Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carol Keesey. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carol, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

My dream growing up was always to become a writer. I was inquisitive and loved learning and sharing stories and experiences with others. So at a young age, I decided I would become a journalist. After college, I landed a stable job at a large company that provided many growth opportunities. In theory, I had “made it.” But, I still had that feeling in my heart that I wasn’t ready to settle down and follow this career.

Living abroad was something I always wanted to do, but moving to a new country meant abandoning everything I had achieved, so I put off the idea for a few years until I could no longer ignore it. I discovered an opportunity to move to the United States on a 1-year exchange program, where I planned to learn English and then return to Brazil and explore my options. I knew this was the do-or-die moment for my dreams.

However, after taking the risk of leaving everything behind, my mindset shifted, and where I once saw barriers, I began to see opportunities. I then understood how much more I could do and focused on finding a new path that inspired me and made my heart full.

In this new path, I discovered many things that gave me a sense of purpose, and one of those things I was always very good at was organization, both in life and at home. So, I began speaking more freely about my passions, how much I loved organizing, and how it can transform our lives and improve our well-being. I noticed people were eager to learn more about this subject and frequently asked me how they could implement systems in their homes to simplify their routines and spend more time doing what matters.

Inspired by their desire to learn, I took a hands-on approach and launched my own business to help people declutter and get organized. At first, it was small projects, organizing a closet or playroom, but it quickly grew to entire homes and businesses. The business was growing fast, and I needed help, so I brought my husband on board, and we became The Organized Couple.

Together, we’ve helped hundreds of families establish structure and improve routines in their homes and daily lives, and to date, we have organized over 2 million items. While we transformed our client’s physical space and made them look beautiful, I noticed the most significant impact was on their well-being.

I wanted to learn more about how home organization impacted well-being, so I pursued a Master’s Degree in Positive Psychology. Through extensive research, I concluded that women are more likely to suffer from the negative impacts of clutter and disorganization than men.

These findings gave me even more confidence to preach the word of organization, and my new mission is to empower women to organize their lives, optimize their routines, and improve their overall quality of life. I’m now offering online workshops and one-on-one virtual coaching to reach more women outside my local area.

From my journey, I learned that taking risks is essential to growth. My outcome was great but was also unexpected, and I had many struggles along the way. I did not set out to achieve a specific goal, but I had the privilege to discover my truth and follow my heart. Small or large, taking risks forces us to experience new things, opens our minds to new possibilities, and helps us learn things about ourselves that we most likely wouldn’t if we didn’t step outside our comfort zone.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As organization experts, my husband and I help families declutter, organize, and create systems that make their lives at home happier and more productive.

We have also expanded our business to include online coaching. I focus on helping women take control of their environment and understand and improve their habits. In contrast, my husband, Nick, helps aspiring entrepreneurs generate an income with the skills and interests they already have by starting a service-based business.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When we started our business, my husband and I worked full-time jobs, so we only had the weekends to work with clients. We knew we couldn’t quit our jobs until the business was stable, so we focused on filling up our calendar for as many weekends in the future as possible until we had a waitlist of clients.

By doing it this way, we could keep our income steady until the business income was predictable and reliable. Then, we could choose when to step away from our careers and focus on organizing full-time.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the Covid-19 shutdown, there was a period when we were not allowed to work inside people’s homes, and we wanted to fill this space with a project we never had the time to take on. Over the years, countless people have reached out to us, asking how they could become professional organizers. So, we took a chance and built an online program to help aspiring organizers learn the ins and outs of the business and gave them step-by-step systems to launch and grow their own organizing company.

As it turns out, this was the perfect opportunity because many people then spent more time at home and recognized the importance of home organization. Our students and we emerged from the shutdown with a new perspective and many clients wanting to work with us.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theorganizedcouple.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theorganizedcouple/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOrganizedCouple
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXJtETDTtwSzhxR7jrvR8MQ
• Other: Carol Keesey Home Organization & Mindset Workshops: www.CarolKeesey.com Nick Keesey Online Business Programs: www.NickKeesey.com

Image Credits
Bethania Canavesi Photography