by Carolyn Milligan Kerkhoff
My first day as a Mission 2 Organize intern was different than any other “first day” I have experienced before. Naturally, I was nervous on my drive to the client’s house, but this feeling did not last long. When I arrived, I met two M2O organizers, Mackenzie and Ana, and was thrilled with how friendly and welcoming they were. Mackenzie, who we call “Mack,” and Ana were assigned to this particular job, but the business’ Co-founder, Schae, also joined us. She came along because she wanted to train me personally.
We entered the client’s home and were immediately greeted by her adorable pup, Zoe. This put me at ease right away as I am a huge dog lover. When I was introduced to the client, all of my nerves disappeared. I thought, “okay, Schae is great, the other organizers are nice, the client is excited to have us AND there’s a cute dog… I can handle this!” ☺ The client led us downstairs and we got to work right away.
I followed and assisted Schae the whole day and, together, we organized and labeled the client’s holiday and memory bins. We also unpacked boxes of home décor from the client’s recent move. While working, I remember thinking, “wow, this is their actual JOB,” referring to Schae, Mack and Ana. I couldn’t believe that, if all went well, I could be getting paid to do this someday!
For me, the “work hard, play hard” approach is very important. This could not be more accurate when it comes to M2O! Whenever I interned at a job, I was shocked and impressed by how much the organizers were able to get done in a short amount of time. I quickly learned that there is never any sitting or standing around (except for a 15 minute break every three hours) and when one task has been completed, you start the next one immediately. I can personally attest that the employees really value their clients’ time and do not waste any of it.
Now, I am all about working hard, but I also love the “play hard” aspect of the job. We always play music, which will occasionally result in someone breaking into song or dance while working. We love to joke around and poke fun at each other which makes the job more enjoyable. We also like to make the organizing process fun for our clients because, let’s face it, doing things like decluttering can be pretty boring if you let it.
The more jobs I go to, and the more skills I develop, the more I appreciate this position. I have been implementing everything I’ve learned into my own life, which has made a huge difference for me and my husband. Our apartment and schedules are more organized which means less stress in our relationship. I truly believe it’s important to love what you do and I can’t wait to be a full-time employee at Mission 2 Organize! Stay tuned for Part 3 where I will hopefully be able to make it official…
