A few “dry” (but sometimes interesting) details

I was born and raised in Israel and currently live a little north of Tel-Aviv in a beautiful small studio in front of a large field. Every winter, I travel to India for several months at a time to participate in silent seclusions.

If you are interested in western astrology, I am a Taurus with Capricorn rising. If you know Human Design, I am a 4/6 Reflector. I love baking, the ocean, watching good movies (preferably at the cinema), and savoring fine wines and strong beers.
I exercise a lot as it does me a world of good even though sometimes I do have to push myself to start 🙂

My Journey in the Land of Mess
From messy child to organized (but still a little messy) adult

Today I am both organized and a bit messy. I used to be mostly messy. My mother is amused by the fact that I chose to be a professional organizer. As a child, my room was always untidy, and I used to lose my house key all the time. However, I was always organized in my head and had the ability early on to see the whole picture. I felt a kind of dissonance between these two aspects of me. I believe this led me to do what I do today.

After years of practice and trial and error, I have learned how to have a good and balanced relationship with Mess. My house is not a museum, but it is organized, I know where everything is, and I do not have any “deep clutter.” In my view, a little mess can be OK.

For example, I have one place for receipts and don’t care that they are not arranged in any particular way. What’s realistic for me is simply being able to access them quickly when the time comes for accounting.
Another example is my clothes. Most of them are either hung up or sorted in small baskets (because I don’t like to fold).

By nature, I am not an organized person in regards to space (my mother certainly can attest to this point). But I have learned to be well organized in my environment in a way that suits me.

I continue to explore ways to make my physical space more efficient and comfortable, because I understand how much of a positive effect it has on my mood, energy, motivation, and inspiration.

From a clear space to clarity and flow in the todo list

Like many, I procrastinate things and can get overwhelmed by the demands of life; and also with my aspirations.
It’s more challenging to solve the problem of procrastination and get inspired when our space is cluttered. However, a good organization does not guarantee that we can close the gap between wanting something and making it happen. We also have to learn how to prioritize our time and organize our todo lists.

I have often wondered what the secret is of people whose time seems always to be perfectly organized and maximized. These types of people manage to wonderfully combine the things that they must do with the things they want to do.
At some point, I realized that I am different. I may never be like these types of people, but I can learn to create more harmony instead of feeling swamped.

How it all began?

The idea for my business was conceived in India at the end of my wintertime there. I sat by the ocean, and I knew I needed a change when I go back to the west. I was looking for a problem or a need that I could answer and thought I could help people organize their homes or offices. It was a long time ago, long before a “professional organizer” became an official profession like it is nowadays.

When I shared it with some friends, most of them thought it is unlikely that people will let a stranger into their messy houses. But I felt that if one is fed up with one’s mess, he or she will dare to reach out for help. And so it was.

Incidentally, the original name for the business came together with the idea, without any process of thinking about it – I called it (in Hebrew) “Gamad Lehascara” which means something like “a gnome/elf for rent.” Funny how it was as if downloaded to me. I guess the inspiration came from the fairy tale ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’ by the Grimm Brothers, where little elves came to help the shoemaker. And maybe also because elves or gnomes are earth-archetypes which symbolize being grounded – what order helps us achieve.
Maybe also because many of us have this secret wish that some angelic kind beings will come to rescue us from our problems :).

At first, I was only tidying up houses and offices – both stuff and papers – only together with my clients (not “for” them). Over the years it expanded to dealing with procrastinated tasks and time management and helping people set their wishes into motion.

In the beginning, I was mainly interested in heavily cluttered spaces, where the change was immense and unrecognizable when we finished.
I met people who were sleeping on garbage (literally) and ended up with a clean and welcoming bedroom.
I arrived at houses where there was no exposed floor left, and together, we managed to turn it into a loving home again.
I encountered people who lost loved ones in tragic ways. We gathered the deceased’s belongings, that were still scattered all around, into beautiful boxes. It helped them move on.
It was always an intimate and profound process.

Nowadays, I mainly help my clients to deal with bureaucracy, get the money that belongs to them, save better, and un-stuck old tasks.
I also help businesses finding more efficient ways to organize their days and materials.
I sometimes work with those who are about to leave this world to put their affairs in order.
But I still also engage in clearing clutter and prepare for a move or renovation, making the new place organized in a thoughtful and easy-to-keep-tidy way.
I never worked with someone who was not ready and could tell by the first conversation on the phone if it is the right time.

Most of the professional organizers say that they were always the tidiest among their friends and family and kept tidying up messy closets and spaces for everyone.
For me, it is different, as I come from the same place as my clients and it helps me to understand them. I go into a messy house, or a list of delayed tasks, and I have no judgment because I know it very well. What guides me is looking for what is possible and realistic rather than the ideal – which usually does not last long.
In my work, my goal is not only getting the most out of our day but making it joyful.

There is a huge sense of relief when the mess gets organized, and the fog disappears. Then, clear space and clarity take over and open the door for the next step (even if it is a tiny one).
I feel so grateful for being a part of the process my clients go through. I am always learning with them, feeling that by doing what we do, we all feel more at ease, inspired, and joyful in this journey we call Life.