Today we’d like to introduce you to Danica Carson
Hi Danica , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Danica Carson, and I am creator of Hack Decks™. We are located in the DFW area.
About Hack Decks™
Hack Decks™ is a line of prompt cards designed to simplify life and reduce stress. Hack Decks™ is owned by The Uncluttered Life, Inc., a boutique organizing company based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, specializing in optimization, efficiency, and home function. Our flagship product, Declutter Deck®, was created as an exclusive tool for clients, or even secret weapon, to get and stay organized in all spaces of the home.
The mission of Hack Decks™ is simple: live a happier, more fulfilling life by skipping the struggle. Using the crowd-sourced wisdom and experience of experts in their field, each Hack Deck™ is designed to help users by offering prompts that encourage them to be proactive and work smarter rather than harder. Each prompt is a small piece of a larger task that creates a cumulative impact.
About Danica
I graduated from UC Berkeley, majoring in an interdisciplinary study that combined the practice of fine art, history, psychology, modern media, and social science. I always felt a passion for art, pursuing creative outlets such as painting, photography, graphic design, and home design, but it wasn’t until my late 20’s that I began to fully appreciate the impact visual stimulation had on me.
After getting married, the small apartment I shared with my husband in Southern California began to feel claustrophobic. There were so many gifts, and nowhere to put them. The clutter began to mount. As time went on, I began to feel more overwhelmed, more fatigued, and less productive. It was then that my mom, Cathy, who was studying the KonMari Method under Marie Kondo at the time, came to the rescue with her decades of organization experience. After three days of organizing and rearranging, I suddenly felt motivated, inspired, and energized in my space again. I was more productive, less stressed, and happier. One thing became very clear: the effect that your surroundings have on you is undeniable, and it can either make you or break you.
After researching the physical and psychological effect that surroundings have on your mental and physical health, my mom and I realized that we could combine our love of organization and interior design to create spaces that allowed people to thrive. In 2019, we decided to take the leap and open our boutique organizing company, The Uncluttered Life, Inc., in Southern California. The Uncluttered Life® has been a lifetime in the making, without either of us realizing it then.
Not long after, my husband and I welcomed a baby boy and decided to make a major move. My husband was offered a position in Dallas-Fort Worth and we decided to take it, prompting my parents to move close by. The Uncluttered Life® became a flourishing organization business in North Texas. In addition, we partnered with Inspired Closets DFW to help their clients organize who had purchased a space of $10,000 or more. Watching people struggle with clutter, we decided to create a problem-solving product for our clients, called the Declutter Deck®. It was designed as an exclusive tool for clients to get and stay organized.
What We Have Learned
The Uncluttered Life® was typically hired to transform one space, but organization has a domino effect. Clients often wanted more help but could not afford to do their entire home. Understanding how frustrating, overwhelming, and burdensome clutter can be, we decided to create an inexpensive solution for clients. We did this because we believe that cost should never be a barrier to improving mental or physical health.
The Declutter Deck® was so popular with clients that we decided to design a line of Hack Decks™, prompt cards that address specific pain points and transition periods of life. Each deck was thoughtfully developed to be a “life hack” for topics that can cause anxiety, stress or isolation. Hack Decks™ currently offers Date Deck®, Declutter Deck®, Dorm Deck, New Mama Deck, and Random Acts of Kindness Deck.
Since moving to Texas in 2020, The Uncluttered Life, Inc. has been voted a “Readers Choice All-Star” by Arlington Magazine, and also featured in Living Magazine and Marie Kondo’s KonMari “Meet the Masters.” The Uncluttered Life® and Hack Decks™ were also recently featured in an Architectural Digest article.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always struggles with any business. For one, when we started, it was in 2019, and Covid hit not long after. We had to adjust our business model because we could no longer go into our client’s homes. We, then, became a virtual organization company until restrictions were lifted.
Struggles also create opportunity. For example, because people were spending more time in their homes than prior to Covid, they needed to create some type of hybrid home that let them work during the day, and turn off at night. The lines between home and work began to blur and people wanted a place to enjoy downtime. We helped people achieve that goal.
I think people appreciate their homes more now than they did pre-Covid. And, for that reason, home organization is even more important than it was prior to 2019.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
About Hack Decks™
Focusing on common pain points such as getting organized, becoming a mother, going off to college, coming up with fresh ways to connect, and more, Hack Decks™ offers users a shortcut to a happier life by providing easy prompts that have a lasting impact. Each is a deck of 52 cards with easy-to-do prompts that have a positive impact on mental and physical health.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the DFW area. Here’s why…I invented Date Deck® to learn about DFW even more!
A Summer in New Jersey
One summer we spent in New Jersey. Before we were married, we spent the summer in New Jersey living in a rented room. My husband was gone all day at his internship. We weren’t married at the time, but planning our wedding. While he was gone all day, I worked from that one bedroom. Space was tight so I always wanted to go out on the weekends to explore our surroundings. Lucky us, we were close to New York City. We spent many of our weekends there. Having lived on the West Coast my entire life, I had never been to the East Coast. I was excited to see the difference. I loved learning about a new culture, making new friends, and taking day trips to see areas of the country I had never seen before. It was a tremendous learning experience.
A Move to Texas
Fast forward, and we have moved again from the West Coast, this time to Texas. After my husband’s internship, we realized it would be fun to move again given the right opportunity for change. Change happened all at once: a new job, baby, and Covid lockdown. I found myself quarantined in my new house with an infant for a year. We couldn’t go out. I was in a new city with very few connections. I was chomping at the bit to find something fun to do on the weekends. Sometimes we would drive to a park in the late afternoon just to get out of the house. Most of the time, though, the three of us were stuck indoors during the week. My husband worked from home and I took care of our newborn. I couldn’t wait to start exploring a new city with my baby son and husband in tow.
What I Have Learned from Getting Out of My Comfort Zone
After Covid restrictions were lifted, I needed to find fun things to do again. I scrolled to see which places were open. And where we could spend time together on the weekend. Since I had learned this skill on the West Coast, driving almost every weekend to LA or San Diego, I learned that exploring a city is fun. Lots and lots of fun. But you need to know where to go. From living outside NYC, I learned how much fun a big bustling city can be. (Not that LA was little!) Now that I’m in Texas, I look for fun, new things to do each weekend. Some take me out of my comfort zone. For me, that’s good.
Life Hack Decks™ – How Date Deck® Came to Be
With this information, and my skill for finding fun and interesting things to do on the weekend, I created Date Deck® for life Hack Decks™. This prompt deck of 52 cards gets you moving, out of the house, and having fun. Date Deck® is filled with great, unique prompts that take the boredom and routine out of weekends. Instead of doing the same old thing, Date Deck® gives you inspiration for finding fun where you live. The deck comes with a range of ideas that get you out of your comfort zone, if only for a few hours each week. This makes the rest of the week so much better and keeps your love and connection alive with your “date.” Even with a little one to bring along, Date Deck® ideas make exploring a new city fun. Date Deck® is also great to get to know your current city in an entirely new way.
Pricing:
- Declutter Deck® – $19.95
- Date Deck® – $19.95
- Dorm Deck – $19.95
- New Mama Deck – $19.95
- Random Acts of Kindness Deck – $19.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hackdecks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehackdecks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hackdecks/
