Our Gentle Journeys LLC
Darlene Deffes
Professional Organizing & Life Coaching
My Decluttering Method
Discarding is not my focus, weird, I know, especially for someone that offers professional decluttering services. My method leans towards a decluttering & organizing "life coach" by gently making decisions, paying attention to what the decisions reveal and most importantly finding ways to connect self-care to the entire process. This method is slightly unconventional but so far it has not let me or my clients down. The goal of my service is to give you skills that will continue to serve you on your journey long after we work together making it an investment.
We gently declutter by category which help us to address like items once and then move on to the next category, making the most of our time and setting us up for efficient decision making and organizing. If you read my "Who am I?" page you will see I am the queen of the "What-if's". The What-if's are a sure way to keep everything in the world, justify it and accept additional items that are given away for free or seen on the side of the road. Trust me. I have been there.
I see my home items as an extension of myself. I see these items everyday, they are a part of my life. If they are a burden or remind me of failures or trigger shame, I don't want them around. When I surround myself with items I love, in an orderly way, I feel less stress.
Just think about walking into a grocery store, the neat organized shelves. Man, there are a lot of items on those shelves but because they are all faced in one direction and are organized, the grocery store doesn't feel cluttered. When a grocery store cares for the way the items look on their shelves it says something, it says they are taking care of their business.
When I care for my items, I am also caring for myself. If I am regularly neglecting my home or tasks in my home, what else am I neglecting? I may also be neglecting myself. That is why I believe it is important to address all of our home items and take care of the ones we want and eventually it may infiltrate into other areas of our lives, like our self-confidence, self-worth, self-care routines, decision making and many more areas. This was my experience and hopefully it will be yours too.
I feel strongly about this method because it worked on me. If it worked on the What-if Queen (me), it will probably work on anyone (I have yet to be proven wrong). I do alter my method slightly depending on the client and their needs but the core remains the same; gentleness and self-care.
Book a 30-min complimentary phone consultation with the form below and let's chat.
Life Coaching
I specialize in time management, work/life/self-care balance and financial budgeting, however, I am willing to work in other areas if I am familiar with a process to achieve the goal. My life coaching method is a self-constructed and developed fellow traveler approach that allows the client to be more at ease when working towards their goals. I tailor my method slightly to fit with a client's needs.
During the 30-minute complimentary consultation we will discuss basics of how I run my life coaching business, talk a little about the intake form and what to expect in the intake session as well as answer any questions you have. I will email you some paperwork to be filled out for homework and returned 24 hours prior to the intake session. The intake session is 1 hour and will be used to discuss in details the process including forms, homework, billing, cancelations, reschedules, book appointments for the month, discuss any paperwork answers that need clarification. You will decide on a goal and we will discuss the first step toward achieving it with the additional steps as a homework assignment to be completed by the next session.
We work 1 on 1 with 1 goal at a time unless 2 goals make more sense to be applied together. We meet online or on the telephone once a week for 30 minutes to discuss details of the process including but not limited to the goal statement, the term of the goal, the life area the goal pertains to, obstacles, solutions, action steps to achieve the goal, target date for steps, rewards for completing the steps, what achieving the goal means to you and what areas of your life it will improve. For extra life coaching support I will answer your questions via email each week.
Book a 30-min complimentary phone consultation. Let's talk about your goals and dreams.
Why I Am Qualified
To work in this area, first hand experience is key to provide genuine understanding, compassion and patience. I have had many life challenges however they have given me the invaluable life lessons that I use to relate to others struggling. For example, my C-PTSD has shown me how to be delicate in all situations. Triggers come in numerous different ways and all shapes and sizes. My OCD has given me insight to why things accumulate and compassion when working in hoarding circumstances because I, too, have been there. Just writing or saying the word "hoard" still makes me uncomfortable, it's a journey. My anxiety has enriched my life by teaching me calming and grounding techniques and the sensitivity to those that may have avoided addressing the clutter because of their anxiety. My past depression has given me the awareness of how important the home living environment really is and how clutter can contribute to the quality of life in negative ways, resulting in feeling stuck or frozen in fear.
If you are feeling this way, I believe I can help. Keep in mind, I won't make any of the discarding decisions or move anything without your consent. Together we will come up with a place for each item/category.
How do I get started?
Fill out the form below for either life coaching or professional organizing or both. To request a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation please provide your best availability and anything else you would like to add.
Business Hours
Monday - Saturday
By Appointment Only
(Excludes some holidays)
Please allow up to 24-48 hours for a reply