Victory Circles Magazine- Cover

The smile, the glow, the honesty of emotion is something that Liz Canavan aspires to see transform her clients. She herself is simply one of those people who lights up a room when she walks into it. Her love and zest for life is immediately and constantly present. Liz has a passion - a passion for seeing the world a lot more clutter free. Or as she put it so succinctly, “There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to get to what you need because you have clutter in the way.”
Liz has a history with “stuff” that dates back to her preschool days in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. At the moment each day when her teacher would announce, “clean-up time” she remembers heading straight for the bathroom. There she would stay waiting until she was sure that every aspect involved in the clean-up process had been completed.
Now you might find that strange for someone who at this stage in her career finds joy in helping others de-clutter their lives. But Liz explains that what stopped her, even scared her about the whole process is that back then it just seemed too complicated. Those thoughts never left her when many years later she would assist people to simplify and find systems as they clean up the physical clutter in their lives.
But first came high school Physics where Liz was given the task of making something out of what others might classify as “trash.” Liz created a “Picker Upper”, a device she created with an old tennis ball and a few other discarded items. It made her realize another element of “stuff” and just what its effect was and is on our environment. Coming out of high school she knew that the cause and effect of what we did with our environment would play a role in her career.
Following the advice of a College advisor to, “Go east to school, west to play”, Liz debated between Denison and Kenyon (both in Ohio) for college before eventually heading to Colorado to settle down and “play.” She decided on Denison for a number of reasons but a big deciding factor was how the two schools did or did not celebrate Earth Day during that weekend she had just happened to be visiting both schools. Denison won that part of the equation hands down through their huge campus wide recycling efforts.
Liz started her college career majoring in Psychology and French, soon changing it over to Communications and French. In her junior year she studied in France and was very impressed with how little “stuff” the French people possessed.
The act of helping her Mom downsize from the family home to a condo was the key that got Liz thinking about starting an organizing business. Imagine, she thought at the time, a whole industry that is involved in taking care of “stuff.” Her Mom’s neighbors kept saying, “You should start a Business.” Since then she has not only started her successful business, Alchemy of Order (www.alchemyoforder.com), but is also very involved in NAPO, the National Association of Professional Organizers.
It is apparent just how deeply Liz feels about her work and her clients. She is passionately compassionate. She shared the story of a client who was using the “stuff” as a form of protection to keep her from dealing with the emotions of her life. The reality came clear to her client that if she got organized and faced the clutter, eliminating it, she would have to face the road ahead of her. As Liz explained the emotions that this created for her client, she herself had tears streaming. The joy in the process for Liz is being able to step back and have her clients not only see a new environment in which to work or live but to see the possibilities before them in their lives. Liz encourages the following in dealing with your “stuff”.
Go to the website: www.storyofstuff.com to help you to think twice about stuff.
Ask yourself the big question, “What is the stuff really going to do for you? Is it really a bandaid for a wound that you can’t really cover?
Read the book by Peter Walsh, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?
If it is all too overwhelming, enlist the help of a professional and get it done before it takes over your life. www.napo.net can assist in finding organizers across the country.
Check out Liz’s blog at www.alchemyoforder.com to get a variety of tips on the most effective and environmentally friendly way to dispose of “stuff”.
The future for Alchemy of Order and Liz Canavan looks bright. Beyond the clutter, she has also stepped into the closets of clients to help them work with their clothes, their wardrobes and their images. She has started speaking to a variety of groups on the topic, writes articles for newspapers and a variety of other publications (including this one). It is her hope in the not too distant future to write a book on how to make a wardrobe work with only 13 items. Liz summarized her endeavors this way, “People want different lives around their “stuff” but don’t want to change – I want to help them enjoy the process.”
In This Issue - Feb 09
February 2009 Editorial
Liz Canavan Cover Story
For the Love of Sales
Putting Your Heart into Your Workouts
Make Room For Your Passions
Excitement - The Key to Building Self Confidence
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