I’m Natalie and I’m thrilled to welcome you to my blog! I officially began my blogging adventure back in 2013 while I was running a professional organizing business (also called Refined Rooms). In January of 2016, I closed the door to the service biz in order to make room for my true passion…helping people around the globe achieve their vision of an organized lifestyle and a beautiful home via this little blog of mine.
I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t obsessed with sorting, labeling, and transforming chaos into order. Organizing space, time, and stuff comes naturally to me, but the experience of working one-on-one with organizing clients over the past several years has really helped me to hone my organizing craft even more.
If you came here looking for motivation, tips, and ideas to help you achieve your organizing goals, you’re in the right place! I want you to reap the countless benefits that come with being organized, especially the extra time you’ll get to pursue your passions (since you’ll no longer be searching for your keys!).
In addition to writing about all things organization and clutter-free living, I also share my love of home decor, home improvement projects, and productivity hacks here at Refined Rooms…with the occasional DIY project thrown in just for fun!
I’m a work-at-home mom in a small town in Northeast Ohio, where I’ve lived with my husband since 2005. We have two gorgeous kiddos and a sweet rescue pup who keep us on our toes and provide plenty of fodder for my organizing addiction:
We spend many nights and most of our weekends traveling to natatoriums all across Ohio and beyond to cheer on our two competitive swimmers #SWIMMOM
One of the shared passions that my Hubby and I enjoy is tackling home improvement projects together. I’m typically the big idea person, while he provides the braun and the know-how that’s needed to get the project done (his awesome carpentry, electrical and plumbing skills are completely self-taught…I’m a lucky girl indeed!).
We purchased our 4th home in 2018. We’re enjoying every moment of putting our unique stamp on it:
On the blog, I chronicle our efforts to transform our house from builder-grade “bleh” to a home that reflects our sense of style. Along the way, I hope to provide some design inspiration for my readers who are on a similar mission!
We love transforming This…
into This:
In my former life…
I’m a graduate of Allegheny College who also earned a masters and doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia. After graduate school, I worked for several years in academia as a research scientist.
While working as a local professional organizer, I was a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), the NAPO North Coast Ohio Chapter and the NAPO Virtual Chapter. I served on the Board of the NAPO North Coast Ohio Chapter as the Director of Communication and Technology for several years.
My passion for helping people to preserve their family photos led me to become a member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) and a certified photo organizer. I love to share tips, ideas and products that enable my readers to safeguard, share and truly enjoy their photo collections!
I also earned my staging and redesign certification through Home Staging Resource so that I could help home sellers prepare their existing home for sale and make their new house feel like home. Now and again, I’ll offer up tips for getting your home ready for the market.
Let’s stay in touch!
I love to connect with readers! I invite you to become an official member of the Refined Rooms community by subscribing to the newsletter (that way, you’ll never miss any of the latest organizing tips or design ideas).
Of course, another way we can get to know one another is via lively discussion in the blog post comments (I read and respond to each one!).
You can also follow along on social media…I regularly share organizing/design inspiration and tips (both my own and those of other talented bloggers and organizers) on the following platforms:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER