Taking Time in Hand

After Cole quit being a social work administrator to stay home with Caleb, she said, "I started developing, scheduling and researching how to operate my family as if it was a job. I came across Kathy Peel; it was a perfect fit."

One of her clients is Mindy Costanzo-Romero, who sought Cole's help in juggling an at-home job, housework, meals and the stress of caring for two young daughters, a pair of dogs and a husband who often leaves their Joppa, Md., home at 4 a.m. and sometimes doesn't return until 8 p.m.

"I really need the motivation and encouragement. I wanted to get to a point where I didn't feel like I was drowning," said Costanzo-Romero, 33. "I have a hard time delegating and deciding what has to be done first. When one area is out of balance, it throws everything out."

After she learned to tell her husband, Michael Romero, that she really needs help in the evenings, he now tries to get home by 5. He plays with the kids while she cooks or cleans. And she adores her new digital planner.

Six months ago, Vienna homemaker Calyce Magee, 36, sought help because her life was "spinning out of control." With two young children, two dogs, a 4,500-square-foot house and a working husband, she said, "I was just struggling to get a nutritious meal on the table, make sure the house was not a pigsty, spend more time with the kids, wash my face, take a shower."

Looking for a professional organizer, she called Sandra Forbes of Vienna, who also turned out to be a Peel disciple. Magee took a quiz about her household's stress points and priorities. After two in-home meetings, Forbes wrote an assessment and gave Magee a tip-laden makeover booklet.

"Sandra didn't make me feel judged, that I had to be a certain way," Magee said, "just how to figure out what was important: my kids, their health, my husband, everyone having nutritious meals." Magee said she felt reassured being told, "You don't have enough time to do everything."

She also learned to fix a lopsided cleaning routine in which she vacuumed dog hair every day but let loads of laundry pile up because she dreaded the folding. Forbes helped her balance the chores so she stayed on top of everything while giving herself a bit of a break.

"I do a little laundry every day, put dishes in the dishwasher every day, make sure we are having nutritional meals, have a weekly family event, eat meals together at night. We watch much less TV, and I've actually picked up a couple of hobbies."

Now she vacuums only every other day -- and makes time to take better care of herself.

If she backslides, she can turn to her makeover booklet for hints and inspiration or call for a $60-an-hour follow-up. (She booked a session for next month, before the family moves to Delaware.)

Forbes, 46, said she expanded into family coaching because simply organizing people's clutter made her "feel limited. A client says, 'I need help with my paperwork,' but you know as you work with the client there are underlying issues going on. The kids are going crazy. This is one step further. . . . A lot of it is deciding what not to do. You wouldn't say no to your mother-in-law every month. But you may say no this month."