Meet Amelia Pleasant Kennedy | CEO + Founder, A Pleasant Solution

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amelia Pleasant Kennedy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amelia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The external clutter in our lives begins within. Women, in particular, are socialized and raised to always be giving, always be noticing and anticipating the needs of others, and to always be working in service of their families and homes. This unseen, invisible labor takes a toll on the mental and emotional health of women and interrupts their ability to be fully present at work. We’re overworking and judging ourselves about the state of our homes and families, as a result.

When I launched A Pleasant Solution in 2019, I witnessed how much internal, unvocalized shame and blame existed for women around physical clutter and how they manage their homes. Yet, home management and care tasks are not the sole responsibility of women. Each person who lives in the home is responsible for contributing to the overall wellbeing of the environment. Now as a Clutter Coach, Professional Organizer, and Certified Fair Play Facilitator, I help folks understand that the state of their home is not related to their self-worth. Being more productive and the drive to “do it all” equals a bottomless to-do list and can damage our closest relationships.

By embracing an organized life, folks can begin to untangle and unlearn the standards and expectations they’ve been raised with, lessen perfectionistic tendencies, begin to share the chore load with others, and create a more aligned and sustainable lifestyle. Every one of us is more organized than we think, and my business exists to help people see this within themselves.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business has gone through a few evolutions. I began A Pleasant Solution as an in-home organizing business. I started off decluttering and beautifying spaces, designing closets, and helping clients move. Working with seniors was of interest, because I’d downsized and moved my mother, who’s living with dementia.

In-home organizing is primarily about external transformations. Yet, it was the long conversations and storytelling that I truly loved – the potential for internal transformation. I enjoyed listening, and women sought me out because they knew I’d give time and space to their stories and emotional attachments, as well as get to the root cause of their clutter obstacles. Human beings are inclined to collect items and develop attachments to them. Some items are useful and necessary. Others capture a glimpse of who we were at a certain moment in life. Other items communicate to the world how successful we are. There are many reasons, including growing up in poverty or an unstable home, that people hold onto objects.

Clutter is the result, and each of us only has so much space in our home. I became a Certified Life Coach in 2020, Advanced Deep Dive Certified, and Advanced Feminist Certified, to help folks regain control over their spaces. Having an excess number of items within our homes overstimulates our brain. Too many items can raise our stress levels and grab our attention away from the people or tasks we care about. Combined with the emotions and memories we associate with the objects we own, it can be a challenge for some folks to live their lives fully and with joy. I don’t tell clients what to get rid of. Instead, I help them untangle their stories and long-held beliefs to truly understand what’s essential and meaningful to their lives going forwards.

For several years I wrote a blog, and now I’ve launched a podcast. On “A Pleasant Solution: Embracing an Organized Life” I sidestep the traditional talk around home organization and instead focus on why a clutter-free mindset is essential. It’s been an exciting journey of trial, error, self-discovery, and risk-taking to reach this point in my business.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Author and Activist Tiffany Dufu’s book “Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less” spoke directly to me and encouraged me to seek out more information on what she calls “home control disease.” It’s this drive or desire to master and organize the spaces around you but in turn ends up shortchanging the involvement of others in the home. As a Certified Fair Play Facilitator, I’d love to give credit to Eve Rodsky and her two books on the equitable division of labor, “Fair Play” and “Unicorn Space.” The community she’s built is inspiring and is based in research efforts to make the mental load of women more visible.

There are a number of other authors who I admire, including Gemma Hartley’s “Fed Up”, Celeste Headlee’s “Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving,” and from the male perspective, Matthew Fray’s “This is How Your Marriage Ends.”

A big part of my personal why is all about my mother. She’s living with dementia, and I chose to become her caregiver at the age of 37. She’s taught me about the fluidity of time, of clearly defining your life’s wishes, and about the value of relationships over things.

Website: https://www.apleasantsolution.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apleasantsolution/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliapleasantkennedy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apleasantsolution

Other: Podcast: A Pleasant Solution: Embracing an Organized Life https://apple.co/3jLiU0r

Image Credits
Leo Sage Images