Make Time to Live Sustainably Organized with Casey Hazlett

Casey Hazlett of Sustainably Organized is more than a brilliant organizer. She is just so personable and kind, and radiates such enthusiasm about her work, you’ll be wanting to get organized. Casey helps you get organized in such a way that you can easily maintain it, and you’ll have fun getting there too. Casey wants to help you organize so you have more time to enjoy life.

Casey stirred something inside me when we talked. It seems ever since our meeting, I’ve been weeding out and freeing up space. I just felt this urge to organize. Of course, it would be a lot easier and more effective with her help! If she can motivate me in just an hour of chatting, just think what she could do if she came over to help?

Personally organized

Casey works in a very personal way. She likes to start with pictures of your office or space you’d like to organize, or she will come visit the space herself. She’ll evaluate what’s going on in the space and you’ll put together a needs assessment of what is working or not. Then, you’ll begin your work together to transform your space and your time. Casey usually comes to you and works with you typically for three hours at a time. She says three hours is enough time to get something done, but not too much time to lose effectiveness.

You will work together to decide what will go where. Casey says this is a very hands-on process, so you come up with a system that works for you and that you can sustain. Casey shares that the hardest part can be deciding what to let go of – what items you no longer need. We build emotional attachments to things, so Casey helps you find ways to make the letting go easier, such as taking pictures or keeping one representative piece from a collection.

Everything needs a home

Casey tells me that it is crucial that everything has a home, and that the home is clearly labeled. Our biggest mistake, I learned, is not labeling your containers, files or drawers. Casey points out that we easily forget where things belong, so we then end up with items strewn about in a haphazard way and in places where we can’t find them. I told her how I put a staple remover in each of my desk drawers so I could always find one. However, all 3 staple removers always seem to end up in the same drawer! She replied that’s actually not a bad course of action for commonly used items, such as pens. Just keep some of those things everywhere you might need them.

Casey and Sustainably Organized will also organize your move! Casey will be your complete moving coordinator, helping you declutter, pack and unpack. She’s even got a pocket full of other moving professionals, such as movers, she can recommend, and she will coordinate with them on your behalf. Once you’re in your new home, she’ll help you set up the space efficiently, identify optimal storage space and give you an organizational sustainability plan to keep the flow going. She has even obtained a special aging certification for working with seniors. I want Casey on my team!

Where’s your time?

Casey is also there if you need help managing your time. Casey tells me she’s a proponent of David Allen and his theory of getting things done. She recommends beginning with a brain dump of everything you need to do, and then organizing all your to-do’s into projects. Then, you can schedule completing the projects.

She believes that by prioritizing and deciding what to do when, you will free up mental space for creativity and productivity. I think she’s right. I know my mind can get bogged down with all the little and big to-do’s swirling around in my head, almost to the point of paralysis. Once I set up a list with priorities and deadlines, the brain gets unstuck. Once you’ve got your system in place, Casey is there to help you stay on track and to develop good organizational habits.

Making room for you

Casey is in love with helping people organize. She says for so many people it can be a life changing experience to bring in some organization. She feels lucky to be trusted and allowed into other people’s personal space. I think we’d be lucky to have her help! After talking with Casey for a little over an hour, I knew she lives by her values of efficiency, fun, compassion and expertise. She’s also completely focused on you and what will make your life easier. She is genuine in her desire to help you make room for your life. In fact, she has donated over 240 hours of her time to nonprofits since 2013.

Casey confesses she’s always had a love for organizing. She has a degree in industrial engineering and spent 10 years working for a nonprofit as a program manager. Although that was rewarding, the call to help people organize was in her heart. “I used to joke about being a professional organizer,” she says. It turns out her parents’ neighbors were connected to a training institute for organizing professionals. Casey enrolled in 2013 and then started Sustainably Organized.

I think Casey is a living example of how organization can free up your time to do things you love. For example, she and her husband volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and spend part of every weekend with their little brother. She also runs, plays golf, and enjoys what Portland has to offer. How many of us find that much time in our lives to help others, even if we want to? How often do we think we have the time to indulge in a past-time like golf? Yet, helping others and taking care of ourselves is vital to a happy life. Perhaps Casey Hazlett is onto something big.

If you think your life could use a little more room and time, talk to Casey. You can learn more about her and read her blog at her website sustainablyorganized.com.  You can also find her on Facebook. She offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee.