What Organizing with Presence Really Means

People often ask me how I became a professional home organizer and why my approach has an emphasis on presence. I so appreciate the curiosity! To sum it up, it’s the intersection of a childhood joy and a grown-up discovery.

Since I was a little girl, organizing has always made my heart beat a little faster. In the margins of my grade-school report cards, there were glowing notes from my teachers about how neat and organized I was. One of my favorite back-to-school traditions was going to Ollard’s, the local stationery store, with my dad — carefully choosing folders, notebooks, pencil cases, and pens. Oh, if I had the choices little girls have today! I really don’t know what I would do with myself. 

The Bus Stop

As an adult, before launching this business, I enjoyed a long career as a singer. One morning, on my way to an audition, I was waiting at the bus stop for what felt like forever. The bus wasn’t coming. And wasn’t coming. And wasn’t coming. Now, I was going to be late.

I was pacing back and forth, watching the stop before mine as if my death stare would suddenly make the bus appear.

Why is this city such a bleeping pain?
Why is everything so difficult all the time?
Why did I have to try on that last outfit?

Anger. Frustration. Irritation. Fear. Growing by the second.

“I just can’t with this anymore.”


Then, and I really have no idea how…
a concept from a book I had just started reading — The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle — suddenly jumped into my mind:
Accept the moment just as it is.

What? How on earth could I do that? This moment was so annoying… and unbearable.

But I remember thinking, this ridiculousness isn’t getting me anywhere except more infuriated. So what do I have to lose? And if Oprah is on this train, there has to be something to it, right?!

I took a huge, loud breath. I watched the people walking their dogs. I took another breath. I listened to snippets of conversations as people passed by. I heard the birds. The traffic. I actually looked up at the trees! 

It was remarkable. Everything — I mean everything — changed.

My negative thoughts quieted. My body calmed. My mind felt like it had opened. I could think again. Productive thoughts.

And I am not joking when I tell you that just then, the bus pulled up.

Now, I’m not saying that things always resolve that neatly just because you are present, but had the bus not come, I would’ve been able to at least think clearly and make another plan.

I arrived at my audition in a much better state of mind — calm instead of frantic, positive instead of negative. 

That’s when I first understood how powerful Presence can be.

I finished The Power of Now. I read it over and over again. (If you saw my copy, you’d wonder how it’s still holding together — worn, dog-eared, underlined, starred notes in every margin.) Then, I devoured Tolle’s other work.

Life changing. Full stop.


The Mental Noise

My singing career was full of joy, passion, excitement and adventure. But it was also unpredictable in ways that can shake even the steadiest person. So much felt out of my hands — because it was. There are a million factors over which you have zero control. 

You take class. You get better. You coach. You network. You practice. You give. You do everything you can.

And still, the outcome can be out of your control.

Auditions can feel like a rollercoaster. One moment you walk out feeling strong. The next, your mind starts relentlessly replaying every moment.

Why did I stop trusting myself halfway through?
Why did I push there instead of just letting it be?
Why didn’t I adjust to the energy of the room the way I usually can?

Around and around it goes.

It becomes very easy to start believing that you are your mistakes. You are your missteps. Or even worse, that your worth rises and falls based on whether or not you get the part.

That kind of mental noise is exhausting.


Creating Order Restored Me

Back home, changing into sweats — and maybe having a stiff drink — I noticed I would start organizing something to calm down.

It was how I made sense of things again. Where I had some modicum of control. Where the world didn’t feel so unpredictable.

It wasn’t about making something perfect. It wasn’t about fixing what had happened.

It was about being present — all that existed was right in front of me. The story in my head stopped.

Putting my home in order reminded me that not everything was chaos. Not everything depended on someone else’s decision. Not everything required me to earn or prove anything.

Organizing helped me return to myself and remember… 

I am not the audition.
I am not my thoughts.
I am not the outcome.
I am not the story my mind spins in a moment of fear or comparison. 

I am.
I just… am.


Curiosity and the Beginning of a Practice

The more I reflected on this, the more I noticed how not present I could be in everyday situations.

I just spilled the coffee. How did that happen?
Ah, I was replaying what I should have said to that rude man on the subway while I was pouring it.

Why can’t I remember if I locked the door?
Oh, because while turning the key, I was already pressing the elevator button in my head.

Why did I have to read that email three times before it sank in? 
Right, because while I was “reading” it, I was actually thinking about what to have for dinner. 

I began to see, even more clearly, how in my head I was. 

Maybe if I started practicing presence with ordinary things, I could build that muscle. So when challenges came  — at bus stops, in auditions, wherever — it would be easier to stay present. 

So I started with the ordinary.

Instead of opening the cabinet in order to get the coffee mug, I simply opened the cabinet.
Instead of pouring the coffee into the mug while planning on how to heat the milk, I just watched the coffee fill the cup.

Try it. It’s actually quite beautiful. 

Little by little, these became the questions I return to again and again:

Am I here, now?
Am I accepting this moment just as it is?
Take a deep, intentional breath.

This is my lifelong practice.


Where Presence Meets Joy

Since these principles shifted how I moved through the world, I knew they had to be a part of any venture I began. So when I decided to create Organizing with Presence, I realized something essential – the very thing that brings me such joy and naturally puts me IN the present moment, is the thing that brings overwhelm and pulls many people OUT of it.

Maybe organizing could become more than sorting and tidying.
Maybe it could become a doorway for people to come back to being present - back to themselves.

Then I came across Marie Kondo’s Netflix special. During every episode I was literally saying out loud, “Yes! Yes! Exactly!”

Everything Marie was saying about tidying fit perfectly with what I had discovered through practicing presence.

And she added another layer — only keep belongings that truly spark joy for you.

I always believed your living space should reflect who you are. And yes, the act of organizing itself brought me joy. But I had never consciously filtered my belongings through the lens of joy. 

I did naturally apply joy to certain things — the ones that automatically sparked it – but what about everything else?

Keeping a sweater that fit well but I never wore because it itched.
Keeping pens that technically worked but irritated me every time I had to press down super hard just to get them to write.
Holding onto a gift from a dear friend — not because I loved it, but because I felt guilty letting it go.

Seeing everything through the lens of joy changed how I organized my things and ultimately, how I related to them.

But I also noticed that some people struggled to connect to their joy.

If you are constantly replaying the past or anticipating the future, it’s almost impossible to access what you feel about what’s right in front of you. And how are you going to know what sparks joy for you if you’re not actually here?

I remember thinking — this is another way presence can help.

Presence and joy together. What a powerful combination.

So I decided to become a Certified KonMari Consultant, too.


Organizing with Presence

A lifelong love of organizing.
A grown-up discovery that presence transforms how we experience our lives.
The intentional filtering of belongings through joy.

That became Organizing with Presence.

So many people tell me they feel stressed and overwhelmed when they walk through the door of their home. It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can have the decluttered, organized home you’ve always wanted.
You deserve a home filled with things that bring you joy — a space that allows you to feel relaxed and fully present with the people you love.

Joyful.
Calm.
Present.

That’s what Organizing with Presence really means.

If you’d like help in creating a home that feels this way, I’d love to connect with you for a complimentary consultation.

~ Selena