Tyann Davis, a medical sales representative, has been known for her organizational skills since she was a kid. In college, she figured out how to double the space in her dorm room. She has a friend who has enlisted her help to move to every single apartment she’s ever lived in.
A Metro Detroit transplant who is originally from Kalamazoo, Davis and her husband live in Novi where they are raising two school-age sons. Her husband is from Albion and with their closest family being hours away, organization helps Davis find balance into her life — and served as the foundation for her entrepreneurial journey.
She started her business,
A Little Moore Organized about three years ago, choosing to add her maiden name for a play on words. “I started off offering services to friends for free just to get pictures that I could use in marketing my business,” she explains. And her friends were more than willing to appease her.
Since the launch of her business, most of Davis’ business is based on referrals and word of mouth.
Davis hopes to eventually turn her part-time hustle into a full-time business and has since launched an
Instagram page and
Facebook page to connect with customers.
Spring cleaning offers a ‘fresh slate’
Spring is often marked on the calendar by several major religious holidays, each offering an opportunity to purge, refresh — and clean.
“Spring is like a second coming. It can feel like a resurrection of sorts,” Davis says.
“Spring cleaning allows you to have a fresh slate,” she says. “It’s a way to start fresh, however, that looks to you. People choose big or small projects, but it’s something that is pretty universal.”
For Davis, cleaning was also year-round, or more so a weekly tradition.
“Growing up, we always cleaned on Saturdays,” she says.
“They say cleanliness is next to godliness,” Davis says. In the Black community, for many Gen Xers and older Millennials, getting up early on Saturday to clean was followed by church the next day.
It’s also rejuvenating, says Davis, who believes there is a “spiritual” component to having a clean, organized home. “When I walk into my home, the first place I see is my kitchen,” she says. “If I would walk in and it’s a wreck, I get instant anxiety. Walking into spaces in your home and getting a sense of uneasiness and anxiety is no way to live. After you have a space organized, that feeling goes away.”
“Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary, so organization eliminates that sense of anxiety. It’s well worth it. It may take some time but the key is getting it started and getting it done.”
For example, Davis recalls a family who never used the office.
“The mom had two small children and was working on a PhD from a TV tray. She cleaned the office and is able to have space where everyone can work and life changed for that family.”
In her practice, Davis has learned that people love to see a sense of accomplishment and the relief that comes with letting go. It’s what she attributes to the success of Netflix shows like
The Home Edit and
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
Davis confirms that there is very often a sense of mental and emotional attachment that comes with cleaning. In fact, she says that there is almost always a point in the organizing process where her clients shed tears and even “hate” her momentarily.
“[People] can be physically cluttered with stuff and with that comes mental attachment. That’s what you see on ‘Hoarders’ — a mental attachment [coupled with mental disorders]. Cleaning is very often a relief. It changes a lot. It changes marriages. It changes families. A clean and organized home can even give you more time, and who doesn’t want more time?”
Davis had her own experience with releasing items that had an emotional attachment. “I was a Granddaddy’s Girl,” she recounts. After her grandfather passed away, she carried a favorite shirt of his from apartment to apartment. “I eventually had a pillow made out of it. You can turn some items into things that have practical use. Turn emotional things into something you can use.”
She says that her passion sometimes drives her friends and family crazy. When she goes to visit friends, they often lament that they have to clean up first. “Unless you are paying me, I look right over what you have on the floor,” she says with a laugh.
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