Leilani Downer

Mar 16, 2015

I don’t know quite how to express how happy I am with the way things are working out with me in my ‘brand new’ office space. Uncluttering my physical space has really done a lot to unclutter my emotional space. And as I accomplish the things around me (which at times, I have to admit, seems like an insurmountable task), I begin to think that there’s nothing I can’t do . . . and the time to start is now.

Leilani Downer, producer/screenwriter

J.W.

Mar 16, 2015

Back on decluttering, time management is something I’m working on. I don’t think I’m very far along yet it’s good. I’m just seeing things, and making small changes, and quite miraculously, I have seen time expand before my eyes. Days just last so long, it’s magical. There is lots of time for everything. It’s weird. I love it. I continue to waste a lot and make my life harder than it could be and haven’t yet figured it out yet, but I must be making some progress, just with some of the small changes, because of the way time has expanded so much. It’s quite wonderful.

J.W., social worker

Deborah Rachel Kagan

Mar 16, 2015

I’m in Pennsylvania. Grandma died on Tuesday and I was out the door on a plane in two hours after I got the call. Mom and I are busy with the business of death. And thank Goddess for you because I’m using the tools you taught me while we are closing down the apartment. I immediately went to Staples and bought removable labels, banker boxes and big garbage bags. So The Organizing Maniac is working for closing out the home of a dead person, too! (Sorry, have to have some humor right now, otherwise I’ll get cuckoo!)

Deborah Rachel Kagan, feng shui expert & owner / Sacred Interiors

K.C.

Mar 16, 2015

Thank you for the dramatic improvements in my home and how I feel. I truly can’t believe that this is the same apartment, and I can’t believe that just two weeks ago, the place was virtually untenable. I have to admit, I am still using paper/plastic cups and plates because I don’t trust myself to get the dishes washed. Maybe that will change but I don’t see it happening any time soon. I guess it’s better than clutter even if environmentally not the best choice . . . It is weird and wonderful almost hearing an echo in my bathroom. What a trip. I don’t think the bathroom has been like that since I first moved her. I am so glad we are moving forward. My home feels so much better. Feeling a little dazed and surprised by all the sleep but much refreshed as well. Thank you so much again and God Bless!

K.C., Ph.D., psychologist

Ruth Otero

Mar 16, 2015

I was hoping to respond with a double miracle but I’ll name a couple of good ones. The day after we organized I got a holding fee check for a commercial I shot over the summer. Then I booked a commercial last week! Hallelujah! I thought I was going to book another one this week but alas … Meanwhile I still have boxes to “go through” but my apartment feels like a hotel. I LOVE my apartment now and still can’t believe it when I walk in. Thank you so much for helping make that radical change. I know it’s made and continues to make a difference in my thinking. I still have to let myself believe. But the apartment is proof that I’m ready for bigger and better things. I’m going to let go of more stuff and get grounded for a fresh start in the new year!

Ruth Otero, actress/writer

M.D.

Mar 16, 2015

Wanted to take the time to thank you because I was going through my purse and cleaning it out … and you know how you were saying that you have lots of bags and stuff … well, I decided to put all my things in their own little home in their own little compartments in their own bags with my big bag … and I was laughing to myself because I think you really inspired and influenced me by sharing your own journey. I’m sure you know you have a very unique approach as I hired many organizers before you … it’s built on a philosophy … your whole truth, love, meaning, purpose … which is an excellent paradigm … but more importantly when it comes to working how you’ve worked with me, sharing your own journey to the appropriate degree, I should say it’s been very impactful. So I just really appreciate that. You inspire me on new levels.

M.D., artist

W.J.

Mar 16, 2015

It’s been a path with many twists and turns … working with you and learning from you at my home was really a powerful experience and changed my life in ways that have made my life profoundly better … I moved to my mom’s house … she’s in a nursing home … and this year, I took on my parents’ house garage that was really crammed with stuff … I still think of you, still,  very often, and appreciate how much you taught me and your wonderful ways of doing, your organizing mania—you made it contagious … Much of my life in the past two years has actually seemed very out of control and there have been many dark phases, it’s felt so hard to get the pieces of my life to fit together and make sense like they once did, but during that time, the brightest spots include the times I’ve decluttered and organized my spaces, and it’s so energizing and uplifting instead of frustrating and depressing like other things. Before I knew you, I was just helpless when it came to organizing things; I was lost, and things were stressful and chaotic. Now, I do pretty well with that part of my life. I think you were helpful with me and with organizing because of your spirituality—that put everything into a larger frame. I had always thought that organizing was just not my thing, I wasn’t the right type of person, but coming from you, it was a different kind of experience than it had been before and that had to do with the spirituality, so that the meaning of the organizing was more than just mundane. It was part of the larger whole. Having things in their places and not having too many things that get in your way – that’s a tool so that you can find meaning and purpose and love in life.

W.J., social worker

Gwenne Wilcox

Mar 16, 2015

I used to dread having an organizing session with June. Just the thought of the process would provoke an overwhelming fatigue, which would completely take over me. In the beginning, the sessions would only be three to four hours but it felt like days. Into the first 45 minutes, I would often just glaze over detached and watch June, the humming bird, in her effervescent determination clapping her hands together and muttering her mantra, “It’s taking on a life of its own.” I just wanted to run. I’d welcome answering the phone just to escape for a few moments. Not to escape June, mind you, but the exhaustion from resisting letting go of stuff. Miraculously, it got easier.

The first thing we did together was my filing system. It took weeks, maybe even months. Granted, my files did look pretty (and I am an aesthetician) but the bigger picture was completely lost on me. This whole “honoring” your roles and stuff, I thought, “Propaganda!” June prophesized that I would experience a shift. I sat and waited as if it would arrive by Fed Ex the next day. Imperceptibly, at first, it crept in. I began to be more aware of honoring myself and noticing how and when people in my life didn’t honor me. Decluttering was taking on a whole new meaning. I didn’t just purge files. I purged relationships that no longer had a purpose. “Bye!” became easier to say spiritually and verbally.

It was a real leap of faith and trust to let June in on what I’ve held onto. I’ve never known anyone who loved digging into my dark side and looking into the dusty corners without condemnation. June simply delves into discovery with a nonchalant “What’s this?” and holds up the goods – gotcha!

I still don’t always get her path of importance like one of the last sessions we had: June had an obsessive interest in my medicine cabinets. They were full but “Geez, June, they were organized.” Still she wouldn’t back down. She put me on the stand, “But did you touch everything? Why do you have two of these? Do you use all of this every day?” Yes she was finding holes in my reasoning. I told her I thought we should do the living room shelves. She fixed her glance again on the medicine cabinets and declared, “I think we’ll start here.” Three hours later, we were still in the bathroom. I was feeling that tiredness coming over me like in the early days but now I was experienced enough to know that this was an indication that June was right. The very next day I began my morning where I always do, in the bathroom … including the medicine cabinets. Honoring the start of my day was, indeed, just what the doctor ordered.

There are triumphant moments, like the time we took on my garage. I plowed through ten boxes in one hour. In two hours, the garage was done. Now, I find that I cannot wait for June to come. I know something wonderful is going to happen. I am hooked on feeling inspired and I trust the journey that June will take me on.

Of all noticeable changes, one looms largest: the tasks that I used to avoid doing still needs to be done but the dread with which I used to approach them has been transformed to joy and the pride of achievement. The smallest of tasks produces the same exaltation because they are all about honoring my well-being.

Gwenne Wilcox, creative director / mother

Cindy Johnson

Mar 16, 2015

This miracle of downsizing would NEVER have happened without, first, all your prayers, spiritual insights, and guidance, and of course your limitless talent and expertise. From the bottom of my clutter-free heart, thank you.

Cindy Johnson, The Art of Etiquette & Protocol

K.R.

Mar 16, 2015

This note is long overdue. I never expected to be out of touch with you for so long. First and foremost, we wanted to say thank you again for everything you have done for us so far. We talk about you all the time and in contexts that some people find surprising:

  • “Gee you two have been doing a lot of traveling this year.”
  • “You seem to be getting along really well.”
  • “How do you manage to find the greatest birthday cards?”

Truly as a result of working with you, not only are our “things” more organized, but our lives and goals as well. Since we last met, we have, among other things:

  • Used our Ritz Carlton gift certificates for a great trip to New Orleans.
  • Taken a wonderful long weekend planned in advance using mileage to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
  • Booked a long weekend for the summer-waaay in advance, at a huge savings, on South Padre Island in the Gulf of Mexico
  • Refinanced our mortgage at a favorite rate in preparation for the home remodeling project (because things were organized enough for me to be able to identify the task and find the documents and act quickly)
  • Hired a designer and worked out preliminary plans and revised plans for our house renovations

These are only some of the items on our “progress report.” This is, of course, not to say that we are perfectly organized, or that clutter is not beginning to accumulate. (or that we have made great strides in time management.) Nevertheless, we enjoy and appreciate the palpable difference in our lives every day. Thank you!!

p.s. A MIRACLE has happened, thanks to you! Hank and I have been working on the tax information easily and effortlessly – and (here’s the miracle), PEACEFULLY. It’s only March 26 and we’re 99.9% finished! It’s a record for us – and the first time, possibly ever, that we won’t have to file an extension.  As for your “doubtful” clients, I would say that, in my case, lots of miracles have happened. But this “big” one took a certain amount of time to build up to. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

K.R., mother / wife and F.J., therapist / father

Alison Platt

Mar 16, 2015

A few words of wisdom during the initial consultation has gone a long way! My husband is a pack rat and you told me to ask him several questions, which helped help him to let go of 8 boxes of stuff, equivalent to 2 storage lockers. He even admits feeling free of them. It’s such a great feeling!

Alison Platt, artist

G.T.

Mar 16, 2015

When you questioned me about my business books on the bookshelves, I couldn’t believe it. When you questioned me about the paintings, I couldn’t believe it. You gotta be kidding me. Those were all valuable. Now I believe you when you bring something up. I know there’s something more deeper to your questions. I realize that you have this magic eye that knows exactly where the clutter spots are. How do you do it? I don’t know and I don’t care. For now, I feel so free knowing that you have given me a system to let go of all this stuff that I thought that I needed that I really don’t anymore. I feel free knowing that I don’t need to keep any of this other stuff that may be holding me back from fulfilling my greatest potential. Thank you so much!

G.T., real estate entrepreneur

Cindy Johnson

Mar 16, 2015

After working with June to declutter my life, I am experiencing a freedom I remember as a child . . . born of traveling lightly in this life. The freedom is incredible! It is the freedom to soar and to be released from the weights of life and the stuff, which insidiously serves to hold us back from reaching our greatest potential. I told June that at my age, I am the happiest I have ever been. Thanks to June, my personal and professional lives are in order. Now my pursuits don’t get buried under a pile of to-do’s and half-finished project drawers. I was able to start taking fencing lessons—something I had wanted to pursue for 20 years! June is a gardener . . . she helps pull up weeds in one’s life, lays rich soil as foundation, and then plants seeds of inspiration and passion into one’s life . . . either way, even after one afternoon with June, one’s life will be transformed.

Cindy Johnson, attorney

H.L.

Mar 16, 2015

Thank you so much for coming over the other day. I got so inspired and motivated that I redid all my file drawers and typed them all up again and purged like you wouldn’t believe. I can’t wait to do more! By the end, I had two huge trash bags and got rid of two more boxes in the office. I had the task list going and went through everything and it felt soo good! I spent 25 hours (!!!) on all this stuff since you left!!! You’re fabulous! What a burst of energy!!! What a fabulous way to live! I can’t believe you’ve been living like this for so long! It feels soooo good and I have soooo much energy!!!

H.L., writer / mother

Judy

Mar 16, 2015

You’ve really helped me to make a big difference in my life – I never knew about boxes before, the way boxes can set you free, they can create a path through clutter. I’m still not used to thinking that way, but I’m starting to get it—I used to see hopelessness when I saw clutter. Now I know there’s always boxes. If nothing else, even if I can’t completely let go, I can at least put it in boxes for the time being. It breaks everything loose. Thanks for showing me how you see things.

Judy, social worker

Debra Orenstein

Mar 7, 2015

I had a lot of resistance when I first hired June, but June remained cheerful, positive, undeterred, and understanding. My grumpiness and your patience helped to show me that organizing my home office was about a lot more than moving paper around—it was about ordering my life. You have made an enormous difference materially and spiritually—clear surfaces and a clear mind; letting go of old paperwork, clutter, and systems that don’t work well; and letting in the new and the now. One translation of the word ‘religion’ is ‘orientation’—i.e., religion at its best helps people find their place in the world. Organizing, at least when it is done by June, is a religious and spiritual experience. The systems work because they create a space and home for everything—including the wishes, dreams, wants, needs, and personality of the person who is getting organized.

Debra Orenstein, rabbi / author / Life Cycles I and Life Cycle II

J.W.

Mar 7, 2015

It’s a new day and thank you for your energy and gifts. I feel and see much possibility – limitless. I sure wish I didn’t have to go to work today because I’m feeling organizing mania for my home and life, have been tweaking around this morning but gotta do other stuff and I sense how much room there is going to be for all that stuff I have to do. All will be fitting in better and flowing more smoothly now.

Knowing that the illumination would not wear off, I can see things that I can do, I just need the time to do it, and I get happiness just from being able to see it and know that I can do it. What you said that your physical world is the one thing you can control, that really hits home, a timely idea for me. A wonderful realization. Changing the way the mind works is iffy but picking up a useless homeless object and taking it down to the curb – that at least I can do – to make my life freer and easier. It’s clear enough. Ideas I’m finding soooo helpful and meaningful. To only keep it if it’s a really love it, that’s a good one! That each and every thing has its home – anything I can’t put in its home, I can put into the trash or out to the curb, or send to Goodwill … it’s a good way of sorting things. Effortless and easy – a paradigm for how things should be – for example, getting rid of clutter – I tended to think of it as drudgery but it need not be experienced that way. Does it express my truth? That one is deep and powerful.

Even though I haven’t had much time to implement the ideas, in the short amount of time I’ve had, I’ve created a lot of space.  Taking the dog crate, chair out of the kitchen, the Arrowhead thing blocking that door for 10 years, I didn’t give a thought … it’s wonderfully weird to be able to walk through the door without having that constrict my movements to avoid running into things.  The systems – they are terrific! It’s exciting to think and realize that it’s just barely the beginning of what’s possible and yet it feels so good and powerful.

J.W., social worker/mother