of the time, when I walk into a home where I'm working with a woman in a space, I will go, "Yeah, but let's just focus on all these other categories around you first.

[00:20:00] Stop being so hard on yourself on, are you keeping that gift? Are you getting rid of it?" Because at the end of the day too, we're all battling that someone in the family's downsizing, decluttering, thinking they're doing the best by you by going like, "I had these, I've brought them for you," when- Mm ... we really need to live in an age where we are asking permission even to pass things on to people.

[00:20:23] Yeah. You just can't assume anymore, because we're all swimming in it. So many people just don't want it, because they've got enough. And I feel like this is a really tough point in the consumerism age that we're at. But I also just think with when it comes to the guilt and the sentimental clutter, don't be so hard on yourself with that.

[00:20:42] Really focus on the other categories that you can control, that are quietly overrunning you- Mm ... that you're not realizing. And that stuff will kinda show what you need to do with it as you continue on the journey. Yeah. But yeah, I just think stop giving yourself a hard time about the travel keepsakes from 20 years ago that you've still got.

[00:21:01] It's fine.

[00:21:03] You know, I'm back in my childhood home, and I went into my wardrobe, and I've still got, like, my formal dress, and, like, another one that I did, like, I was in a video clip for, and a few things. And I'm like, "No, I'm holding onto these, because this is sentimental, and it's only taking up a tiny bit of space.

[00:21:18] So it doesn't matter."

[00:21:19] Yeah. That's it.

[00:21:20] All right. My final question. Yeah. So Marie Kondo had us all asking, you know, what sparks joy. Do you have any organizing hacks or little methods that you just swear by and you love?

[00:21:34] I'm just more about momentum- Mm-hmm ... more than anything. I think if something is making you overwhelmed or stuck, like a particular item, just set it aside, keep going.

[00:21:46] I think too many people are getting stuck in, just as I spoke earlier, like a bit of a perfectionism rut, that it's stopping them from actually creating momentum. And I think you really need to just consider the season of life that you are in right now. Yeah. And sometimes we are holding onto old versions of ourself that we're likely not to see again, and that's okay, so let those items go if you really are done with that era.

[00:22:16] And that's sort of, uh, uh, particularly too, doing, like, women's closets, like, it's a big one that I talk about. But yes, and then the other joking one that I have is something that went viral on the internet a couple of years ago, and I was like, I actually really like this. I think it's great. If it got dog poop on it-

[00:22:33] Yeah

[00:22:34] would you clean it off or would you just throw it out?

[00:22:36] Just

[00:22:36] throw it out. And I just, uh I just feel like- Throw it ... you know, if the answer is that you, like, really would clean it off, like, you would painstakingly clean it off, then that's great. Keep it. But I just, I can't claim that theory, but I just, the amount of- Oh,

[00:22:51] I love, I love that.

[00:22:52] So that's, like,

[00:22:52] a really- The amount of people- Yeah ... it's really unlocked with, that I've just, you know, t- because too, working with people in this space, it does get heavy-

[00:23:00] Yeah ...

[00:23:00] some days. Yeah. So I love that this theory is just, it lightens the mood- Yeah ... but it creates so much clarity at the same time. Oh.

[00:23:07] So when you're really feeling overwhelmed or you're feeling like, "This is just so mentally exhausting today. I've got decision fatigue, I'm tapped out," yeah, if it got dog poop on it, would you keep it? Like, would you clean it off- I love it. I love that ... or throw it out?

[00:23:20] That's such a, that's such a great line to finish on.

[00:23:24] Although, I just wanna, like, as I'm gonna send my partner this podcast, just for the people out there, is it possible for a messy person to become a tidy person?

[00:23:36] There's a difference between messy and organized. Because once again, like, if you've got a great system, you can live your life and be a bit messy.

[00:23:44] Just how long does it take you to get back to organized and tidy? And I feel like when you really reconcile that, you become better. Often too, the biggest example I give is my teenage son. I have a 16-year-old son. Mm. And he is very, very messy. He's not tidy or organized at all by nature. So he chooses to just declutter regularly so that he has less in his space to deal with.

[00:24:12] If you are messy, just you are someone who maybe needs to live with less to make your life easier of less to tidy up.

[00:24:20] I love that his mom is, like, a professional organizer, and he's a little bit naturally messy. He is just- I'm gonna give his mom this and be like, "Mom, you didn't fail me. It's just-" No. Not at all

[00:24:29] part of my natural ability."

[00:24:31] He's a Virgo too, by the way. I always say he's a bad Virgo.

[00:24:37] I love it. And Jess, if someone's listening to this and they're like, "I need a bit of Jess in my life"- Yes ... where can people go? Where are you based?

[00:24:43] So I live on the Gold Coast. I service Brisbane, Gold Coast, and surrounding South, Southeast Queensland for my in-home organizing service.

[00:24:51] The best thing I always tell people to do is follow me on Instagram, collectively_organized. I share a lot in Stories more than posting on my feed. Mm. I'm always giving different tips and just sort of, like, quirky lifestyle things when it comes to organizing. So following me in Stories is where it's at.

[00:25:09] But also, I have some free downloads on my website. I've got cleaning checklists, a digital declutter challenge. Mm. But then I've also got some other e-books and guides for organizing your closet, organizing your pantry, and getting organized with kids.

[00:25:24] Awesome. And what's that website?

[00:25:26] At collectivelyorganized.com.au.

[00:25:30] Awesome. Thank you, Jess, for coming on and teaching us more about how we can have an organized home. I've really appreciated- Thanks for having me ... this

[00:25:39] conversation. Thank you so much.

KEYWORDS
home organization, decluttering, minimalism, storage solutions, mental clarity, sustainability, intentional living, clutter management, organizing tips, eco-friendly practices, home organization, decluttering, mental health, maintenance, electronic waste, busy women, home tips