It’s astonishing, but 2023 will be the TENTH Annual Clever Girl Organizing Challenge. I know this, because I’ve done one every year, and I’m coming up on my ten-year anniversary this spring. TEN YEARS!!
[Insert obvious scene from “Grosse Pointe Blank” here]
It started as some posts on this blog back in January 2014, about 8 months after I started this business. I thought it would be a fun way to support some New Years Resolutions. The next year, I started posting the assignments on Facebook.
In the 3rd year, I created a Facebook Group to go along with it, and thanks to some friends who shared it with their networks, within a week, we had over 750 people in the group! (Today, that Facebook Group, Clever Girl Organizing Nation, is still around!). And while that was amazing, it was also… a lot of work.
In Year 4, I switched to a paid membership model for the first time, as I saw the value people were getting from the work I was investing in it. And people agreed with me. It grows in size each year, I make modifications each year. And yes, there are some people who return, year after year, to give their space and systems a tune-up and to continue to work on the goals they have for a more organized and peaceful home and life.
As I have been putting on the finishing touches for the tenth year, which starts January 9th, I can’t help to be overwhelmed with GRATITUDE. So, here, on Thanksgiving, I just want to express my deep appreciation for those of you who have supported my business — as a Challenge member, as a client, or just as a subscriber to this blog or a social media follower. I’m grateful for you, and for what you’ve done to inspire me to build my business over the past almost-a-decade!
If you haven’t been a member of the CGO Challenge before, let me tell you a little about it:
- We start January 9th — this is a little later than usual. I usually start the first Monday after New Years, but after consulting with my 2022 Challenge Group, we all agreed a little more breathing room after the holidays would be beneficial.
- Each week, there is an email with an assignment. We work on different spaces and categories throughout the house – kitchen, bathroom, linen closet, medicine chest, clothes/wardrobe, kids stuff, memorabilia, etc.. I provide suggestions on how to focus your time that week, but there is *always* room for you to prioritize how you spend your time, including dialing back your efforts if it is just a busy week.
- We go for 11 weeks, including 2 weeks as built in breaks — no assignments, so you can use that time to catch up, or just take a breather! We wrap around the first week of Spring (how rejuvenating, huh?!)
- Participation means a weekly email and being part of a dedicated, private Facebook Group, which has a lot more material from me, not to mention the support of community members who are all in this together!
- Did I mention that *I* do the Challenge assignments, too?? My life, and my home, is not perfect, nor do I strive for it to be. Believe me, I get into the benefits of this Challenge just as much as the rest of the members do!
I have more information over here on this page, including pricing ($64 for the 11 week program) and some exciting “Level-Up” options to add on private 1:1 coaching with me or private group coaching for extra focus on your goals and habits. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead, and I hope you’ll consider joining us if the time is right for you to have more of a feeling of peace at home, and tackle those items and projects that have been weighing on your mind.
If you know me, you know that I am passionate about leading people through the process of getting clarity on what we own, why we own it, and *then*, how we store it. But this questioning about the WHY, not just the WHAT, is part of the journey of The Challenge Throughout The Challenge, we discuss a lot of the “why” behind our clutter and our habits in this group; the feedback I get is consistently that this Challenge can be *life-changing*. Sign up by January 8th and find out for yourself.
Oh, and if you sign up between Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Nov 25-28) , you can use the code bfcm to get $5 off. I mean, that’s cool, right?
(And, yes, announcing this Challenge *before* you start shopping all of those Black Friday sales is intentional. Hoping this puts a little seed in your head to help you answer those questions before whipping out the credit card.)
Here’s what people said about last year’s Challenge:
” ‘Life changing’ is how a friend described the challenge and now after completing it, I agree. Kathy’s knowledge and expertise mixed with her thoughtful approach really made the weekly challenges achievable. I loved having a community of support because the challenge was all I wanted to talk about!
“I’ve tried many decluttering challenges in the past. This is the first (only!) one that has worked for me. The combination of emails, lives and most importantly, the Facebook Group, was hugely motivating and inspiring. Seeing others make progress, and share it in the Group, encouraged action and, for me, accountability too. I’ll be back next year!”
“Kathy is down to earth, doesn’t judge and motivates you in a tactful way, reminding you how good you’ll feel when you finish a challenge! She encourages you with positive reinforcement! I loved he videos where she really gets philosophical and gets you thinking differently about important things in our lives to address!”
“This provided the structure and motivation I needed to make a big difference in how I feel about my living space. Guidance from Kathy and inspiration from others were a perfect combination to get things done. I would not have seen the same results if I had attempted to do this on my own.”
“Thank you for all you do to help motivate & encourage folks to make changes that truly impact our daily lives. Especially in this last year where a lot more time was spent at home it has been helpful to rethink & repurpose spaces for how we need them to function in these changeable times.”
“I think this was the best money I’ve spent in a LOOOOONG time.”
Honestly, I just get moved to tears when I read some of these. I love knowing that I make a difference in people’s lives in ways that truly matters to them.
I’m honored that people have invited me into their homes virtually, through this Challenge and through my Virtual Organizing business, and I hope never to lose that sense of gratitude and pride.
I hope you’ll join us for 2023. But more importantly, I hope you and your loved ones, far and near, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Sign up by January 8th, but don’t forget that Black Friday-through-Cyber Monday code: bfcm
