Conversations with Cathy Orr

Hi Cathy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
I have always been interested in home organizing in one form or another my entire life. I was on the organizing bandwagon long before “spark joy” or any of the current trends in organizing were a “thing.” In fact, my background in anthropology was probably my lead-up to organizing. Cultural anthropology focuses a lot on classifying things/people/behaviors into categories. My mind just thinks like this.

I became a Marie Kondo consultant in September 2019, and since that time have risen from the “green” level to Certified Master. A certified Master is the culmination of client hours equal to 1500+ hours of organizing. In fact, I have many more than the 1500 hours required for this certification. I have been organizing, in one form or another, for the past twenty years.

I look at home organizing and what Marie Kondo calls “tidying” as a way to make sense of your life. Life is chaotic, and keeping things straight makes all the difference in the world. That means instead of your things looking like hodgepodge, your life flows. You know why you own what you have and why you have it. The rest is just clutter and a distraction. Of course, there are always those few things that you just need to keep, but they are secondary to surrounding yourself with only the things that make you happy. I believe that a person’s environment should reflect who they are now rather than who they used to be or hope to be someday. This actually brings our clients a lot of happiness and peace.

There are 22 Marie Kondo home organizing consultants in the state of Texas. Of those, there are seven who are in the local DFW area. Of those, I am one of two Certified Masters who works locally in the DFW area. I work with my daughter, who has been the recipient of years of organization training by me. To say that efficiency and productivity run through our family is an understatement.

In addition, I hold two master’s degrees, one in Medical Anthropology and another in Health Policy and Law, from UC San Francisco. I have worked in the healthcare field, directly with Medicare and State agencies, and as a Patient Advocate. I am, for that reason, considered a medical paperwork expert.

I can help seniors who are downsizing or with medical bill organization. In other words, I know what medical information/bills to keep, discard, pay and what is not their responsibility. I have also volunteered both for the State of California and Texas for HICAP, which is the free Health Information, Counseling, and Advocacy Program of Medicare. I’m trained in Medicare policy from the legal/medical perspective at UCSF and am able to guide seniors in figuring out medical paperwork messes. This is especially helpful for adult children of seniors who may need direction when closing out an estate or assisting an aging or ill parent. I understand the medical nuances of healthcare billing.

A businesswoman at heart, in 2019, I launched The Uncluttered Life, Inc., an organization company with my daughter. We taught people the Marie Kondo organization technique, organized homes, and built our business in California. In 2021 we moved the business to Texas when we decided, after the pandemic, to be closer to family.

After seeing a shift during the pandemic, with my daughter, we recently launched a line of prompt cards, including one called Declutter Deck®. Declutter Deck prompt cards are sold individually on The Uncluttered Life, Inc. website (www.theunclutteredlife.com). These easy-to-perform card prompts (52 in each deck) help people get and stay organized after we organize and leave their space. Or individuals can tackle the job themselves without our help in short, 30-minute blocks of time. After working through the 52-card deck, their home is completely organized.

We also have a sister site, Hack Decks™ (www.lifehackdecks.com). On our Hack Decks™ site, we offer a number of similar prompt card decks that help with life hacks to simplify life’s transitional times, Whether it’s having a baby or going off to college, these prompt decks provide inspiration for keeping life as simple as possible during challenging times.

There is a theme that runs through everything we do. Simplify life. Lessen what makes you feel overwhelmed and fatigued. These decks, and our home organization service, provide more time to do the things you love. Too much “stuff” holds you down. We try to ease the pain points you may be feeling by maximizing your time without doing any extra work. It’s just that simple. And, as a bonus, all of it helps improve mental health.