Is it 2024 already?! It is incredible how fast a year goes by! I can’t say I’m not happy to see 2023 in the rear view mirror. How about you?

YEAR 2023 IN REVIEW

Taking the time to think about the past year and everything you accomplished can be enlightening. As fast as a year goes, you might be surprised by the list of things you’re proud of! If you’re like me, you noticed the unmet goals you made for yourself as well. 

Don’t spend too much time criticizing yourself over those items not checked off on your 2023 list, though! Reflect on your achievements instead and establish SMART goals for those items moving into 2024. 

For me, 2023 was a whirlwind. Looking back, I spread myself too thin and I gave up some of the goals that were really important to me. 

Still, I am taking the time to recognize all of the good that 2023 brought:

 

HIRED THE BEST NEW ORGANIZERS AND MOVE MANAGERS

Managing dozens of organizing, downsizing and moving projects at a time, managing the business itself, and remaining active in my local community and national associations just wasn’t possible.

When I found our company needed to hire a new Project Manager, a local colleague spread the word (thanks, Karey Lewis) and led Cari MacConnell to the job posting! Cari came to us with over 5 years of Care Management company experience and has the unique ability to handle the most delicate needs of our senior clients. 

Jordan Mott wasn’t sure she would return after her maternity leave, but decided to return part-time after 4 months home with her little family. Her experience in packing and unpacking for our client’s moves and sorting, cataloging, and managing the pickup of their online estate sale items was helpful as we experienced the year’s human resource changes. 

Cheryl Haase is the newest to join Organized Haven and has been a great fit for our team! She is a natural in the organizing department and she has the sweet nature our client’s feel at ease with while in their homes.

 

REACHED 10 YEARS IN BUSINESS

We reached a milestone in 2023 as April marked our 10th anniversary serving the organizing and move management needs of Polk County and Central Florida seniors, families, and busy professionals! 

It all started in 2013 after Danny and I experienced the overwhelming transition of becoming parents. We lived in a small, 880 square foot house and lost our minds and space over all that baby stuff that there was no room to store! 

When I discovered others too had this need for organizing support during life transitions such as this, I made it my mission to help them declutter and organize their spaces for their health and peace of mind. 

It was three years later that Danny joined me on my mission and we found our niche in helping seniors and families downsize and move. They too had collected a lot of stuff, but a whole lifetime of it in comparison!

I’m just so proud of the team we have built to truly meet the physical and emotional needs of our clients needing an Organized Haven.

CREATED THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MANAGING A MOVE

Our team has developed processes and checklists to successfully guide us through the management of our client’s projects. 

As we have become your local experts in downsizing and moving, I wanted to provide our community with practical tips they could use to either manage their moves themselves, or find useful as we went through the stages together. 

Ten years of experience resulted in the creation of The Ultimate Guide to Managing a Move, Practical Tips From the Experts in Downsizing and Moving. 

Our clients rave over the value this 20-page guide provides!

 

BECAME A CHRONIC DISORGANIZATION SPECIALIST®

Helping our clients get organized is about much more than just putting their belongings in order. 

Those who are affected by chronic disorganization often have underlying beliefs about themselves and their possessions, brain-based challenges, and situational factors such as a lack of learned skills, limited space, and life changes.

Chronic disorganization (CD) is disorganization that has been present for a long period of time (indicating a chronic condition.) 

• This disorganization significantly impacts life on a daily basis (affecting the quality of life.) 
• There is a history of failed self-help attempts (leading to discouragement.) 
• There is an expectation of continued disorganization (often resulting in a lack of hope.)

Learning about these complex projects and the relationship between possessions and the identity of those who own them is extremely important to me to ensure we are addressing the underlying significance of the possessions instead of a mere focus on the surface organization that is unlikely to be maintained otherwise. 

Becoming a Chronic Disorganization Specialist® with the Institute of Challenging Disorganization has given me the knowledge to work with clients challenged by chronic disorganization by guiding them in their decision-making and creating systems with non-traditional organizing methods for the way their brain works. 

INTRODUCED PACKAGE PRICING WITH DISCOUNTED RATES

Everyone deserves a home that is clutter-free and fitting for the life they are currently living. 

Because I wanted to make that possible for those with small budgets, we introduced package pricing with discounted rates. 

We started with three home organizing packages in August and found that the simplified process made it easy for our website visitors to gauge affordability and make a purchase decision. 

Several have even made the purchase before their first phone call to us! I love that the members of our community feel they can trust us before they even meet us!

With this fast success, it was only September when we had our next three packages created and added to the website – these ones for downsizing and moving.

Then, by the end of the year, we introduced our final three packages for home inventories and estate clearing projects. 

Our client’s project needs are wide and varied. We are proud of the development of packages that meet the bulk of our client’s needs, considering how personal and differing they are in lifecycles, budgets, and more.

 

BECAME A HOMESCHOOLING MOM

The second-half of the year really got interesting when my eleven-year-old son and I embarked on a new homeschooling adventure!

While little Danny was enrolled in the public school system from Kindergarten to Fifth grade, in a great school, we didn’t feel good about his choices for Middle School. 

Four failed school choice applications later and tons of research led to our conclusion of homeschooling being the right choice for our family. 

Although this decision resulted in some changes to my goals and plans for 2023, I’ve enjoyed spending more time with my son and getting to know his learning style.

In this terrifying world we live in, I’m grateful to have control over his education and what goes into his mind, heart, and body!

It is thanks to our great team that I am able to do this. I especially thank my husband for dedicating his time to working in the field with our team so that I have time for our family.

 

SECOND-TIME FINALIST IN THE TOP 3 OF BEST MOVING COMPANIES OF 2023 BY BEST OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

Also thanks to our team is the recognition we’ve received for the second year in a row as one of Central Florida’s top 3 service providers in the moving category!

They work tirelessly to provide our clients with A+ service and we appreciate our community for their votes and their trust in us. 

Browning Moving & Storage was this year’s winner and we could not be more proud of our friends there as well!

 

NASMM RENEWED A+ ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATES IN SENIOR MOVE MANAGEMENT®

In December we celebrated the anniversary of our first three years as a NASMM A+ Accredited Senior Move Management® company. 

Awarded by the Accreditation Commission of the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers, A+ Accreditation demonstrates a superior level of excellence in Senior Move Management® operations and client services. 

With a combined 150.5 CEUs earned by Danny and I over the prior three years, NASMM renewed Organized Haven’s A+ Accreditation, as well as our Certified Senior Move Manager® designations.

 

RECORDED THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRONIC DISORGANIZATION AND HOARDING SAGE AGING PODCAST

It is important to me to share the knowledge I receive when I know it can have a positive impact on my local community and its members. 

As there are misconceptions and inaccurate labeling when it comes to disorganization vs. hoarding, I talked about the important distinctions between the two with Liz Craven on her Sage Aging ElderCare Guide podcast! 

Listen in on (or watch) Episode 78 if you or someone you love is challenged by chronic disorganization or hoarding:

Sage Aging Podcast: https://eldercareguide.com/chronic-disorganization/

Sage Aging YouTube: https://youtu.be/1mFt7w3t9jo?si=eirUPIvQzPSNnJgM

Hoarding tendencies may be present in a chronically disorganized situation, but CD does not always include diagnosed Hoarding Disorder.

 

PRESENTED A CONFERENCE SESSION TO NEW SENIOR MOVE MANAGERS® AT NASMM2023 IN KANSAS CITY, MO

I also love to share knowledge with my colleagues and fellow members of NASMM. 

This year, me and two of my dear NASMM sisters, Kathy Roberts Blair and Liesl O’Dell, taught a breakout session for those new to the industry, teaching them how to create a Senior & Specialty Move Management® business that works for them and that represents their values and expertise. 

We’ve learned so much from the experts in our field and were honored to give back in this way, sharing what we’ve learned, mistakes made along the way, and what we got right!

 

INVESTED IN NEW SOFTWARE FOR PROCESS SIMPLIFICATION AND COST SAVINGS

The last ten years have included the use of several different software programs as we search for the ones which meet our needs best. 

In each transition from professional organizing, to senior move management, then to fully licensed moving, we’ve found the software we used before no longer met our complete needs.

Again in 2023, we found ourselves in need of software that would simplify our processes and lower the costs of doing business. 

While we expected this change to wait until 2024, we made progress on our goals to simplify our processes early and are excited about the positive effects it is already having on our team’s efficiency and client’s costs as a result. 

You know that saying, “If there is one thing that is constant, it is change?” 

That’s exactly what we at Organized Haven feel remains true year after year. 

We try really hard to remember that change is good, and it is for the best.

 

MOVING INTO AN ORGANIZED 2024

There are so many things we have to look forward to after organizing our goals for 2024! We hope the same for you!

Here are just a few of the things moving both us and our clients into an organized 2024:

 

EXPANDING ESTATE SELLING OPTIONS

For eight years we have partnered with MaxSold Auctions to sell our client’s excess household goods. 

While this won’t change, we find that it isn’t always the right fit and we want to provide our community with additional options.

We aren’t 100% on all the details yet, but one thing is for sure. It will be different than how anyone else is doing it!

 

ENLISTING A MORE EFFECTIVE CLIENT REVIEW PROCESS

If you’ve seen our reviews, you know our clients are happy with our services. 

It isn’t always easy to get that Google or Facebook review at the end though.

Whether our client isn’t fond of the internet, or he/she gets busy after the move/organizing project, those rave reviews don’t make it where they need to go for the world to see. 

We are taking a new approach this year and have new Love Tap cards that our clients can use onsite at the end of their project. 

With these, they can share their feedback directly to Google or Facebook right when they are experiencing that positive satisfaction they are always so vocal about!

 

BRINGING A NEW HOME INVENTORY SERVICE TO OUR MARKET

While we frequently take inventory of our client’s things that they are downsizing and selling, we haven’t made inventory services available to homeowners for other purposes.

Until now…

I’ll write about the details of this service later (and some other exciting things), but for now, know that ten years later, we aren’t done making Organized Haven all that it can be for our community!

 

How will you be moving into an organized 2024? Let me know below!

 

Do any of your goals include getting organized or beginning the process of downsizing? If you’d like a quick start to feel a little lighter to end/begin the year, here is a great post to read next: https://organizedhaven.com/10-things-to-downsize-in-10-minutes/

 

PIN IT to remember it!

 

Here’s to welcoming 2024!

💙, 

Nicole 

By: Nicole Ramer, CPO®, SMM~C®

(Certified Professional Organizer®, Certified Senior Move Manager® and Chronic Disorganization Specialist®)