About Ellen

At six years old, Ellen amazed and amused her mother by rearranging her bedroom furniture in order to make it more functional and efficient. It was no mean task for the little girl to push her bed across the room with her feet, but push she did. It was the beginning of a life calling.

Fast-forward fifteen years. Ellen's natural ability for establishing systems, organizing information and people, and creating order from chaos led to a successful career in hotel management. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a major in Hotel Management from Denver University, Ellen began her career as an assistant manager at a four star hotel. For the next decade and a half, Ellen progressed rapidly through the competitive ranks of hotel management, becoming at age 27 the youngest general manager for a major hotel corporation. While working for four and five star hotels, Ellen honed her management style. Impressive interpersonal skills and a genuine love of helping others allowed her to successfully teach up-and-coming hospitality professionals the importance of structure and the art of organization.

After an exciting and fulfilling career in hotel management, Ellen retired to dedicate her energies to raising her family. Organizing her household was inevitable. Ellen recognized how much easier it was to maintain and enjoy her home when everything had its place. Mounds of paperwork, lengthy phone lists and piles of children's artwork could be filed, condensed and stowed. Elimination of clutter in the home led to elimination of clutter in the mind, allowing Ellen to focus on her family, her volunteer work and personal priorities.

One of those priorities was to incorporate a business life into her family life. While raising her family, organizing opportunities frequently presented themselves. It became clear that organizing was Ellen's gift. Friends knew it and often asked for her help. She realized that this was her passion and found a natural niche in the world of professional organizers.

A professional organizer is "someone who can provide ideas, solutions and systems which could increase productivity, reduce stress and lead to more control…." (National Association of Professional Organizers) Clearly, this was exactly what Ellen had been doing, first in the hospitality industry, and then in her personal life. The natural next step was to use her organizational skills to help others. Thus began Straighten-UP!

Ellen has been helping home and small business owners make more time space and energy for the things that matter most since 2001. She has been featured in local, regional and national print pieces and regional television as well as on HGTV’s hit show Mission: Organization. Her greatest joy is to see her client’s quality of life improve as a result of her work.