Top Downsizing Tips from Professional Organizers

Dec 3, 2018 | 0 comments

Downsizing panelists

L to R: Moderator Gail Rubin, panelists Karen Hyatt, Miriam Ortiz y Pino, and Hazel Thornton

Want to know how to downsize and still keep your family legacy? At the 2018 Before I Die New Mexico Festival, three professional organizers tackled the topic, and the video of the discussion is now available on YouTube! The panelists were Hazel Thornton, Miriam Ortiz y Pino, and Karen Hyatt, and the moderator was Gail Rubin, death educator and Coordinator of the Before I Die New Mexico Festival.

During the panel discussion, audience members asked for a list of Albuquerque area resources for donating household goods. The Professional Organizers of New Mexico (PONM) has a master resource list, from which this information is drawn. You can access and download a PDF of this list by entering your information in the form below. Here are the biographies of each panelist.

Hazel Thornton, Organized for Life and Beyond

Hazel Thornton is a professional organizer and genealogist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico; creator of The Clutter Flow Chart Collection; and author of “Go with the Flow! The Clutter-Clearing Tool Kit for an Organized Life.”  She is a founding member of the Professional Organizers of New Mexico (PONM), a member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers, and a Golden Circle member and President’s Award recipient of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO). Subscribe to Org4life News (monthly tips, resources, and inspiration) and receive your free Original Clutter Flow Chart as a thank you gift! Visit her online at www.Org4Life.com.

Miriam Ortiz y Pino, More Than Organized

Miriam Ortiz y Pino is a Certified Professional Organizer, Simplicity Expert & Coach, Entrepreneur, Writer, Blogger and Creator of The Streamlined Solution. She works with entrepreneurs and other busy and creative people to eliminate the distractions, simplify systems and create routines so they can do their best work and live a fuller life. The More than Organized Blog was recognized as one of the top 5 Simplicity Blogs, one of the top 100 productivity blogs, and one of the top 20 home office organizers. Miriam holds certificates in Workplace Productivity, Residential Organizing, Courageous Coaching Method, Fire Starter Session Facilitator and Sacred Money Archetypes Coaching. She is a Golden Circle member of NAPO, the NAPO Ambassador for the states of New Mexico and Oklahoma, an instructor for NAPO University, and serves on the education committee. She appears regularly on Women’s Focus on KUNM radio and KRQE This Morning. Her website is www.MoreThanOrganized.net.

Karen Hyatt, Estate Pros

A resident of Santa Fe for 40 years, Karen Hyatt has owned and operated several businesses since 1984. She started Estate Pros LLC in 2011 and stresses the importance of having values that align with and support a vision for a business, and a willingness to work hard while coping with ambiguity and risk. A background in psychology and communications has aided her work, which she sees as an extension of end-of-life care. Visit her website at www.EstateProsNM.com.

Downsizing and Keeping Your Family Legacy

About the Before I Die New Mexico Festival

The six-day Before I Die New Mexico Festival offered activities to get us thinking about, talking about and doing something about our 100% mortality rate. Events took place October 30 to November 4, 2018, at multiple locations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Belen. Thank you to the sponsors and partners who made the Before I Die New Mexico Festival possible:

A Good Goodbye – Death educator Gail Rubin puts the “fun” in funeral planning.

EternityGardens.com – Giving families looking for a final resting place for cremated remains guidance on the range of options available for people and pets.

National Guardian Life Insurance Company – For more than 100 years, one of America’s most successful and highly rated independent mutual life insurance companies. https://nglic.com/

FRENCH Funerals and Cremations – Albuquerque’s largest and oldest family-owned funeral service company.

Morris Hall – New Mexico’s premiere estate planning attorneys.

EstatePros – Your expert resource for property organization, distribution and administration.

Legacy Concierge – Helping prevent identity theft, secure digital access to online accounts, and provide a host of other important services to the families of the deceased.

Passages International – A leading provider of environmentally friendly funeral options for burial and cremated remains.

Zia Trust – The Advisors’ Trust Company®.

Part of the proceeds from Festival sponsorships are donated to the nonprofit social enterprise, Fathers Building Futures.

Partners include La Puerta Natural Burial Ground, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of New Mexico, Guild Cinema, Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico, Compassion & Choices NM Action Team, Daniels Family Funeral Services, and LifeIZShort.com.

A Good Goodbye