As of this year, I made the brave decision to take my daughter out of traditional school and homeschool her in a hybrid program. In a homeschool hybrid program, the students attend school on campus for no more than two days each week, and they are homeschooled for the balance of the time. There are many reasons why we arrived at this decision for our daughter as she was leaving elementary school and entering middle school.
Even though we left our second grade son in traditional school, I knew I was still biting off a lot. I recently left academia where I had been in undergraduate education and research for nearly a decade. I still give keynote talks and consult in women’s empowerment and global health research. Day-to-day, I am working in sports philanthropy managing a non-profit foundation I started with my husband to help underserved children get access to sports programs. I am the head coach of my daughter’s club soccer team, and my husband has a very demanding job as a luxury real estate broker heavily focused on athletes and entertainers out of Beverly Hills. So you get the picture…I am the Chief Operating Officer of the very busy enterprise of our lives.
As the year started, I realized that we had made the best choice for my daughter and our family because – miraculously – bringing her out of school created more time and flexibility, which we desperately needed. The challenge that I didn’t fully anticipate was a completely different one: space planning and organization.
We live in an urban, smart growth community in Silicon Beach in a three-story town lofted townhome. The second story of our house is a space that has historically been dedicated to the children. The layout of their level includes their bedroom, bathroom, and a mid-sized playroom where I also have my desk.
It only took about three weeks for me to hit the wall in the playroom-office that now had to triple as a homeschool classroom. I was overwhelmed by clutter and inefficient organizational systems. I spent a few more weeks tilting at windmills, buying baskets and filling drawers to no avail. Finally, through the Irvine Moms Network, I got connected to Tanisha – a mompreneur who is the founder and owner of Natural Born Organizers.
Every time I say Tanisha’s name, I cannot help but smile. She was a miracle worker in our space. With fresh eyes, she was able to evaluate our space, develop a plan, and support the major decluttering and reorganization that would need to happen to make our space have the function and flow we need to learn, work, and play.
The process happened over a few sessions, staring with a virtual session. Tanisha is non-judgmental, optimistic, and efficient. She has an effervescent personality that made me feel like I was catching up with an old friend instead of cleaning out five years of mediocre art projects from bins labeled, “TECHNOLOGY.” We benefit from her services every single day as we sit in a space that is comfortable, functional, and inviting to learn, grow, and make invaluable family memories.
Follow my journey as an empowerment scholar, homeschool mom, and “trophy wife”:
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Link to YouTube Video with @NaturalBornOrganizers :