We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mike Mawhinney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mike below.

Alright, Mike thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

A recent client of mine unfortunately lost her father a few years back. When he passed, my client and her brother inherited his home and all the contents therein. Their father was in this home for 20 (plus) years and had acquired and unmanageable amount of clutter which had become overwhelming for my client and her family. Over time, my client would attempt to clear some of the clutter and determine which items to keep, and which items to discard. The process was slow, daunting and emotional. Finally after two (plus) years of this painstaking process, my client decided that she would like a helping and supportive hand in organizing the items of her fathers home and estate. The goal of this project was to clear the home, place important and sentimental items into storage, then put the property on the market.

Every surface of this project was covered in clutter. All areas of the home contained mixtures of items that my client wished to keep and items to discard. So it was crucial that we went through EVERYTHING, every drawer, every pile. We did not want to discard anything of importance or sentiment.

Through this process, my client expressed her concerns of how we were going to complete this task within our project timeline. As each day passed, it become more evident that we were moving along quite well and she had actually surprised herself at the speed in which she had started to make decision. Before we knew it, we had completely emptied her fathers home, established storage solutions and systems for the items she decided to keep, and had even made an appointment for a realtor to come by to get the process going to sell the property. All of this was done with three days to spare on our project timeline. With our spare time, we were able to bring all of the documents and sentimental items to the family storage unit. She was so grateful and astonished by how quickly and effectively we were able to make this happen. This is a huge financial and emotional burden lifted off my clients back. With this project now complete, my client can now place her energy and focus back on her beautiful family.

Mike, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Mike Mawhinney. I own and operate The Neat Freak L.A., LLC. I offer an array of organizing and decorating services for home and small business. I fell into this industry by pure curiosity and happenstance. I was always an “organized” person and would love to do small projects for friends and family over the years, informally. I’ve moved more times that I can count and have become a master of packing and unpacking. My background is in fine arts, interior design & design/sales. I made a decision to leave my sales job and start my own organizing company in 2022 and the rest is history.

The services I offer:
– Home & Small Business organizing & system maintenance
– Decluttering
– Interior Styling/Re-design
– Packing and Unpacking services for a move.

Problem solving:
Client will contact me for different reasons. Some have found that their clutter gives them daunting stress, keeping them from being able to manage or control it. It can be difficult to establish what is actually making them feel so overwhelmed. Decreasing the amount of clutter in you home and work environment can directly result in less stress and increased productivity. Many of my clients tend to purchase the same items time and time again, because their clutter does not allow them to see that they already have these items in their homes (example is the same type of spice in the kitchen, which are in multiple cabinet, making it difficult to keep track of what you have and need.) I streamline these spaces and establish organizational systems. This makes it easier for clients to see what they have and gives them, an opportunity to use these items, prior to expiration. In doing so I am actively reducing the amount of money my clients are unnecessarily spending.

Another issue that my clients face, is that their disorganization often keeps their time and energy away from what is important. Looking for missing items in you home , wracking your brain as to where you put something, whatever it is, can lead to a loss of time otherwise spent on what needs to be done. Implementing organizational systems provide the gift of time.

Moving is one of the most stressful events in peoples lives. I have done it more times than I can count. I help my clients pack up their lives for relocation. In the process, I also coordinate with their preferred movers, to ensure that everything runs smoothly. & The Neat Freak L.A. also unpacks and sets you up for ultimate success in your new space.

Additionally, I offer decorating services for clients who need assistance with furniture placement/space planning, paint color selection, rectify awkward traffic patterns and finish selections if needed.

I am most proud that I started this journey and decided to give it my all. It’s can be intimidating making the leap to start your own business, doing something that energizes you and that you love to do. That energy and love for what I am doing translates to my work and my clients are grateful. I am personally fulfilled but have also touched the lives of my clients and provided peace of mind for them moving forward.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For many years, I was in the Design/Sales industry. I had started off in my career focusing heavily on “design” but after a period of time, my efforts and energies all pointed to “Sales”. After many years, I determined that I am just not a “salesperson”, although I had absolutely excelled at it. It felt completely soul crushing, pointless and I began to feel empty. During this time, I also started to realize that a corporate structure that I had become accustom to was not the end all, be all that I once thought it was. It took a second for me to see, that if I worked hard, I could create my own company and ultimately work for myself. I began to realize how much I loved organizing for other people. How it literally energized and fueled me even hours after I’ve completed projects. Quickly I started to put my duck in a row to start my own Organizing business. It is not without its challenges but I am so proud of where I am and excited about the future of my business and connecting with clients in a meaningful way.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Thus far the best source of new clients has been word-of-mouth and social media. I have been working on building my Instagram presence and have received inquires direct from my posts. I look forward to expanding upon this method.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theneatfreakla.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theneatfreakla
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Theneatfreaklosangeles
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mawhinney-6a6216139
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-neat-freak-la-los-angeles-2

Image Credits
The Neat Freak L.A.