We have a pretty phenomenal team here at Room to Breathe, so we figured it would be time well spent to take a moment and formally introduce everyone - sharing a bit about what they love, and uncovering some of the behind-the-scenes magic that makes Room to Breathe thrive.
Donna has been spearheading things as Room to Breathe's vibrant Team Lead in Edmonton. She has been such a wonderful addition, ensuring our clients and friends up North are well taken care of. In her downtime, Donna is an avid biker, loves to travel, and can often be found out in nature walking her beautiful dogs!
Grab a cup of tea and spend a bit of time with Donna!
What do you love about organizing? How did you get started?
The experience of seeing the before and after of any project large or small is what I love about organizing. The relief and joy that an organized space brings to a client is truly rewarding and makes me look forward to the next challenge. My start came from the organizing and maintaining of architectural and interior design libraries, a service company I started over 25 years ago. Even though these libraries contain different material than what I would find within a typical residence, it is still all about organizing and having a system in place. Having these skills and experiences has allowed me to transition into the residential side of organizing bringing new and fun challenges.
What’s your favourite space to organize? Where does your organizing light shine the brightest?
Kitchens and pantries are a favourite of mine to organize. I find having these areas purged and functioning well makes such an impact on day to day life and inspires us to use the space to its fullest capability. Spending even minimal amounts of time getting this space organized can showcase what a difference an organized space can make. I find design and organizing can go hand in hand and with my design background I find it helpful to be able to make suggestions on the bigger picture of how other solutions could make an impact on their space helping to further along their organizing project.
What’s your best organizing tip/life hack?
If space is limited in a home, I always like to think outside the box and get creative with maximizing storage, finding a designated place for everything. Also, don’t forget about labelling items once they are in place - this makes it much easier to maintain your organizing system. If your household or home office has to deal with incoming paperwork, it is important to have a system in place in order to avoid endless piles. Creating a basic folder systems to easily identify which papers are able to be filled or put it away and which papers need to be added to your “to do” folder so you can quickly and clearly identify items that need to be dealt with in a timely manner.
What’s your favourite way to unwind? What do you do for self-care?
My downtime is spent biking with my husband - Canmore is definitely one of our special places. We also love travellg to Europe, Portugal is top of our list! And we love good dog walks in the river valley.
What are some of your favourite local businesses?
Both of these retail stops offer a unique and inspiring experience helping support local and sustainably minded companiesThe Makers Keep and Maven & GraceTwo of my favourite local coffee shops I like to support where I can enjoy a good cup of tea and made-in house goodies would be Square1 Coffee and Millcreek Cafe
What is one thing on your bucket list?
I would love to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and reward myself by relaxing on the beaches in Zanzibar after the climb.
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to read these days - most of my reading takes place while sitting on a beach (which has obviously not happened for awhile...) However, a book I'm eager to get started on is Abundance - The Future is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler.
