The OFab Fairy Saves the Day!
Meet Chuck, a great friend of Jennifer Roach, founder of OFab.
Chuck is a bachelor who lives in his native city of Santa Barbara, California. Since the pandemic, he has been working from home as a Technical Sales rep for LinkedIn; living, exercising and doing pretty much everything from his home. With a limited budget, Chuck called us to “OFab” his condo.
The recent loss of his father, the feeling of isolation from the pandemic, and the desire to incorporate his exercise routine into his home while creating an appropriate space for it made Chuck realize he needed help.
We decided to interview Chuck about how he felt before, during and after the “OFab Way” was implemented.
How much emotion is attached to things and different times in your life?
Memories are the emotion of, “I bought this back in… and this is how I used it… or in many cases didn’t use it.” As an estate sale addict, I love the hunt for new (used) items. Now, I want to have fewer but nicer, more contemporary items with a focus on comfort and functional use for everyday life. Visual clutter, moving things to get to other things is not enjoyable and causes me stress.
What has changed in the way you see your home and yourself and what hasn’t?
I asked myself, “If you could hear Jenn (the OFab Fairy) on your shoulder, what would she say?” Everyday life is much easier after an OFab purge and reorganization. Everything has a home and a purpose. There’s no more, “I may need that someday” or “I have this just in case”. If I don’t have something, guess what? Target, Home Depot, etc., do, and they’re ready for me. Coming back from a bike ride means my bike goes in the garage along with my helmet, backpack and shoes. Those items are no longer partially in the kitchen, the bedroom and the living room. They have their home. If I had an OFab Fairy on my shoulder, the question they would ask is, “What is that item’s purpose and where does it live?”
Have you changed mentally and in your habits? How hard was it?
I have changed, 100%, and it was hard. The 3 day process was emotionally taxing: what to keep, what to give away, what to trash. Again, I hear my OFab Fairy ask, "Why do you have this and what does it represent?” I am worthy of a clean and organized home. Experiences are much more important than stuff. A home is a reflection of ourselves, so if I want to showcase that I am clean, organized and clutter free, my life will be on track for that as well.
After the re-organization, daily life is different. I am much more likely to keep things from becoming cluttered and maintaining the systems OFab put in place to help with the upkeep. Fire trucks and ambulances have all their provisions neatly tucked away in the same place. There’s no reason why one’s home can’t be the same way. The OFab team was fantastic at pulling everything out, grouping like items, discussing what to keep, what to donate and what to trash. They are hardworking, considerate and most importantly have a great judgement-free attitude about achieving an organized home with you.
