Allow me to introduce myself and welcome you to my BLOG! Once my website is up blog posts will go there, but for now I’m posting them here just to get started. My name is Becky Buelow. I grew up in Oklahoma, moved to Florida after college, and now call St. Charles, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) home. I enjoy playing sports, crafting, DIY-ing, and drinking beer, among so many other things. I am a blessed Mom to two of the most amazing (and perplexing) boys I could ever have imagined, wife of 11 years to my wonderful husband Nick. I am middle sister of three girls, and I admire my sisters more than just about anyone in the world. We are a cat family, although we adopted an adorable shih-tzu/dachshund mutt in January.
In my single days, I had some interesting jobs, but never really felt like I was doing ‘what I was supposed to be doing’, although I wasn’t completely sure I knew what that was. The most recent was working in the Human Resources space doing 401(k) administration at a large outsourcing company. While I enjoyed the work, I spent far too many evenings and weekends on the job instead of with my family.
After my first son Jackson was born in 2010, I left that job to be a stay-at-home Mom. My second son Riley came in 2014. I admit I never fully figured out how to be an effective stay-at-home Mom. At least not the way I would have liked. And, living on one income with 2 kids after being extremely comfortable financially took a LOT of effort. Paperwork was my nemesis. I remember several times staying up til all hours on paper-binging sprees when it piled up in our 950 sq ft house. I still rarely look at a piece of junk mail in my mailbox without cringing. In 2016 we moved out of St. Louis city and nearly tripled our square footage. In that tiny house we had boxes tucked in almost every unused corner, that had to be moved and unpacked. Some of those boxes hadn’t been opened for years! We toiled away to get box after box unpacked in our new house. After being in the new house less than 6 months, I went back to work at my previous company. Our beautiful new house, and sadly, my family, were somewhat neglected for the next several years.
I always wanted to start my own business but couldn’t seem to find the right fit. In 2019, after watching the Netflix show ‘Tidying Up with Marie Condo’, I became the teeniest bit obsessed with the art of organizing. My eyes were opened to all the places and spaces in our house that were neglected and not functioning productively for my family, and I wanted to change them, NOW. I made a dent, but the busy schedule continued, so most spaces continued to be dumping grounds. In 2020, I had an opportunity to meet with a fabulous woman who was a professional organizer. She opened my eyes to how I could steer towards that career path. I listened to audio books on organizing. I offered free organizing to friends and family. I started working on my own home. And I created a process for organizing any space.
June 30, 2021 was my last day at the only job I have known since 1999. I’m ALL IN. I’m excited to tell people that I’m now a Professional Organizer, a national and local member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO). I am a small business owner- my company is Middle Sister Concepts and I’m creating an organizing brand. Over the last few months, I have found that my skills of creating, following, and improving processes, training colleagues, and problem solving allowed me to quickly assimilate into the Professional Organizer career. I LOVE sharing my process with others to increase productivity in their spaces, reduce stress in their souls, and transform their lives! As I learn, I want to share my knowledge with others who can benefit from it.
My blog will be about organizing, DIYing, crafting, being a busy Mom, running a household, and all the crazy stuff that comes with being human in today’s world. I will share my struggles and accomplishments, with the hope that at the very least, it’s entertaining, and you can know that you are not alone.
Won’t you come along on my wild ride?
