The 13th Annual Clever Girl Challenge Has Arrived!

It’s a bit amazing to me that the Clever Girl Organizing Challenge is about to enter its THIRTEENTH year. It’s a teenager!! It’s honestly still my favorite part of this business I started in 2013. I start hearing from prior participants “I can’t wait until January!!” starting in about October, when people are starting to feel the pressure of the end of the year staring them in the face, the back to school, the holidays, the “how is it already DECEMBER!?!?” of it all. I get it. I feel it, too.

And each year, I get new members who tell me, “I’ve been hearing about this for years and finally realized this is MY year to join!” after hearing from friends and family how it has helped change their lives.

Every year, around September, I start to give it thought. Am I up for this again this year? It’s a lot of time and work for me, and I have to be on top of my game because it is a very engaging experience. We have weekly assignments for 11 weeks, but I’m also bringing live videos to our exclusive Facebook Group, I’m commenting on every single post, I’m having private sessions with people who “level up” to add 1:1 virtual organizing time to their Challenge experience. This year was different. I didn’t bat an eye. By the time September came around, I was already working on 2026, knowing full well we were a “go”.

What’s been my highlight of 2025? 

Some of this may be because my own year has shifted a bit and I’m that much closer to my community and audience. I launched a podcast, Surfing the Quicksand, in September! It’s focused on helping midlife women get unstuck – at home, at work, in families, in caregiving, in their bodies and minds – one chat at a time. Each week, I’m talking to women about the concepts that matter so much to women in the 40-60-year old space right now, whether that’s about our health or our homes or our families or life as a sandwich generation warrior. With all of this focus on helping people get unstuck, it’s impossible for me to imagine not continuing this great effort that the Clever Girl Organizing Challenge has brought to so many homes and lives! (PS – the podcast is on Youtube, Apple, and Spotify and I’d be honored if you checked it out. And if you know someone who might be an amazing guest for me, please let me know! I interview women who have subject matter expertise in the areas midlife women care about as well as women who have made a big leap professionally in their 40’s or 50’s.) 

Ushering in the new year with Kathy’s expertise is my favorite gift to myself!”

– CGO Challenger

If you haven’t been a member of the CGO Challenge before, let me tell you a little about it: 

• We start January 5th and run for 11 weeks, through the first week of spring.

• Participation includes receiving a weekly email assignment – some space or category in your home – plus joining and engaging in a private, exclusive Facebook Group (required). Each week I’ll bring live videos to the Facebook group, as well, to talk about the concepts that hold us back when we’re trying to declutter and organize, and explore strategies to move past them. 

• 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.

• 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! 

“It may just change your life. The Challenge certainly changed mine for the better!”

– CGO Challenger

I have more information over here on this page, including pricing ($69 for the 11 week program) and an exciting “Level-Up” options to add on private 1:1 coaching with me for extra focus on your goals and habits. 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 4th and find out for yourself. 

Here’s what people said about The CGO 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 her 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.”

“I just love gaining Kathy’s expertise every week to guide me. I’m good at following instructions and really needed her directions. I really really appreciated her engaging on my posts. I looked forward to her comments every week.”

“You will never regret starting your year with the Clever Girl Organization Challenge! It feels great to tackle key areas in your home and help them function in better ways. Ushering in the new year with Kathy’s expertise is my favorite gift to myself!”

“I can’t thank you enough for motivating me to clean up my act :). I feel so pleased with the progress, and though there’s a lot more work to be done, I’m not so scared of it anymore!“

“It may just change your life. The Challenge certainly changed mine for the better!”

“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.

Not ready to sign up, but don’t want to forget about it before January 4th? 

Head over to the Challenge page and hit the green “Get a reminder when registration is closing” button to send an email to be reminded!

See? You’re more organized already!

Kathy, what else are you doing? 

These days, I’m still doing some in-person organizing, hyper-local to my community, and doing So MUCH Virtual Organizing with people all over the country (and beyond!)  I’m honored and I hope never to lose that sense of gratitude and pride. Of course, my career coaching and resume writing business is hoppin’, too. I’m honored to play a role in how so many people change their lives every day – getting organized, finding productivity, changing jobs and careers, or just getting inspired by listening to my podcast. I’m a lucky, lucky human being to have earned the trust of so many, and to continue to earn an invitation into YOUR inbox!  

“I think this was the best money I’ve spent in a LOOOOONG time.”

–  CGO Challenger