Hello!

I'm Charlie.

 

Disclaimer, the above picture was taken a few years back. Before children and before I ditched makeup. If when you meet me I look decidedly less young and fresh than your expectations, know that I'm fine, I just don't have any recent pictures that weren't taken by someone under five! I'll get to it.

 

Anyway! I, my husband Ushnik, our two little girls (let's call them Velma and Delores) and our dog Chester live in Kitchener and we love this community. I grew up in Toronto and spent my teenage years in Muskoka, so KW feels like it provides all the best parts of big city and small town living. Outside of clutter-based research, listening, and reading, I enjoy baking, crafting, and listening to podcasts while doing the dishes (doing a chore with ear buds in is a great excuse to not be the on-call parent).

I also love to thrift everything we need and many things we don't, allowing for much personal ongoing decluttering practice.

Adjectives that describe me:

Easy-going, chatty, open-minded, non-judgmental, respectful, honest, and patient

Previous careers:

ESL teacher (adults), Speech-Language Pathologist (adults and children)

Education and Experience:

-Undergraduate degree in Social Development Studies and Psychology (double major), minor in Education

-Post-graduate Certificate and Diploma in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language)

-Master's in Developmental Psychology (Social-Emotional Development and Communication)

-Master's in Speech-Language Pathology, minor in Audiology

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In short, I love the fields of psychology, teaching, and communication, and have no desire for any more degrees (not that a degree program for this field exists). I'm proudly self-educated by many amazing people who work in or do work related to this field and generously share their findings, knowledge, and experience with others.

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My previous careers have helped prepare me for working as a declutter coach in several ways. I've always worked in helping fields and that is where I feel most at home. That feeling when a concept really clicks for a student or client is one I will never tire of.

As an SLP in outpatient rehabilitation as well as a private clinician working in people's homes, my job was to have clients work on the skills they found most challenging over and over again, offer them feedback and suggestions, and to still have them like me at the end of each session and want to work with me again. Declutter coaching is no different in that sense!

In ESL teaching (to adults in a university setting) I often had to explain concepts that didn't come naturally to my students (namely English grammar and spelling). Decluttering can seem difficult when it doesn't come naturally to you, but a good teacher has a way of making unfamiliar concepts simple, and I believe I can do that for my clients in this field as well.​ 

Why Declutter Coaching?

​What is uniquely rewarding in declutter coaching is being able to see change in real time. Progress is tangible in a way that it was hard to come by in my previous careers. I also love the ripple effect of tackling physical spaces, and how it positively impacts so many areas of a person's life. 

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This is also a real area of need in our community. Declutter coaching is a more well-known field in other areas of the world such as The United Kingdom, Australia, and The United States (thanks to Dana K. White!), but is virtually unheard of in Canada at large and our community specifically. Dealing with clutter is a very common problem, whether in a relatively minor way or to an extent that feels all-consuming, and many people do not have the skills or the bandwidth to tackle it on their own. It's also an area that is often misunderstood by well-meaning friends and family, and can put a strain on relationships. Clutter is almost never about the stuff, and there's a real place for professionals that understand the psychology of letting go and how best to work alongside clients to make space in a way that works for them specifically.​

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Decluttering can really be life changing, and I couldn't feel more honoured to play a role in a process which holds that potential.