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May 31

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Kim Cox: the Psychology of Clutter and Packrat Solutions

moving the podcast – interview from October 8, 2013

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Kim Cox is a professional organizer who specializes in helping people with emotional-attachment issues. Her educational background is in psychology, and I wanted to find out how she uses that training to help people overcome that emotional pull to hold on to their stuff. We talk about how she became a professional organizer, the psychological reasons we become packrats or hoarders, and how she helps people get their lives back under control.

Kim Icon

“It’s my passion to help people get to a place where they know their own system.
It might not look pretty, it may not be the way your family and friends think
you should have it…but it’s what works for you.”

0:00 ~ becoming a professional organizer
4:55 ~ why we hold on to our stuff
10:55 ~ what’s going on in the brain
20:00 ~ using psychology to help packrats
24:20 ~ what it’s like to work with Kim
31:20 ~ “I’ve learned a lot about the brain”

Kim talks about her experience on the tv show Hoarders

Connect with Kim
at Packrat-Solutions.com
on Twitter @packratsol
on Facebook PackRat Solutions
by phone or email
LinkedIn profile

References
Hoarding definition
Hoarders tv show
National Association of Professional Organizers
National Association of Senior Move Managers
American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama
Institute for Challenging Disorganization

Kim is the Membership Chair of the National Association of Professional Organizers – Greater Manchester, NH Chapter. You can find them on Facebook as well. Kim says their meetings are open to the public, and they share a lot of great information that can be useful to anyone, not just professional organizers!

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May 29

Jamie Golden: finding Forever Families

moving the podcast – interview from October 1, 2013

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(At the time of this podcast, Jamie Golden worked) for the non-profit Children’s Aid Society in Alabama, tweeting occasionally about the things foster kids and newly adopted kids say to her. The tweets are funny, poignant and sometimes heartbreaking. I talked to Jamie about her job last Saturday, then I told her I was going to go home and cry. I did cry when I recounted some of her stories for my parents and aunt, and I was thankful I had a family to share with over lunch.

But it’s not all sad; there are amazing success stories here as well. Jamie’s excited about her job, and her enthusiasm is infectious and inspirational. Take a listen as Jamie talks to me about kids who need forever families, what happens when they age out of the system, myths and misconceptions about foster care and adoption, and how anyone can be an advocate.

Jamie Logo
“My passion…is working with families who are interested
in adopting children from foster care.”

0:00 ~ “I do a lot of different things”
3:50 ~ Children’s Aid Society
6:50 ~ aging out of the system
11:00 ~ the science of finding parents
14:25 ~ misconceptions of foster care & adoption
22:50 ~ “my passion has always been non-profit agencies”
28:15~ “you don’t have to be in the system to love a foster kid”
32:05 ~ modern day orphanages

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Connect with Jamie
on her blog Jamies rabbits
on Twitter @JamiesRabbits
on her podcast The Popcast
podcast on Twitter @popcastpod

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References
Ricky Anderson
Knox McCoy
Children’s Aid Society
Heart Gallery Alabama
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)
Three Little Words: A Memoir
Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Camellia Network
AdoptUSKids.org

♦

May 27

Matt Mikalatos: Missionary, Teacher, Servant

moving the podcast – interview from September 17, 2013

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Matt is just a genuinely nice guy. He has a heart for service and Jesus and I think teaching. I wanted to talk to him about his work for Cru, a Christian non-profit that’s active in 191 countries across the globe. We did that, and then we did a little verbal globe-trotting ourselves! We talk about his foreign travels, how he gets paid to go to the beach on spring break, and the importance of being of service to other people.

Matt Label

“Instead of making myself the center of a ministry…I’m coming in as a servant
to other people and the body of Christ, and I’m saying ‘what has the Lord
put on your heart…and how can I help you accomplish that?'”

0:00 ~ writer, StoryMan, huge smiler
6:50 ~ Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ)
13:30 ~ from teacher to Cru missionary
18:45 ~ an open-ended job description
29:00 ~ What are those trips all about?
36:25 ~ life changing world travels
44:05~ two awesome travel stories
50:10 ~ “it doesn’t matter what your role is, it matters what your relationship is”

Matt explains the Atheist Support Group

Matt defines Evangelical for me and I still don’t quite get it

Connect with Matt
on his blog mikalatos.com
on Twitter @mattmikalatos
on The StoryMen podcast

Matt’s Books

References
Cru
Cru’s many Ministries
StoryMen podcast where Matt talks about his Hawaii trip
More travel tales from The StoryMen podcast (a favorite episode of mine!)
JR. Forasteros

♦

May 25

The Vacationers Query Session

moving the podcast – from September 11, 2013

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I asked my parents, my aunt, my nephew and his friends a bunch of questions. They were separated into a “grown-ups” group and a kids group when I recorded them, because I wanted to see how the different age groups were alike or similar in their answers. Then I put their answers back to back on the podcast.

Vacationers Label
“Edit that out…edit that out!”

Highlights:
0:00 ~ advice for newborns
9:25 ~ making assumptions based on appearance
16:50 ~ being liked or being respected
23:50 ~ What makes a person beautiful?
35:30 ~ ghosts and aliens
45:55 ~ Would you want to live forever?

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