Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbie Wenstrup.
Hi Barbie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been organizing (and re-organizing) since I was four. My first project was unpacking and repacking my suitcase every night while I was away from home (and homesick). A few years later, I sorted and organized all my things, then moved on to our kitchen items, and then moved on to my younger sister’s stuff (much to my mother’s dismay). When I was in middle school, word of my love for organizing began to spread, and I was tasked to systematize the catechist supply room at church. In high school, I discovered that I LOVE helping people move. I’m still energized by the new-chapter aspect, the heavy lifting, and helping people settle into a new space quickly. If packed correctly, I guarantee that I can completely unpack a home (1200 sq. ft. or less) within 24 hours of arrival. In college, I created my own major at the University of Cincinnati to study professional organizing and started my own business, Simplify-Clean-Organize, after I graduated. However, I let the business take a backseat as I tested the waters of the corporate world. Finally, in 2023, I took the leap and turned my focus to organizing full-time. Today, I focus on serving the senior market by rightsizing (to optimize a current home), downsizing (to prepare for a move to a smaller space), offering move-management (to coordinate the many aspects of moves), and digital organizing (to organize files, photos, passwords, and more on laptops, tablets, and phones). It’s life-changing work, and I’m elated that I get to spend my days blessing others with my skillset.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. When I started my business, I decided not pursue it full-time. Most organizers own their businesses and operate solo, so there are very few organizing partnerships or groups. This was an issue for me because I’m an extrovert, and the thought of working by myself sounded VERY lonely and miserable. Yet even while I worked for other companies, organizing opportunities still found me. I lived in Dallas for five years and was the unofficial professional organizer for a private company. I took two departments paperless and optimized processes for two other departments that had fallen behind schedule. When I moved to San Diego, I kept organizing on the side, while I worked full-time for a couple of different micro businesses. I learned a LOT from both of those experiences. But life is short, and I want to spend it doing what I LOVE. I finally returned to my roots and am now focusing full-time on my business. I see my work as one of transformation, and the days I work with clients to transform their reality are my FAVORITE days.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Simplify-Clean-Organize is a professional organizing company specializing in rightsizing, downsizing, move management, and digital organizing. At its core, organizing is about lightening your physical and, as a result, your mental load by providing a home with easy-to-manage systems. I want you to know what you have and exactly where it lives.
I’m an ECO-Organizer. This means I do my best to minimize the waste in my work. I try to reuse or recycle as much of my clients’ discards as I can. When my clients are ready to part with items, those are hauled back to my office, photographed, and posted on Buy Nothing/Freecycle/OfferUp/Nextdoor/Facebook Marketplace. My goal is to find new homes for these items with locals who actually want or need them (rather than dropping them at Father Joe’s or Goodwill and hoping they get purchased).
We live in a materialistic culture that emphasizes spending. People buy things they want but don’t really have the space to store them. Just because we can afford to purchase something, doesn’t mean we can afford the space-cost to store it. I see this the most with clothes and buying in bulk. In my opinion, most people have more clothes than they need, and their closets are bursting! I’m guilty of this myself. I take up three-fourths of my closet and am SO grateful that my husband is a minimalist! A lot of us also like to take advantage of buying large quantities at a discount in price club stores, but, again, we don’t have the space at home to store the excess. This is a big contributor to modern-day clutter.
So if you’re afraid to look into your desk because it’s a mess, give me a call! We can sort through it together. Do you have a “dump room” full of piles of things you don’t know what to do with and feel too overwhelmed to know where to start? Let me help! I haul your discards for immediate unburdening. Do you have a move coming up that you are just DREADING? I am already excited about it! I can help you prepare for the move and make the moving experience as painless as possible. Ultimately, I really want people to know that they don’t have to feel burdened by their belongings!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My parents, definitely. They recognized my love for organizing at a young age. My mom coordinated my first organizing gig in middle school (the catechist closet). They put me through college and helped me jump through all the hoops required to create a personalized degree program at the University of Cincinnati. They bought me all of my essential organizing supplies (what I now affectionately call my “organizer’s toolkit”). They have supported me through all the ups and downs and always remind me of how proud they are of me for following my dreams. I simply wouldn’t be in this position without them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.simplify-clean-organize.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplify_clean_organize
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simplify-clean-organize/
- Twitter: https://x.com/SmplfyClnOrgnze
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/smplfyclnorgnze/
Image Credits
Demi Sue
