We had the good fortune of connecting with Dina Smith, LPC, CAMS II and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dina, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
For so long, I have worked in people’s homes helping them to recover and reclaim their spaces. Longterm, I would love to be able to expand my reach into print media (books, journals, planners) as a primary focus. Print media is a lost art but there is so much we have NOT done to express our culture in furniture, home decor, and even organizing with a cultural flare!

What should our readers know about your business?
I am proud to have been able to cultivate a business that is the culmination of my education, desires, and life experiences. As a single mother, the desire has always been to have more time to spend with my children. I have also always had the desire to coach, but no idea how to get started. I did a little research and discovered that the most successful coaches had a background in counseling and business. I resigned from managing The Container Store in Atlanta and went to graduate school to pursue my Master’s Degree in Counseling and my trajectory had forever changed. I graduated in 2010 with a new degree, a new baby girl, and a new opportunity. What I did not know is that this increase in knowledge did not equal and increase in pay. Begining unlicensed Counselors were making just above the poverty line. It was not the private office space on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan that was portrayed on TV. In the beginning, I learned to navigate public assistance for myself and my clients. I learned that you which bills you could pay late and still be “okay.” I could even tell you which Goodwills had the best stuff. This was definitely not the additional education that I wanted. With much to prove and a commitment to what I had started, I became fully Licensed in 2014 and began building Organized Life Works on the side. For several years I kept my counseling and organizing worlds seperate. In 2019 I rebranded to Closet Therapy with Dina and introduced the idea of Reclaiming your life through Professional Organizing, Coaching, and Counseling. My work has allowed me to hear the stories of many women craving time, balance, and order. Craving a Life. Sometimes the unrealistic standard of motherhood and maintaining a home set upon us by the rules of a simpler time, create a discontent that is not easily soothed. In comes, Closet Therapy with Dina, offering relief and an opportunity to be profoundly heard and understood. Professional Organizing has given language and legs to the idea of “de-cluttering” both physically and mentally. The principles of organizing are skills that are easily learned and 100% transferable to other parts of life. Again, I am proud to have been able to take these pieces of my life and career and create a business/brand that empowers women. It has not been easy, but the lessons learned along the way were all nourishment for my continually growing Brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
All of my friends know I love to run, so I would definitely have to take my BFF to hike, run, or walk Stone Mountain. After a hike, visiting Downtown Decatur and eating at Taqueria Del Sol (best cheap eats in the City). Another Day we would have to run/walk The Beltline. I am a bit of a mixologist and have a hefty appreciation for spirits so a trip to The Red Phonebooth is mandatory. Other restaurant visits would include, The Busy Bee Cafe, Del Frisco’s, Pascal’s, and Bar Taco. The primary hangout spot is definitely my house! Enjoying drinks, good food, and conversation is always on the menu.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to shout out my “Chosen Sisters.” These are a group of women who are not my sisters by blood but have been chosen to walk with me in this life. They are supportive, restorative, emotionally astute, and provide insights and perspectives that often reveal evidence that God is real!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closet_therapywithDina
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClosetTherapywithDina

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Tafari Melisizwee of The Indigenous Lens also Brittney Witherby

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