Mondays are for amazing moms and this week we are thrilled to share Amanda Liford. Amanda is mom to almost 2 year old Owen! Amanda, her husband and Owen reside in Lansing.
Amanda is a PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER – yes you read that correctly! She comes in, declutters and gets her clients organized! As we are in the midst of the season that oftentimes brings gifts – GLAMoms is happy to introduce you to someone who will help with all of the stuff!
Learn more about her methods, her Greater Lansing area favorites and a few family traditions you may just want to try this year!
Welcome to Greater Lansing Area Moms, Amanda 😊
Welcome to GLAMoms, please introduce yourself 🙂
My name is Amanda and I’m a down to earth, fun, adventure chasing nerd who also just so happens to be a mom and professional organizer.
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’m from the Toledo, OH area and now we live in Lansing, MI
You’re a mom! Please tell us about your children and their ages. What is your favorite thing about being a mom?
I have 1 son, Owen, and he’ll be 2 in February. My favorite part about being a mom is getting to see how he is truly part me and part my husband. The good and the bad.
Seeing him become his own unique self is a really special experience.
What is your favorite family Holiday activity to do in the Greater Lansing area?
We love to go to the Cider Mill for apple and pumpkin picking. And as the weather starts to get colder, we enjoy spending time at Woldumar Nature Center for snowy hikes and sledding at Hawk Island Park.
What are a few of your favorite restaurants and shops in Greater Lansing?
I love food! Soup Spoon Cafe is a staple in our house as well as Sushi Moto and Horrock’s Pizzeria. Mother & Earth Baby Boutique has amazing items for kids of all ages and October Moon Boutique seems to have something new every time I go in.
What is the best piece of advice you have received from another mom? What advice do you have for a new mom?
The best advice I’ve gotten recently is that a little extra time watching Bluey is good if it helps to keep me less stressed. My advice for a new mom is to have a strong support system. We need each other and can’t do everything on our own.
What is a favorite family holiday tradition?
Every New Year’s Eve, we open our “Life Goals” jar. We look through them all to see what we’ve achieved in the last year. For every one that we did achieve, we put that many new goals into the jar with the others that we have not achieved yet. This way we always have the same number in the jar. The ones we did achieve get put on a collage board we have with all the other previously achieved goals.
You are a professional Organizer! Please tell us about your business, Easy Life Organizing. How did you get started in this?
Easy Life Organizing is working to become your one-stop shop for all your organizing needs. The majority of our work is centered around going into your home to declutter and organize different areas.
We do homes, businesses, moving preparation & coordinating, productivity coaching, online courses, and wedding organizing. I’ve always been good at being productive and managing my time well.
My love for organizing started when I was working in automotive manufacturing. I learned more about the 5S system and lean systems. From there I fell in love. These systems focus on solutions to get the same or better outcome with the least amount of effort. Then my passion for organizing spaces launched when I staged my first home to sell. From there I was hooked.
What is your favorite type of room to organize? And how long does one organizing session typically last?
My favorite room to organize is usually a kid’s room. I have a long experience working with kids. I love to involve them and work together to create a room that both the child and parent love.
Each area of your home will vary on how long it will take. Most kids’ rooms will take 6-8 hours. Those hours are divided into 3-4 hours sessions to complete.
How do you help clients who have a lot of sentimental attachment to their things?
Sentimental items are the hardest thing to declutter & organize. I explain that the feeling they feel when they see or touch these items is from the experiences or the people involved, not truly the item themselves. It was the last card you got from grandma, or the bear you were given when you graduated.
The memories are what is important.
Now for someone who has an attachment to most of their things, I try to reference the goals that we have for our organizing project. Hiring a professional organizer is a very personal thing to do and whoever you bring into your home needs to be someone you are comfortable with and someone you trust.
What are some helpful tips to combating clutter in the kitchen-mail, sunglasses, keys, random kid toys, etc! Help please!
The kitchen always seems to accumulate things that just don’t belong. You’re busy and can’t micromanage the family to put things away right away.
So my solution is to meet halfway. Meet the mess where it’s being created. I recommend having a wall-mounted organizer to hold all the essentials you use regularly that usually get left lying around right when you walk in the door. This can hold keys, sunglasses, headphones, mail, random receipts, etc.
Having a bin to put toys into in the kitchen is also helpful. If you can’t put the toys in the kid’s room right now, it’s easy to throw them in an easy-to- carry bin. It will keep it all together and look better for when you are ready to put it away.
Once you have helped organize a room, do you donate items for your clients?
Always. I offer to do 1 carload of donations for each organizing session. I’ll also donate to specific places they want to have things donated to as well as get them a donation receipt if they want one.
What are some of your favorite types of bins? Best place to buy these?
I LOVE this question!!! I buy my bins from either the Container Store, Target, or Amazon. I prefer a nice clean look and something that can be reused and look good almost anywhere in the house.
Target has a “frosted” white bin that is in their bathroom section that is my go-to bin. I also love the simple white bins from the Container Store – the link is below.
containerstore.com/s/white-plastic-storage-bins-with-handles/d?q=bin&productId=11005645
What is the best way to organize the “junk drawer” that most of us have?
My #1 tip is to designate a spot for everything, even the random gum. The more that you can make a “home” around the place that it gets used or placed the most, the more likely you’ll be to put it away. Even if it means that the junk drawer gets some small organizing bins and labels. You’ll be less likely to put random things in that drawer again it will make you think about where a good home may be.
Now some FUN ones to get to know you better!
Can’t live without skincare or makeup products – multi-use concealer & eyeliner
Favorite meal to make at home – Bulgogi & rice
Favorite vacation spot in Michigan – Pictured Rocks
Favorite date night idea – Sushi, High Caliber Karting & American Fifth
Movie you could watch over & over – Brave (Disney)
Current binge shows – The Witcher
Last book you read – Tidy the F*ck up
Favorite mom hack – Give your child a spot for their shoes, hats, & coat that is at their level so that they can put them away or get them out themselves.
One thing people would be surprised to know about you – We have a school bus that we’re turning into a tiny home on wheels. For all my Legend of Zelda fans out there, we’ve named our bus ‘Epona’.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you need some “me time”?
I go to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!
What is one thing you would tell your 20 year old self?
Build a strong support system. You are a strong and independent woman who does what she sets her mind to. It’s ok to be vulnerable and asking for help does not make you weak, it makes you strong!
Last one – Who has been the biggest mentor in your life?
I have not talked to her in years, but a former manager of mine, Laurie. She was bold, brave, and never backed down from a challenge. She knew what she wanted and went at it with full strength. She admitted when she didn’t know something and would do what she could to learn it. She supported all of her employees with 110% effort and wouldn’t allow anybody to try and push our little group around.
Thanks Amanda!
And GLAMoms – Amanda always offers a free 30 minute consultations on all organizing projects where they go over the space in question and give a quote. 🙂
Below are the best ways to contact Amanda today!
Instagram – @easylifeorganizing
Facebook – Easy Life Organizing
Website – easylifeorganizing.com
Photos provided by Amanda Liford
