From the Desk of CEO Judy Halper: February 2019

If you haven’t heard of Marie Kondo, you apparently either dislike organizing or live under a rock. Her name is everywhere these days, or so it seems, and she is known for her presentations and books on how to be your very best organizer. Her method is intended to help people to part with things that keep them disorganized and encumbered, and her appeal appears to be broad and psychologically sympathetic to our attachment to things we don’t need, use, or possibly even see, in our personal environments. It’s probably a rare person who doesn’t need a little help in this area.

Living in Minnesota where winters can be long and cold, we are offered an amazing opportunity to “Marie Kondo” our homes on a frigid Sunday afternoon or too-snowy-to-go-outside evening. While I don’t intend to promote her any further, I do want to put a plug in for getting organized – and suggest you take your gently used clothing and small household goods you no longer need or want to PRISM’s Shop For Change Thrift Shop. By de-cluttering your home, you will be providing much-needed items that will be re-sold at bargain prices to people who will love them and use them, as you once did. Many of the folks who shop at Shop For Change are living on considerably tight budgets and rely on affordable, slightly-used goods to keep their growing families properly clothed and homes outfitted.

Another area of your home you can organize is your pantry – canned goods and shelf items with not-yet perishable dates can be donated to PRISM’s Marketplace Food Shelf. March is Minnesota Food Share Month and all of the food items and other items donated to food shelves, along with financial donations, are matched, resulting in more people being served when budgets need stretching.

We are proud to partner with PRISM, and appreciate the symmetry of our two organizations’ abilities to serve the holistic needs of individuals and families. Since co-locating one year ago (yes, it’s true…we’ve now been in our magnificent new building a full year!), we have realized our purpose to provide complementary assistance, and to meet the short-term and long-term goals of those we serve. Thanks for seeing this vision with us, and if you’re still looking for a tour, give me a call!