Widowed Grandmother Makes Room to Raise Child, Hires Professional Organizer to Help

A fresh start blossoms when 12-year-old moves in with Grandmother. Professional Organizer Cyndi Seidler helps grandmother get organized and create space.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 24, 2006 -- Most retirees and grandparents no longer have to deal with raising children, rushing to jobs or working long hours. They have reached a point in their life when they can be free of heavy responsibilities and relax. However, with Paula Smith, Los Angeles foothills resident, her life does not fit this scenario.

Widowed six years ago and a cancer survivor, Smith has fought a long battle to reach inner peace in her life. But she was alone in a big home with a pool, pond, and three yards, and was ready to make changes.

That's when Smith put her large 4-bedroom Montrose home up for sale and decided to move to a smaller house. She found the perfect place: in a 2-bedroom triplex in Glendale adjacent to one of her daughters, her husband, and their 2-year-old son.

Downsizing from a large home to a small triplex was not an easy task for Smith. Being focused on her moving agenda, she passed many of her belongings to family and charities, and packed up only what she would need to run a simple household.

Then another disaster hit this year, and she lost her son, who is survived by his wife and 12-year-old daughter Alycia. It wasn't long before Smith faced another big challenge: facing the need to care for her granddaughter Carol.

"Due to family circumstances, I decided it would be in the best interest for Carol to come live with me," Smith explained.

Putting her personal life aside, Smith then put things into motion to take in her granddaughter Carol. She wasn't going to do this change on her own though. Smith sought out the services of a professional organizer to convert one of the rooms used as her home office and guest room into Carol's room. And then there was the task of making room in the one bathroom they were to share and other spaces a preteen would need around the house.

Organizing expert Cyndi Seidler, owner of HandyGirl Organizers in Los Angeles, arrived to assess the spaces and what needed to be done. There wasn't much time to put everything into order, as Carol was due to move in after returning from her camping trip in a week.

So, Seidler began right away to establish another work space for Smith using a cabinet in the dining room to store her active papers and files, and set up a system to manage her papers and order catalogs. Smith had her own system for ordering and purchases, as with handling her daily mail stack consisting of a half dozen catalogs, on the average.

Before long, the old home office was now an inviting bedroom for the tween, the bathroom had enough space for two people, the linen closet was reorganized to fit linens and other personal items, and the new work space was making it easier for Smith to pay her bills and stay on top of her activities.

Carol arrived to her new home with a "wow, grandma" and it seems like Smith and her granddaughter are going to live happily ever after.

About HandyGirl Organizers
HandyGirl Organizers, an Los Angeles based company, was formed in 1994 by Cyndi Seidler to service individuals with organizing problems. HandyGirl Organizers delivers a full scope of organizing services for the home and office. Seidler's history enabled her company to provide the kind of knowledge and skills necessary to help people simply their life by managing it. Web site: www.handygirl.com in affiliation with www.organizedlifestyles.com and www.professional-organizers.com.

About Cyndi Seidler
"Organizer to the stars" Cyndi Seidler is an author, columnist and professional organizer. She's a frequent media guest, and has been helping individuals create organized lifestyles since 1994. Her methods have helped prominent celebrities such as Sinbad, Eric Roberts, Karen Black, Tisha Campbell, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Larina Adamson, Bobbi Billard, Billy Sheehan, and Spencer Davis get a grip on their hectic lifestyles. www.cyndiseidler.com

Book Title: "A Manual for Professional Organizers" publisher, Banter Books, Quality Trade Paperback, 148 pages, ISBN 0-9705125-0-3. Available at bookstores and Amazon.com. Price $35.00.

Book Title: "Organize For Success" publisher, First Books Library, Quality Trade Paperback, 102 pages, ISBN 0759609888. Available at Amazon.com and Target stores.

DVD Title: "Get Organized with Cyndi Seidler (to be released Fall 2006), to be available in major retail stores nationwide.

Contact: Nicole Seidler, VP Public Relations (818) 686-8888.

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