Melinda Grace is a professional home organizer, author, and the owner of Melinda Grace Organizing, where she helps busy women create beautifully organized spaces that elevate everyday life. With a background in acting and marketing, she has a gift for combining creativity, storytelling, and strategy in her signature G.R.A.C.E. method- an organizing approach that inspires lasting change while making the decluttering process feel approachable and life-giving. Melinda's work blends practical systems with faith-based soulful reflection, empowering readers to clear away clutter and reclaim their homes with intention. She lives in Southern California with her husband, son and cat, Tango.

Melinda Grace's Website

Welcome to 12 Minute Converse with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, his creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Melinda.

It's a great pleasure to connect with you.

What part of the world are you in right now?

Yes, I'm in Los Angeles, California.

The thing that caught my attention, Melinda, is the acronym.

So I'm curious, is your last name really Grace, or was that something that just simply goes with the business?

My middle name is actually Grace.

Please tell us about the acronym Grace.

My middle name is Grace, but I also created an organizing system based on the acronym of Grace.

So each letter of Grace stands for a step in the home organizing process.

The G stands for gather, the R is release, the A is acquire, the C is cultivate, and the E is enjoy.

When did the light bulb go off?

Yeah, so I started my business in 2020, just going in person to professionally help organize people in the Los Angeles area.

But I have a background in marketing, digital marketing, acting, I'm creative, I love to create things no matter what it is.

And I had read a book that my sister gave me, a Christian book, and it just inspired me.

It was a little self-help book.

It wasn't complicated, but it was clear and to the point and faith-based with scriptures and journaling and things like that.

And so I just remember being home at my parents' house at Christmas time in like 2021 and felt the Lord be like, just write this down, just write it all down.

And I was gearing up to teach a six-week organizing course with a friend who was a life coach.

And you need a way to walk people through a course if you're doing it online.

And then my name is Grace and I knew with my business, I wanted to extend actual grace to my clients when I'm in their spaces.

And then anybody that I work with for organizing, I wanted them to have an overarching sense of grace and freedom.

And so it just came together.

It was the Holy Spirit, really.

I mean, let's be honest.

I love that.

Walk me through from the acquiring.

Is it that I'm very intentional now about what I'm acquiring after I've released?

Yes, but also it is acquiring things that you need to have in your space when you put everything back.

So you've taken everything out of the space, you've released the clutter and given it away or whatever you've done with chosen to do with it.

So now you're left with the curated items specifically chosen for that space and they need somewhere to go.

They need a home, right?

Everything must have a home.

So the acquire is acquired.

Do you need bins?

Do you need to make a bin?

Do you need to add a cabinet?

Do you need to replace an item of furniture because it's not functional?

Do you need to paint the wall so it's pretty and you like being in the space?

Do you like anything you need to acquire to complete that space?

So it's not necessarily about acquiring more stuff at all because we just got rid of the stuff.

It's more about what do I need to make the space beautiful, functional and create the systems to maintain what I've just organized.

And then cultivate.

What am I doing there?

Cultivating is a gardening term and it means to tend to grow.

So when you're growing a garden, it doesn't just pop up overnight.

You have to tend to it.

You have to learn about that plant and water it and give it sunlight and nourish it and trim it when it needs to be trimmed and all the things that go gardening.

So organizing is not like the TV shows in that it's an hour and you're done.

It really, in my view, if you want the most success with it, it is a lifestyle change.

It is a habit.

It's something that you want to incorporate into your life.

And so sometimes that takes time.

It takes time to cultivate new rhythms for your family, new habits because when you put things away in their space that you've created homes for, you want to think about the way that you move within that space and the rhythms that you have.

So that, you know, for the example that I love is a kitchen.

So if you have a refrigerator that say has a spout where you would get water out of it, you wouldn't put the glasses to get the water on the other side of the room because that's really inconvenient.

You would put the water glasses right next to the fridge, if possible, if you have a cabinet, that way you can grab the glass, open your refrigerator, or just if it's in the door, you know, get your water.

So that is like an easy system.

And so cultivate just means, you know, take the time it takes to think through your rhythms in the space and create patterns that make sense, that are functional, that save you time.

Because eventually, you know, you have to put things away.

Otherwise, they just sit in that forms clutter.

So you want to be intentional about where things live so that you will also put them away.

What do you think was responsible?

Which of your habits or even your choices for cultivating your awareness of who you are, Melinda?

Definitely my choices, and them not turning out the way I wanted them to.

I had moved to Los Angeles to do acting to become an actress.

And I moved here with good intentions for wanting to, you know, be a Christian in Hollywood and make a difference.

And then somehow along the way, it turned into more of an idol and fame seeking.

And it just left me broke and literally broke, no money, and broken.

And so in order to climb out of that, I reconnected with my faith, I reconnected with my family, I had to go home for a season where I'm from in Houston.

Yeah, and so just home and faith and family are so important to me.

And so as I was praying for a new career and a new path, I knew that those three things had to be a part of it, they just had to.

And then through praying, and listening and cultivating new habits to not run the rat race and not have burnout and anxiety.

Again, the Lord led me to becoming a professional organizer.

How do you navigate the spouse who loves to clean, but is met with a breadwinner who doesn't love to clean?

A lot of times, when I come across this situation, I do talk to the husband as much as I can, I try to understand like where he's coming from, and give them the best advice possible.

But a lot of times, in the spaces we live in, we have our own space in our own area.

And so I like to start with the spouse that wants to help, and we work on their things.

And we leave the other person's items alone, because they're theirs, and I need their approval if we're going to declutter and move their things around.

And a lot of times, you know, the spouse sees the change and feels the energy.

The goal is that they do feel that and that they would want to eventually participate in the situation.

Yeah, because most of the time, the spouse really does want what's best for the other spouse.

So again, it just takes listening to them.

But let's imagine they're listening to the podcast.

And this is the one time that they're open to simply hear from a professional, what possibly could have them decide to choose.

Yes, I'm going to change this habit.

What would you say to that person?

If you take the time and the effort to work with your spouse and declutter, you will feel the amount of stress and overwhelm go down in your house is like scientifically proven and in your body as well.

And so I would just take the leap, I would take the leap and your house will catch you.

And God will catch you.

Five years from today, you're listening to this conversation.

What's a message you'd leave for future you?

I would tell myself to really take in every moment because life goes by so fast.

And it's okay to have visions and dreams and things we're working toward.

But I would tell myself to be present with wherever I'm at in the day, even if I'm if it's work God's given me if I'm spending time with my son or my husband or my other family members just to really be present with them.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share with our amazing audience?

If you feel the nudge to get organized, I would say do it pick up a copy of my book or find me on Instagram and drop me a line.

I check my DMS and you can find more information on my website about all these things.

And I have a free organizing kitchen guide as well.

So I you know, I hope that those things will help your listeners make some changes because I really believe that once we clear the clutter, we can hear God's voice clearer.

Melinda, Grace, it's been a pleasure, a treasure.

Thank you for being on What is Inspired by 12 Minute Converse.