247 | "Professional organizing is about PEAK HUMAN PERFORMANCE!"

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Written By Melissa Klug

Part 3 of my conversation with my MN organizing family!

L to R: me, Missi Mills of Clear Spaces Organizing, Cori McDougald of Meat & Potatoes Organizing, and Kielyn Simonson of OrgaNice.

In Part 3 of my Minnesota Organizing Besties series, we got real about what our professional organizing work actually is — and it’s so much bigger than bins and labels.

We talked about boundaries (yes, even bed bugs), burnout, trusting your team, ADHD and intuition, and the moments when organizing truly changes someone’s life.

This episode is about kindness, leadership, growth, and why what we do matters more than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.

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You can listen right here by pressing play, or you can read the full transcript below!

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Hey, pro organizers. It’s Melissa, and we took a little bit of a break from the series, but I’m back with part three in my series with my Minnesota organizing besties: Cori, Missi, and Kielyn.

I really love this one because we’re talking about some really important things—like being kind to yourself. Cori brings up something I absolutely love, which is the idea of how we set our clients up for success… and then asking why we don’t do the same for ourselves. I’ll let her explain it because she says it so well.

I hope this series has been helpful for you, and I hope you’ve gotten some gems out of it like I do every single time I talk to these ladies. I hope you have a great week organizing, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: Oh, a hundred percent.

Melissa Klug: Yeah.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Why aren’t we doing that for ourselves?

Melissa Klug: You just really personally attacked me, and I am not here for it. Okay? That was very rude.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: I’m also not optimized for peak human performance.

Melissa Klug: That’s the title of the podcast: “Not Optimized for Peak Human Performance.”

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: I thought it was something like “Pre-Olympic qualifier.”

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: Olympic qualifier organizing?

Melissa Klug: I think that’s great. I think that’s a really good point.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Life is hard. And I think about that too—even if you’re helping someone improve their human performance, right? Probably anybody needs help getting into a parasympathetic state. And we can do that by transforming their house. That’s kind of insane.

Just think about the world we’re living in—the amount of anxiety and worry and fear. A lot of people are living like that. And if you can organize and make this huge impact, it really is amazing.

The other thing is someone’s bedroom—where they sleep. Ninety percent of how we feel is based on sleep. If you could just help somebody sleep a little bit better, think about the improvements you could have in their life. Huge.

Melissa Klug: Huge.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: That’s a lot.

Melissa Klug: There was someone on one of our calls who was talking about a client situation. They had to move from an in-person consult to a virtual consult, and they were worried the client would be upset because that’s not how they typically do things.

But your client doesn’t know what the experience is supposed to be. You build the experience. You’re allowed to tell them, “This is what it looks like to work with my business.” If they don’t love that, they can find someone else. But you’re allowed to pivot. That makes sense.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: People get it. They’re human. They know you’re human too.

Melissa Klug: Yes. And when you were talking earlier about your organizer who gives you lots of ideas, I think a lot of people are afraid—especially when they’re growing into the phase of sending someone else out to do consults.

What if they don’t do it as well as I do?

What if they do it better than you?

What if they’re a better closer than you are?

You might have to deal with that with your ego a little bit… but great.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: And they also know your standards because you showed them. So they’re able to say, “Oh, we need to keep going until it looks like this.”

Melissa Klug: One of the things I really believe is that you need to find your own group of people. I’ll tie this together, I promise.

At the How To Summit—which all four of us were at—they did a session with seven women they called the “Summit Sisters.” They met each other at the summit and essentially formed a mastermind group. Our mastermind doesn’t really talk about business—we mostly complain. We talk about all the things.

But someone stood up and said, “Hey, can I be in your group too?” And they very diplomatically said no—but encouraged her to form her own group. To find her own people.

One of the benefits of our group—and one of the things I love about the three of you—is that we often get the same inquiries. And we’ll text each other, “Did you hear from so-and-so?”

There was one in particular that was so bonkers.

It was a retail store that wanted an organizer to come declutter Christmas decorations. Fine. But the starting time for the job was 10:00 p.m.

They could not do it during the day. They wanted a 10:00 p.m. start time.

I’m going to provide some free coaching here and say: please don’t do that.

And it made me think of one of my favorite phrases. A friend of mine with a great Southern accent once said, “Was audacity on sale at the store this week?”

Some of our clients really do have the audacity. “Please come organize my store at 10:00 at night.”

Do you guys have any other stories where you’re like… hard pass?

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: We’ve had to let a few go.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Oh yeah.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: We’ve had bed bugs.

Melissa Klug: You go between professional athletes with millions of dollars and then bed bugs. The full spectrum of organizing.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: The full human experience.

Oh—I have a good story. It’s a hoarding story.

We were helping this client. I had done the consultation and then sent the team. We were working on the basement, living room, kitchen, office—all the things. One room we hadn’t seen was the daughter’s room. It wasn’t shown during the consultation, and I didn’t even know it existed.

One day I showed up because one of my organizers was out, so it was me and my mom filling in. The daughter pulls me aside and says, “Hey, you’re here today, and I love you, and I have a confession.”

I said, “Okay… what’s your confession?”

She said, “I’m a hoarder. I’ve been sleeping on four feet of garbage. And I was wondering if you could do my room today because I only trust you.”

I went to look. She wasn’t lying. She was literally sleeping on four feet of garbage. Her bed was underneath it.

I took out sixteen giant black trash bags of garbage just to get to the bed.

And I remember looking at my mom and thinking, I can’t send a team member in here. So I said, “You’ve got a mask and gloves?” She did. I put them on and went in.

It was way more intense than anything I had done in a long time—and I was just supposed to be filling in for the day.

But I couldn’t unsee it. And I wasn’t going to send that girl back to bed after what I had seen.

We cleared it out. She told her therapist. She said it was a fresh start. She got a new job. She said it changed everything for her.

Sometimes it’s good to show up at the project. 

Melissa Klug: Well, and that’s a good example too. First of all, I love that. I love that for her, and I love that for you. But it’s also an example of, yes, you should have boundaries. I think bedbugs are a good boundary, personally. That’s where I would rather draw the line.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: There weren’t any bugs in the room, though. That’s a different one.

Melissa Klug: I know it’s different. I’m just saying in terms of boundaries — there are health and safety boundaries that are very important. I’m not discounting those.

But I think there are a lot of people who would’ve just said, “Absolutely not. I’m not touching it. I don’t do hoarders.” And they would’ve walked out. And I think there’s a moment when someone says, “I trust you,” and they’re being vulnerable with you — especially in a situation like that — I personally would feel obligated to stuff down any discomfort and just say, “No, this is what I have to do.”

To me, you changed that person’s life.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: But I did have to decide in the moment. You can’t back out at that point. You are going to see things in this industry from time to time. It just depends on the scale.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: Cori, what a gift you gave. That’s incredible. I love that she trusted you enough to say, “Hey, you’re here. I want to show you something.” And that you were able to hold that space with kindness and respect. That’s beautiful.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: I know my team members would’ve done the same, but it’s different when you’re the owner. I was like, “Okay, I’m going in.” And like you said — safety. Gloves, mask. Was it really hazardous? There was mold and food, but we bagged it up. We washed our hands when we were done.

We left and my mom said, “Well… that was a different day than we thought.” And I said, “Yep. It sure was.” Sometimes that happens.

Melissa Klug: There’s one story Missi and I have that I will not tell — it wouldn’t be right. But what I will say is Missi has handled it with such grace and beauty. She doesn’t have to. She could easily say, “Nope. Not doing this.” But she feels called to it.

And I know Kielyn’s had situations like that. I’ve had situations like that. There are times when we make jokes — like if you ask my mother-in-law what I do, she says, “She cleans houses.” And I’m like, “It’s not that! It’s peak human performance!”

But in all sincerity, we provide an insanely important mental health service. There are times you suboptimize your comfort level because you know you’re doing something deeply good.

I once threw away my clothes after a job. I literally put them in the trash. The washing machine was not touching them.

But those are the days you go home and think, “I did something good today.”

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: It’s very powerful when you genuinely feel like you’ve changed someone’s life.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: And also — don’t feel bad if it’s a room full of bedbugs and you decide you can’t go in. That’s a boundary too.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: Right.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Assess the situation. What are the benefits? What are the risks? Then make a decision. Isn’t that all of entrepreneurship?

Melissa Klug: But here’s the flip side. Even with something like bedbugs — you can still help. You can say, “I want to help you, but first we need to address this. Here are resources. Call these professionals. Once that’s handled, we’ll be back.”

That’s very different than saying, “Hard no. Not touching this.”

We’ve all been the cleanup crew after another organizer who unintentionally hurt a client. I don’t think anyone in this industry sets out to hurt people, but sometimes they do. And I have absolutely apologized on behalf of other organizers and said, “I’m really sorry that was your experience.”

Without naming names.

Okay. To wrap this up — what are you excited about in 2026? Personally or professionally?

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: I’m looking forward to my lead organizer taking on more of my work. I’ve been hesitant to give up consults in particular. But I have someone who is really good, thinks like me, and is more than ready.

Letting that go has been hard.

Melissa Klug: How did you get over it?

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: I decided I want my time back. And I had to get over myself. She’ll be just as good as me — maybe better.

Melissa Klug: I love that for you. Letting go is hard. I struggle with it too. But I love that you’re going to have more time and more energy.

And you got a new dog.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: Yes. I’m going to make him a therapy dog. I think tripods are relatable. He’s adorable. He’s snoring behind me right now.

Melissa Klug: Missi, what are you excited about?

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: I finished my coaching certificate in December. I did additional training specifically for working with the neurodivergent population — ADHD, autism, brain-based conditions. I have one more class left and then a certain number of coaching hours before I test.

Coaching isn’t regulated. Anyone can call themselves a coach. But I have too much integrity for that. I needed to make sure I was trained properly.

I found there’s so much overlap between coaching and organizing. We attract a lot of ADHD clients. So in 2026, Clear Spaces is adding coaching as a branch of the business.

Another organizer on my team went through the same certification process, and we graduated at the same time. So we’re talking about how to build this together and serve more people.

That’s going to be really exciting.

Melissa Klug: I also just want to say — when you say you went through a certification, this wasn’t like, “Oh, I took a couple of online classes and checked a box.” I know enough to know that’s not what this was.

It was incredibly challenging. It was super hard work. You’ve put in hours and hours and hours of your life — hundreds of hours, if not thousands. And you’ve done it on top of growing your business. That’s a big deal.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: That is accurate. The last class almost crushed me with the workload. But it’s really good information. Really helpful. Really insightful.

Oh — and something you said earlier about trusting our intuition. I learned this in class: people on the neurospicy spectrum actually have higher intuition than average individuals. Isn’t that fascinating?

Melissa Klug: Oh, I could totally see that now that you say it. At first I thought it might go the other direction — that you wouldn’t trust yourself as much.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: That’s a big misnomer about ADHD. People think it’s a lack of attention, but it’s really about regulating where your attention goes. We can hyperfocus on anything we’re interested in and talk your ears off about it. But if it’s something we’re not interested in — like laundry or dishes…

Melissa Klug: I think it’s a branding problem. It started as ADD — Attention Deficit Disorder — and everyone thought it meant kids bouncing off the walls. Then ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — and that still doesn’t really encompass what it is.

When someone says, “I have a client with ADHD — what do I do?” I’m like, ADHD can manifest in 55,000 different ways. Neurodivergence is a better umbrella term, but some people don’t love that word either.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: That’s why I say neurospicy. And the hyperactivity piece is confusing for a lot of women because it’s often in the mind, not the body. You might not be physically fidgety. I can sit and watch hours of TV — I’m a professional sitter — but my brain is going a mile a minute.

Even on this panel, Cori’s ADHD shows up as creating systems and blocking off time. Every Tuesday she’s reducing expenses. I’ve tried block scheduling and my brain just says, “Nope. Peace out.” We’re working on it. But right now my brain still prefers to work when it feels like it — which is unpredictable.

Melissa Klug: I almost never feel like it. That’s the problem.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: Sometimes at 11:00 PM, though, my brain says, “Let’s get into it.” And I’m like, this is terrible timing — but okay.

Melissa Klug: Same. I went on a tear at 12:30 AM the other night when I absolutely should’ve been in bed.

Anyway. Cori — what are you excited about?

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: For Meat & Potatoes, I’m excited to keep stepping back and letting my team do their thing. Things are going really well. And as a mom to some very silly kids, some days I want to do more momming than CEO-ing. So I’m excited to keep leaning into that.

But on the bigger organizing-world side, I’ve been petitioning players’ associations for professional athletes. When athletes get traded, they cover packing and moving. You know what they don’t cover?

Unpacking and organizing.

They literally dump everything into the new house and leave the family to figure it out.

Melissa Klug: And just to clarify — corporate “unpacking services” are not organizing. It’s just removing things from boxes and putting them on flat surfaces. It’s zero percent helpful.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Exactly. So my mission this year is to get unpack-and-organize services covered for professional athletes. I’ve been contacting the right people, building a case, explaining the value: how it benefits the family, how it benefits the athlete’s performance.

My goal is to get this recognized as a vital performance service. So no matter where the trade happens, there’s a vetted group of professional organizers available. The organizer does the work, submits the invoice, and the players association pays.

I’m on a bit of a tirade about it.

Melissa Klug: Just your casual side hustle — influencing the NFL.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Exactly. And also, I moved to 16 acres. So I’m excited to be a lumberjack. There are a lot of trees.

Melissa Klug: You three are so important to me. I’ve known Cori the longest, Missi second longest, and Kielyn most recently. But sometimes you just meet people and you know — these are my people.

And I want to encourage everyone listening: go find your people. If it’s monthly dinners, great. If it’s Zoom calls, great. But you need your people.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: Absolutely.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: We love you.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: What’s Melissa excited about?

Melissa Klug: Great question.

I’ve definitely been burning out. Two kids in college, multiple businesses, lots of challenges. Last year was survival mode. I wasn’t thriving — I was surviving.

But I’m starting to feel a thaw. I’ve been working on a few things for Pro Organizer Studio recently that feel fun again. And honestly, what I’m excited about is getting excited again.

That’s it.

I love the people. I love helping people. Sometimes I feel pressure because there’s so much help to give and not enough hours in the day. But the goal isn’t to help everyone. The goal is to help as many as I can well.

And also… to get all the residual client stuff out of my garage.

Cori McDougald | Meat & Potatoes Organizing: You need to hire Timwell.

Melissa Klug: Timwell is helping. (That’s my husband. Ridwell turned into Timwell.) But yes, I have 4,000 piles of stuff in my garage because I keep saying, “I’ll deal with it later.”

There’s another professional organizer in my neighborhood. They’ve never parked a car in their garage. I don’t need to see inside — I know.

I don’t want to be that person. We are parking cars in the garage.

Missi McKown | Clear Spaces Organizing: There’s one in my neighborhood too. I always peek in. It’s mostly filled with product. Plenty of space left though — very Type A.

Melissa Klug: Good for her. I don’t have to emulate that.

Well — thank you guys so much. Go get your own group of people. You cannot have mine. They’re mine.

Kielyn Simonson | OrgaNice: See you later, guys.

Melissa Klug: Thank you. That was so nice.

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246: I Am Officially AN INFLUENCER (I Quit! No, Seriously, I Do)