I live life aspiring to be like my super-hero Pippi Longstocking who was a kind, amazingly strong, fun and free, quirky girl. I question societal norms with my unique logic and I am Cathy Reynolds. I migrated from Peterborough, Ontario to Calgary, Alberta in 1993 and I too am an official "Turnupstuffer." Now here's my story...

Growing up in a rural active family of nine and what felt like an unscripted reality show, we helped our parents run a scrap-yard, greenhouse, fruit stand, and landscape business with a nifty delicious ice-cream shoppe.

We managed a home heated by the wood we cut, grew vegetables to fill our bellies and cared for all the plethora of birds, animals and reptiles we could sneak in. Raccoons are fun...for a while!

There was little time and even less desire to clean a cluttered house. We had a “put it where you place it” organized-confusion kinda system. Whenever the mess reached the critical hazard point, I would clean it and bask in the temporary illusion of peace.

Money was an unthinkable resource and we had a lottery of chores where every kid encountered a chance to win many on the daily. (parents got a pass)

I quickly wanted to work for money so began babysitting at 11yrs old for a skimpy 25 cents/hr., then eventually at 15 landed a snack-bar job. Soon after I moved to Toronto where I worked 3 jobs daily with retail at sun-up, waitress mid-day, and capped it off by hydrating patrons who became far too saturated as a Hilton bartender till 2am. I would find myself systemizing the work spaces for efficiency and beauty in every job.

At 23yrs I proudly invested in my first house - an old small decrepit one just off the lake in the Kawarthas, and I was very eager to beautify it. Eventually I took a year break and headed to Australia on a working visa where I enjoyed making flower bouquets in a little shoppe with the Sydney opera house in the backdrop.

Upon returning to Ontario, the urge set in to move to Calgary where I worked mainly at a big box home improvement store being the only girl to operate a forklift and a picker. Alternatively I would kick off my steel-toed boots, shower, fashion-up, and slip on my high heels to head downtown to sell designer clothes at Holt Renfrew. All the while tending my to renovations in my older home.

I took on various house renovations and landscaping projects through self-taught measures. With the help and encouragement of a strong role model sister, I made my houses practically sigh in gratitude. I learned every spectrum of a house from wiring, plumbing, roofing, deck building, drywalling, flooring, etc. This started at the onset of the internet and, pre-YouTube era! This addictive trend followed me through seven houses, methodically using every square inch and becoming more obsessed with efficiency.

Curiosity and creativity is my virtue but also my nemesis by turning me into a near goat-trail hoarder. I excessively bought materials for my various projects that supported whole-house renovating and hobbies with manly tools, furniture refinishing, artistic painting, picture framing, needle felting, clay characters, canning, leather work, collector plants, gemstone and rock collections, macrame, tarot and astrology essentials, coin collections, food prep machines and gadgets for cooking and yes I appreciate fashion and design too. Whew! All this transitioned my home into a full-on supply shop with everything at the ready, everywhere!

Honestly, I am just a bunch of flaws stitched together with good intentions and more of them than time. The weighted stress and guilt of seeing all those “one day when I have more time” burdens became more problematic than the unfinished projects themselves.

When there's a tweak in your beak and trauma in your drama, it's motivation to transmute tragic into magic! And finally the pendulum swung the other way. I devoted my time and energy to come up with many valuable ways to curate my chaos.

I culled the clutter to extrapolate the cherished pieces so they radiate beautifully, as they should through my curation skills. I found my comfort level of living with a bit less. Not minimal, but far from maximal. I curiously documented the process of what worked and what did not. I even found a breaking point for what to post for sale and when it's best to cut ties and be settled that it did it's duty for me somewhere along the way and it owes me nothing more.

Most of the residing possessions serve double-duty while a few are okay to just look pretty. Less mess and less stress!

It took well over two years on my own and it's apparently a task that is always progressing as life changes. If I had the help of a professional organizer, it would have saved me a heaps of time, money and energy while motivating me through it.

And so this was the birth of Curated Chaos Organizers Corp.! I bravely quit my corporate retail management job of almost 11yrs that was beginning to grate me wrongly as I watched customers buy more and more "stuff" they likely didn't need as the cob-webs formed from boredom. I had developed valuable skills to directly manage a team of 25 in an upscale store of over 100 employees. I was their role model to show appreciation for optimal productivity and how to succeed and prosper through accountability with a healthy dose of fun infused.

It now excites me to provide an everchanging service to others who either want or need to clear their clutter, and be happy to welcome in a sense of order and function to their lives.

As a multi-media artist with an eye for composition and colour, I welcome the opportunity to curate your prized possessions. I'm thrilled to be utilizing the real-life experiences, tips and tricks I have acquired. As you can see, I welcome change, love diversity, and have an extensive range of experience and customer relations skills.

I have invested in various professional organizer courses and training while deepening my knowledge and understanding through training in feng shui. My learning never stops!

I want to help others find the relief I experience everyday by offering a service you may have never thought was out there, and therefore never realized you needed. A service that will allow you to pare down to live up with less mess and less stress. We help to release the burdens while maintaining the possessions you love and will be comfortable living with. Likely not an extreme minimalist, maybe not even a mindful minimalist but probably any point along those perimeters. Whatever is right for each!

Still wondering what an official Turnupstuffer is? Reach out and ask me on your first step to freedom!