Hello & Welcome!

Hello there! I am so grateful that you have taken some time to visit this new corner of the World Wide Web. My name is Jen and I am the owner and blogger at Open Concept Organizing. Writing and organizing have come naturally to me for as long as I can remember. I operated my own house cleaning business to pay my way through college and have always been one of the most organized employees in my career endeavors since. I feel most energized and driven when I am completing projects like budgeting worksheets, spreadsheets, to-do lists, and cleaning and organizing various spaces. After a stressful day at my "day job", you will find me relaxing by cleaning and straightening up my home.

Organizing a home often gets squeezed in (or out, really) to the hustle and bustle of daily life. Many other things take priority and before we know it, we're trapped under a pile of "life clutter". I've experienced this over the last year and a half after struggling with an unexpected layoff from a job I loved. While I was quickly blessed with a new position somewhere else, I've spent a lot of time contemplating my purpose - what is it that I am meant to do. Not only am I continuously drawn back to writing and organizing, but I'm learning about how important it is for me to stay open.  While my focus on this blog will mainly be residential home organization, my vision is a site devoted to openness: open, clean, organized spaces; opening myself up to new challenges and opportunities and encouraging others to do the same; being open to change, open to improvement, open to trying new things; and organization of all things to maintain that openness. This might include organizing a home, a fitness routine, a diet or menu plan, a vacation, etc.

There is already a wealth of information out there on the internet regarding organizing and there are many fantastic blogs that address this topic daily. It is not my goal to trump any of those existing sites but instead to add to the community that already exists. I don't believe that any one person can possibly have all the answers. That is why you'll find links to blogs I enjoy as well as other resources on my pages. If I can't help, I will do my best to find someone who can! Check out my blog roll in the sidebar for some of the great blogs I try to read daily. I hope to provide additional insight and ideas, make new friends, and encourage others in the wonderful world of organization.

I’m thankful for the support I have in starting this new challenge. Without that support and encouragement, this idea would remain stuck in a notebook somewhere collecting dust. So thank you to my Mr. who encourages me in my writing every day. Thank you to my family and friends for their support and willingness to volunteer their spaces for me to “practice” organizing. Thanks to Pat Raap at Raap Signs for helping me to create my logo. And thank you to all of my new friends that I anticipate meeting through this adventure. I appreciate your willingness to read, support, and share on this site. If you have tips or inspiration, this can be a place to share them. If you need tips or inspiration, this can be a place to get them.

My Mister & I

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Stay tuned for the next post which explains a bit more about my home and my adventure of getting it organized!