Collector Care Interviews "Hoarders" Songwriter Christian Nelson

Seattle cutie Christian Nelson

While surfing the internet I came across this funny little ditty called "Hoarders". Folks you have got to listen to this song! I purchased it, and began listening to it on my iphone in the car. The lyrics were so clever that I had to chuckle out loud.
If you are a clutterer you will appreciate this song. If you are an organizer you will appreciate this song. If you have a sense of humor - you will like this song! I couldn't help but to reach out and ask for an interview. I was pleasantly surprised to connect with Christian Nelson, songwriter and aspiring educator, composer and producer of this song.

Rachel: What was your inspiration for the song "Hoarders"?

Christian: Like many people, there are areas of my life in which I exhibit mild hoarding behavior. For example, the back seat and trunk of my car are littered with library materials: books, CDs and DVDs. If I didn't pay at least $10 in late fees each month, I wouldn't feel I was doing my part to support this worthy cause. Though it would be even better if I occasionally read some of the books I check out. I also tend to accumulate piles of magazines and newspapers, especially the local sections, as they have all the good stuff: relevant news, comics, puzzles and Ask Amy…er…rather, the horoscopes. (Does that sound manlier?)

Hence the following line from my song “Hoarders”:

You never know when you might
Need last year's newspapers

That said, my primary inspiration was the A&E reality television series, Hoarders. The first two or three episodes left such an indelible impression on me that the following lines flowed forth with great ease:

I’ve got 10 lifetimes’ worth of supplies
Rotten pumpkins, carrots, lettuce and rice
Kitty litter, rotting meat and some sludge I can’t identify

Rachel: What are your favorite lyrics from the song and why?
Christian:There's something subtly humorous and poignant about the line
Comfort is hard to come by
You've got to save it for later
I think these lyrics most succinctly encapsulate the spirit of the song.
 

Rachel: What type of thought went into the lyrics? How did you gather the information?

Christian: My primary consideration was to capture the absurdity of many extreme hoarding situations, while still being respectful. That said, I couldn’t resist using one of the more amusing sound bites for the song’s intro: https://soundcloud.com/brokenbyclouds/broken-by-clouds-hoarders

Perhaps the song’s greatest shortcoming (aside from shoddy production value) is its presumption that hoarding fills some sort of emotional void. In hindsight, I’m not sure this is an entirely accurate conclusion. I’d be interested to hear what you and/or your readers think of that.

Rachel: What went into making the graphic for the song?
Is that food really spoiled?

Slightly aged tangelo

Christian: The food in question is a slightly aged tangelo. I use the present tense because I still have it, all these months later. You should see it now! (Just kidding.)

It was pretty simple, really. I used one of those fancy Ziplock bags you can write on (after cutting away the Ziplock logo, since they didn’t return my calls about sponsoring my music project ~ harrumph!) and took a picture of it in front of a slightly messy fridge. It’s not really as bad as it looks, I swear!

Rachel: Do you watch any of the reality hoarding shows?
Which one?  

Christian: Only the aforementioned A&E series.

Rachel: Who is your ideal listener?

Christian: Anyone with money and influence! No, no, no…I like to think my music rewards the careful listener, as I only write songs when I have something compelling to say. And/or when I feel compelled to say something. Not always the same thing, to be sure. However, I definitely endeavor to avoid trite sentiments. My songs also tend to “go somewhere”, if you will, via fluctuating musical and lyrical dynamics.

Lastly, the inveterate critic within wishes to add that “Hoarders” was the first song I recorded on my own, using GarageBand software. Fitting, in that my incompetence necessitated throwing everything and the kitchen sink into this “Wall of Filth” demo. One can see the progress I’ve made by listening to the much more streamlined “The Universe Loves Me”. https://soundcloud.com/brokenbyclouds/the-universe-loves-me

Christian Nelson is a songwriter and aspiring educator born and raised in the vicinity of Seattle, Washington. His solo recording project is called Broken by Clouds. He currently works at a teen emergency shelter, as well as a K-5 after-school program. 

“Like” Broken by Clouds on Facebook, to keep up to date on new songs and upcoming performances: https://www.facebook.com/BrokenByClouds 

Purchase Broken by Clouds’ first full-length compilation, Infinite Mortality, for $4.99: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/brokenbyclouds5

Rachel Seavey, Professional Organizer
I am located in Pleasanton Ca, and serve the San Francisco Bay Area.
I specialize in Hoarding Disorder, Chronic Disorganization and helping the overwhelmed with clutter. I love what I do, and I provide realistic expectations and timelines. Don't suffer in chaos any  more. Every breath is a new beginning! Please visit my site at www.collectorcare.com
Tweet me on Twitter : Like my Facebook page : Find me on Pinterest

Collector Care Interviews Organizing Expert Regina Lark - A Clear Path

In doing research on the upcoming 7th Annual NAPO Organizing Awards, I came across the name Regina Lark. Holy cow, what a remarkable human being. Just like the songbird, her name sang quietly in my head over the last month. How could I approach this amazing woman for my blog? What would I say? How would I do it?! 

The words came right to me when I was left with an extra ticket to the actual event. Knowing no one in the NAPO LA Chapter, that beautiful name sang once again "Reg-iiin-aaa". 

I decided I would reach out to Regina in hopes to find a good home for my ticket. One week away from the awards, on a Saturday afternoon, Regina responded immediately. What a relief! Besides being prompt upon her response, she was pleasant and kind, finding the perfect home for my ticket.

While I had her hooked, she kindly obliged to be featured on my blog ... but first a bit about Regina!

Regina Lark is founder and president of A Clear Path: Professional Organizing for Home, Work, Life. 

Regina Lark, Ph.D., CPO®

As a Certified Professional Organizer she specializes in working with people with chronic disorganization, ADHD, and hoarding disorders, as well as the folks with way too much stuff!

She chairs the Education Committee for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and serves as Professional Development Director for NAPO-LA.  

Dr. Lark is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on issues ranging from hoarding to time management. Her book, Psychic Debris and Crowded Closets: The Relationship between the Stuff in your Head and What's Under your Bed is due out February 2013.

Collector Care Interviews Organizing Expert Regina Lark - A Clear Path

Rachel: What is your favorite thing about working with people with chronic disorganization?
Regina: What I enjoy most about working with the chronically disorganized is helping clients believe that change is possible.
A lot of my CD clients are women with ADHD. They have fallen victim to the "super mom" or "super woman" myth of what it means to be female in the U.S. As a result, really smart, well-educated, successful women are shamed, embarrassed and bewildered by the fact that they have a really hard time getting it together at home. I get a lot of pleasure "meeting people where they live" so I can come up with systems to organize for their brain type (and not mine!).

Rachel: What is your ideal client?

Regina: My ideal is client is the person ready to commit to making big changes in their lives -both behaviorally and cognitively. I want to help them picture their ideal life so we can get there together. My ideal client is also working with a therapist who is knowledgeable about CD, or least understands the relationship between how one thinks about their "stuff" versus their relationship with their stuff.

Rachel: Can you tell me a little bit about testing for ADHD and ADD? Some of my clients are concerned that they may suffer from one of these, how can they find out?

Regina: The only way an adult or child can learn if they have ADHD (see note about ADHD below) is by testing with a mental health professional who can assess, through a series of in-depth questions about time-management and relationships (with people, stuff, environment). It's a relatively simple process. Knowledge is power, for sure, but what one does with the knowledge is where the power really comes into play. The acronym ADHD is the what is used for the diagnosis, not ADD (which became the 'short-hand' over time).  The official diagnosis is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with Hyperactivity or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder without Hyperactivity.

Rachel: What do you do to relax after a long job?

Regina: Oh jeez... I'm such a type-A personality (without the high blood-pressure!) so after a long day in clutter I can usually be found at my desk creating the next workshop or tele-seminar. I love marketing and I'm usually networking at least 3-4x/week.

Rachel: What hobbies do you enjoy?

Regina: I happened to be born with a good singing voice and sang tenor with a chorus for a few years. Now I'm learning how to country-western dance. Working out at Curves, and riding my bike to the beach are also fun and good for my overall emotional and physical well-being. And, while not really a "hobby" - I journal every morning about, well, everything!

Rachel: Local knowledge - What are your 3 favorite restaurants in LA?

Regina: Gaby's Mediterranean Cafe; Kabuki Sushi, Maria's Italian Kitchen

More fun facts about Regina!

Regina ran for the office of Lt. Governor in California in 1998, and she earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California. Her doctoral research will be published this winter. For fun, she teaches U.S. History at Los Angeles Pierce College.

For more information, visit her website: http://www.AClearPath.net

Regina Lark, Ph.D., CEO

A Clear Path: Professional Organizing for Home, Work, Life

PO Box 241941 Los Angeles, CA 90024

	Watch Dr. Regina Lark on A&E's Emmy nominated show "Hoarders" - Select episode 44 - Billy Bob/Jean

Rachel Seavey, Professional Organizer
I am located in Pleasanton Ca, and serve the San Francisco Bay Area.I specialize in Hoarding Disorder, Chronic Disorganization and helping the overwhelmed with clutter. I love what I do, and I provide realistic expectations and timelines. Don't suffer in chaos any  more. Every breath is a new beginning! Please visit my site at www.collectorcare.com
Tweet me on Twitter : Like my Facebook page : Find me on Pinterest

Decluttering Expert Buster - Using The Time Timer

Purchase the Time Timer Here!

Woof! While my mommy is gone, I am doing a declutter of her stuff on my own! When she brings me on her jobs I secretly take notes - because one day I am going to make it big in this world. Who needs Rachel? Not me! Ive learned how to type, now I know how to declutter, and I am taking over her blog!!!!

She will be back in 15 minutes so I grabbed her Time Timer (so easy that even a 13 year old dog like myself can use it) and set it to 15 minutes.



Next, I dumped out her t-shirt drawer (she is literally hoarding Hoarders show t-shirts. Does she need 10?), and had my assistant Bella snap these shots. (Obviously from a high ladder)

Step One: The dump out

Next, I sorted her shirts into three piles. KEEP, DONATE and TRASH.  Hey she does it with her clients right? Let's see how she likes it. Let's start with the TRASH pile, give her a real taste of her own medicine.
I have her trash pile in the middle - all stained whites of course. Why do humans insist on wearing white?!

Step 2 : The Sort

To the right I have her donate pile. The yellow shirt is one of MANY American Cancer Society shirts she has. She has never worn it since the event years ago, and I think she is only holding on to it for memories. Let's donate it! Below are two black Hoarders show t-shirts that are not the baby-doll cut she likes. Donate!

And to the left her beloved keep pile. Hey I don't bite the hand that feeds me!

My lovely assistant Bella threw out the stained whites, donated the shirts to the Shepards Gate in Livermore California. Before Rachel came home we both neatly folded her keep shirts and voila!

Step 3 : Organize

When my mommy got home she was so happy with me for organizing her drawer. She was not happy with me posting as her on her Facebook after I wrote this blog. Hopefully she hasn't checked her Twitter ...
One day I will make it on the Hoarders show as an extreme cleaning specialist like my idol Matt Paxton. Until then, I am just an organizing woofie trying to make it big in this world.

Rachel Seavey, Professional Organizer
I am located in Pleasanton Ca, and serve the San Francisco Bay Area.
I specialize in Hoarding Disorder, Chronic Disorganization and helping the overwhelmed with clutter. I love what I do, and I provide realistic expectations and timelines. Don't suffer in chaos any  more. Every breath is a new beginning! Please visit my site at www.collectorcare.com
Tweet me on Twitter : Like my Facebook page : Find me on Pinterest

Collector Care Interviews A&E's "Hoarders" Experts: Geralin Thomas and Cory Chalmers

Collector Care's Rachel Seavey Interviews Emmy-Nominated A&E's Hoarders Experts: Geralin Thomas and Cory Chalmers

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to interview A&E's Emmy Award Nominated Show "Hoarders" Specialist's Geralin Thomas  and Cory Chalmers  before they arrive at the 7th annual NAPO Organizing Awards in Los Angeles CA. 

If you watch A&E's  "Hoarders" show often, these two have very unique and effective styles.

Geralin Thomas, often labeled “Steel Magnolia” by viewers, comes across with a gently lady-like manner and grace. Dr. David Tolin has called her, “Our Lady of Perpetual Patience” which she demonstrates on the show time and time again.
I am honored to ask her some personal questions.

Cory Chalmers looks like he should be in a Lands End Catalog (right ladies)!
Besides being easy on the eye, Cory conveys our thoughts, to the client with kindness and class. He truly cares about everyone around him, and he is absolutely awesome for allowing me to ask him personal questions. 

With no further delay, let’s get this interview started!

Rachel:  How many hours a night do you typically sleep?

Geralin:  Typically I sleep about six hours per night; I'm most definitely a morning person and can barely function after 11 pm however, if you need something at 6 am, I'm your go-to gal!  I'll be wide-awake and fully-functional.

Cory: Well, this varies quite a lot due to our business phones. Since we are one of the largest biohazard companies in California, we have a lot of calls for immediate service to clean crime scenes, suicides, and other bad things that happen throughout the day and night. I would be perfectly happy getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep at night, but whenever that phone rings it usually cuts at least 2 hours out of my sleep. After I receive the call, I have to dispatch a couple of my techs, then when they get on scene they call me to give an estimate on the job based off their description. I typically get a couple of calls throughout the cleanup as well from my techs with questions or concerns so just one job after hours can totally screw up my sleep.  

Rachel:  If you've got five minutes to organize something, what's it going to be?

Rachel Seavey and Cory Chalmers

Cory: My short organizing spurts are usually spent in my closet. That is the one place that can get disorganized quickly and I can't stand it so I am constantly doing small regular maintenance type work in there just to keep it nice and organized.

Geralin:  The fridge!  I start in the upper left, make my way across left to right, top to bottom - like reading a book.  I'm also pretty enthusiastic about organizing my own pantry too.  I it's rewarding, or therapeutic, or whatever to have the fridge and pantry in bristol condition.

Rachel Seavey and Geralin Thomas

Rachel: Name one "go to" fast-food that you depend on when home.

Geralin:  It's gotta be cous-cous! It cooks in five minutes, it's inexpensive, plus it's very healthy.
I always have it in my pantry and it goes well with everything.

Cory: Cereal! I will always eat a bowl of cereal when I don't want to have to cook. It is just too easy. Plus, having a 9 year old at home, his cereal is like desert. I mean small little chocolate chip cookies, Lucky Charms, Captain Crunch? While not the best for me, it is pretty delicious :)

Rachel:  The best thing at the end of a long, hard day after working in a hoarded house?

Cory:  Ok, this is not a canned answer I promise but for me, it is the appreciation from the customer that makes it all worth it. When you can turn total chaos into a comfortable, functional, safe place for them to live, there is no better feeling. After that, an ice cold beer is great too!

Geralin:  Getting into a nice, fresh, clean, comfy bed after a long, hot shower; even better if there's a bar of scented soap and conditioning shampoo. 

Rachel:   What is the worst thing about a Hoarders shoot?

Geralin:  Airports without free wifi!  It drives me crazy when airports want to charge passengers to use wifi? And typically huge airports tend to charge while smaller airports offer it for free. Now, about the shoot itself, I'd have to say the s-l-o-w pace of filming.  There are a zillion interruptions. Background noise is unacceptable which means there's a lot of stopping and restarting due to a dog barking down the street or an airplane flying overhead. Of course this can't be controlled, but, it's frustrating.

Cory:  This is an easy one...the starting and the stopping. I am wired to work and get the job done. On a typical hoarders shoot, the producers tell us to stop working at least 70 times throughout 3 to 4 days. Just when you start to make a little progress, you have to stop because they have to interview someone, film something in the next room and need it quiet, or a number of other reasons. It is really difficult in the short time we are there to get the job done, but with the constant stopping of all work, it honestly makes it so much more difficult.

Rachel:  Well, I asked you about the worst thing, now I want to know about the best thing. What do you like best about traveling and working on the show?

Cory: There are a few things I like about Hoarders shoots. First, I know we are helping (or attempting to) someone that has been very resistant in the past and probably would not be getting help otherwise.   The very best part for me on a  shoot is when you are watching the last 2 minutes and we open the door and show them their new home. The look on their face, as well as their family and friends, is priceless!

Geralin:  Both before and after the shoots - hanging out with the organizers.  I've had a lot of great, memorable evenings with organizers. I've gone to dinner, to their homes, to their offices and often I'm invited to see the local scenery, through their eyes.  The POs have been exceptionally hospitable and I've made a lot of new friends all over the country.  In addition, I enjoy knowing that we have helped change a few lives.  There are a few people with hoarding disorders that have continued working with therapists, organizers and aftercare providers. They've made slow, steady progress and continue managing and maintaining a healthier, happier life.


Rachel:  Name at least one show on TV you are absolutely hooked on and watch regularly.

Geralin:  Downton Abbey on PBS.  I love historical fiction and everything about this show is a feast for the senses. The music makes me swoon, the landscaping is luscious, the costumes are beautiful, the decor of the house is amazing.  It's total escapism.  Other than that, I love documentaries so that's typically what I watch on my computer in the hotel rooms. 

Cory:  I can't name just one! My two favorites are Sons of Anarchy and Suits. Totally different shows from one another but they both have me addicted!

So there you have it folks! Fresh from the specialist’s mouth to my blog.

If you haven’t voted for  Nominees Geralin Thomas or Cory Chalmers (or any of your other favorite organizers) please go to the NAPO website and cast your vote!

I am excited to be attending the event and plan on keeping you all posted throughout.
Stay tuned for more celebrity profiling before, during and after the event.

Rachel Seavey, Professional Organizer
I am located in Pleasanton Ca, and serve the San Francisco Bay Area.
I specialize in Hoarding Disorder, Chronic Disorganization and helping the overwhelmed with clutter. I love what I do, and I provide realistic expectations and timelines. Don't suffer in chaos any  more. Every breath is a new beginning! Please visit my site at www.collectorcare.com
Tweet me on Twitter : Like my Facebook page : Find me on Pinterest