Hi, friends. Ashley and Julie here. Mind Your Mess is our name, organizing is our game. *corny corny corny* But seriously, organizing is like a game to us. It energizes and makes us giddy. Like when things fit just right. And matching hangers. Heaven.
This isn’t the only thing we have in common. We’re both born and raised in Houston – and we love dogs. Those two points don’t necessarily flow together…but dogs. Anyways, moving on.
Ashley and I both have similar core values; we love Jesus, and that shapes our lives. We both crossfit regularly. (If we were counting, then Ashley would win this one by a landslide. Two-a-day workouts, anyone?) Ideally, we would get our exercise in the great outdoors. For example, Ashley climbed Mt. Rainier in 2017! Over 14,000 feet and she lives to organize another day, thank goodness. I recently hiked Chisos Mountains and climbed Emory Peak. It was breathtaking in every sense of the word. We love our active lifestyles, and it has incredibly benefited our work! Organizing requires a good deal of heavy lifting, not to mention the continuous movement involved with clearing out and filling up a space. We are constantly moving. And thankfully, we’re prepared for it.
But just so you don’t get Ashley and I confused, here are a few ways we’re different. Ashley loves the heat. Don’t ask me why…the thought of sweating during a garage project? No thank you. Give me that sweet, sweet air conditioning (freezer style). Ashley is gluten free, dairy free, food free (just kidding, but almost). Julie eats Chick-fil-A on the regular. From an organizing standpoint, Ashley enjoys handling the decluttering phase. Emptying a space puts her in her element. I can deal with that, but I much prefer putting it back in order and making it look picturesque. Either way, we both think the other is great at creating functional systems for our busy clients.
And that brings us to Mind Your Mess. The business was started in 2016 when Ashley had a full-time job. I had my own organizing gig as well, but upon meeting Ashley, we immediately clicked. We organized together on a few large projects, and working alone lost its luster. Eventually we merged, filling the Julie-shaped hole in Mind Your Mess. What was a dream job, is now our dream, dream job. Somebody pinch us.
One of the key things we want to share is this: It’s normal and okay for life to be messy. No matter how simple you try to make things, something will cause clutter. Sometimes it’s a major life change like the addition or loss of a loved one. Often it’s just the busyness of life spinning much faster than you can handle. Here’s the point: life is unpredictable, and nobody is perfect. (We have all four hands raised over here!) And it’s good and right to ask for help. That’s never something to feel embarrassed or guilty about. Because believe us, you aren’t the only person who has been overwhelmed by their cluttered home. A growing collection of studies point to the psychological effects of clutter and how it negatively impacts our lives: physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and professionally. Which is why we are so passionate about organization! Your home should be a haven. We want to help you make space for the important things. And more often than not, the important things aren’t actually things.