Sally Allen
originally printed in Mountain Views newspaper
by Carole Lomond
Most of us have “junk drawers,” disassociated filing systems, and old stuff we haven’t used for years. We might need it some day, you know… food recipes, old insurance documents, investment possibilities, old clothes, expensive toiletries, outdated prescriptions, unfinished hobby projects… We are attached to clutter!
Finally, one day you say to yourself: “Enough already! I want to simplify and upgrade my life!” Then you look at your home office, inside the closets and drawers again. Where do you start? You are too embarrassed to expose yourself to an “organization expert.” So you put it off for another couple of weeks… six months… a year…
Those who overcome the embarrassment call our Genesee Village neighbor Sally Allen. Her A Place For Everything® brochure says, “Sick of the mess? Paralyzed by your environment? REGAIN CONTROL and get yourself moving again!” Sally explains, “People don’t know where to begin. I come in as a motivator and designer. I am a friendly coach!”
Sally helps you forgive yourself, reorganize and gain a more comfortable lifestyle with more free time and less frustration. “Feeling embarrassed is human,” says coach Sally. “Don’t put yourself down for being human being in a culture of plenty. Organizing your files and closets may seem intimidating but anyone can learn new skills. We are creatures of habit and it takes only 21 days to form a new habit.”
She grew up in Mamaroneck, New York and benefited from the divorce of her parents by gaining two wonderful sets of parents. She completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition at CU in Boulder and worked for the US Department of Agriculture planning nutritional lunch programs. She put her geologist husband through graduate school.
“Mr. Allen” was transferred by mining company employers 14 times over 23 years, including South Africa and Japan. As a superwife and mother of three sons, Sally developed effective systems for moving an organized household. This freed her quickly to give community service at every place they lived—League of Women Voters, PTA, and fund raising for Arts Associations.
After the divorce in 1982, Sally continued to move around the country organizing retail shops for the Marriott Hotel chain. She was a manager at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Committee and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Committee. Then, at age 60, she settled down in a pinwheel home in Genesee Village and established A Place For Everything®.
As a “move manager,” Sally evaluates the situation and helps create a plan for upgrading home and office. She helps people focus on solutions, make better use of space, and complete the changes with a realistic timetable. Sally’s optimism and practical coaching helps change environments and habits to enhance space and optimize time. She sees dysfunctional home offices, packed closets and chaotic kitchens as an opportunity to serve others.
Her specialty is organizing upgrades to make a house more appealing to prospective buyers and residential relocation, including downsizing empty nesters and seniors. She can coordinate a move from packing to unpacking at the new location. She can complete tasks in four days that would take a family to complete in four months. She has relationships with movers, high tech organizers, and corporate organizers.
Her son Dennis, 45, is a VP for Titlelist, lives in Japan and has two children, Patrick and Melissa who live in Washington state. Sally’s son Douglass, 44, is a Park Ranger for Santa Clara County, California and has two children, Keith & Kyle. Son Derek, 42, is VP Sales for Hughes Supply, a fire protection sprinkler company in Pleasanton, California and has two children, Bryce and Lindsey.
A Place For Everything® has received plenty of publicity at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN WB2 and FOX networks. She has been featured often on Home and Garden TV/Do-it-Yourself Network and local television news shows. She has demonstrated organizing kitchens and offices, closets and retail stores and has been featured in the Canyon Courier, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Sunset, Easy Chair, Better Homes & Gardens and the May, 2004 issue of Real Simple magazines.
Sally and her team provide hands-on organizing training and maintenance programs that keep clients on track. Her mission is to “put more of the right kind of time into your life.”