About
I’ve spent most of my adult life HUSSLING! Starting from the early days of college when I had a full time student schedule, a full time 9-5 job and several part time jobs at the same time. I also boasted a thriving social life and even made it to the gym a few times a week. My schedule had to run meticulously to avoid any issues with such a jammed packed life. From the beginning days of the internet as we know it, I fell in love with people like Tim Ferris and The Four Hour Work Week, Leo Babauta and Zen Habits, Seth Godin and those first pioneers of living a nomadic simplistic lifestyle. But I thought “That could never be me!”
The Early Days
I was born in the Dominican Republic and most of my childhood as I remember was just me and my single mom. It wasn’t until recently that I figured out that we were quite poor. My mom always carried herself with a such poise though, and she also learned early on how to network. Her network made her quite rich if you ask me. We never lacked anything per say but as most immigrant stories go, we moved to the United States in search of a better life.
We were always on the go. To my grandma’s, my aunt’s, everyday there was somewhere to go. My mom wasn’t very domestic and so I wasn’t either. I never learned how to organize and frankly we were never home nor had visitors over enough for us to worry about the piles and piles of clothes all over the house.
I grew up with that same sense of rush, except that I actually enjoyed being home, I liked my quiet space and I enjoyed spending time in a clutter free home.
Life as an immigrant in the United States comes with a lot of rules. Don’t get in trouble because the consequences for you are much harsher. Work 10x harder than anyone else at work because people underestimate you. Lose the accent because you sound uneducated. Get good grades, get a good job, get benefits, get married, have children, stay quiet and blend in. Repeat generation after generation.
When It All Changed
I married the love of my life, was pregnant with my first daughter, lost my job and lost my mother all in the same year. My mother got to attend our wedding and it was the last big event that she attended. After that she fell so ill and eventually lost her battle to cancer while I was 8 months pregnant.
Again, I was forced to rush. This time, I had to rush grieving because I had a little one that was counting on me to care for her.
When my mother passed, nothing was in order. Documents, deeds, insurances, literally nothing and also more importantly, she didn’t have any of these things. I don’t think that anyone expects to not get better so things get delayed. I was the only daughter too so I think in her mind, she just assumed that I would be able to take care of things without a problem but the courts said otherwise.
Since then, I’ve felt a calling to organize, minimize and enjoy the simplicity of life with the people that matter to me.
I dream of the day where all my affairs are in order not in a morbid way but in a way that would allow me to relax and know that my family is taken care of and my daughters won’t have to make decisions that I should have made.
My mission is to simplify the mundane aspects of life to enjoy time doing the things we love and I hope to help and inspire others in their journey to organizing their lives.
Help me organize my life!