Last month, Moxie Space celebrated its 5th anniversary. Five years! How did that happen?! Oh wait, I remember…
I got a maybe-not-so-crazy idea one night, around midnight if I can recall, five summers ago. I couldn’t sleep because something was pulling at me. I was 29 at the time, and I had always slept well! What was keeping me?
I wanted to do something that mattered. I needed to be in a field that dealt with the deeper parts of life. Less small talk, more walk-the-walk.
I had been working for another professional organizer for the past 8 months who was leaving Austin and her business. Where did that leave me? Was the home organizing industry the place? These were the questions keeping me awake, and it honestly didn’t take long to find my answer.
My path into the organizing industry was no coincidence, and furthermore, I felt really moved by the work. So, with no prior experience in running a real business, I took a risk. Within a month, I had a website, a name (more on that later), a little capital, and an attorney to incorporate me. Moxie Space was born!
Fast forward to today: Moxie Space has been invited by hundreds of clients into thousands of spaces to organize millions of things. We’ve trained over a dozen women as professional organizers and are looking for our first client manager! In 5 years we’ve developed 16+ years of professional experience. We now serve all of Austin and the surrounding gems and work 6 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Moxie grew right up out of my head into a legitimate, magnificent, blooming business! I do regularly pinch myself.
What I’ve learned from this work that maybe surprises me most is how much compassion and empathy I’ve gained. Lol, but no lie! I mean, I’ve always been compassionate (right, Mom?), but walking into dozens and dozens of homes studying clients’ messes, challenges with space, struggles with decisions, and more helped me remember that we’re all the same. No matter the value of our home or our things, no matter how successful we’ve been in work or how great or not-so-great our parenting is, we all go through the same things. Stuff is stuff, and we’ve all got it. We’re all trying to figure out where the heck put it, too!
I could write and write about the projects and the clients who inspire them, which is most certainly the fuel that drives this entire business, but you probably shouldn’t get me started. From the remodeled kitchens to the changing nurseries, to the garages moonlighting as storage units to the home office that never officially signed up to be a home office, ever — these stories really do span all the nooks and crannies of being human and the trials of having and keeping a home.
I think I just need to write a book already.
For now, I’ll say this: the work of home organizing is big, in every sense of the word, and, spoiler alert: it’s about a whole lot more than color-coding your cereal (but also it can be exactly about color-coding cereal, which is a blast and also fine by us). Clients: you’re the reason we’re here. Thank you.
I could also write and write about the girls who work as Moxie organizers, and I will for a minute. These ladies care. They’re meticulous and thorough. They’re thoughtful and perceptive. They can cry with their clients or toast with them. They take on these projects without hesitation. If it’s a new challenge for them, together we break it apart, dissect it, and look to outside sources when we need to. Our organizers aren’t messing around. I’m super proud of them and forever in their debt for helping me build this vision. I love you guys.
Being invited into these homes really is something we hold close. As a team, we’re constantly sharing and listening among each other. It is our nature to problem-solve and brainstorm and strategize – sometimes until we’re blue in the face – but it’s always worth it. Each project is its own journey from chaos to simplicity. It’s kind of addicting, actually, and there’s (usually) nowhere else we’d rather be.
Thanks, from the bottom of my heart. To every single person who believes in Moxie Space: we’re here because of you. It’s turned out really beautiful!
Now: what’s with that name, Moxie Space? Well, Moxie means gumption, attitude, grit, tenacity, can-do. It’s a little bit like, “Get out of my way or jump in here with me. Either way, we’ve got work to do and it’s happening.” I guess at some point or another, every space could use a little Moxie.
Cheers, y’all! Here’s to the next 5.
~ Sara