What year was your business established? What led to that point? I technically have been organizing since I could walk . . . no joke. I will have some stories about that in a book I am writing that comes out in December 2013. My business, the O.C.D. Experience, was founded in 2008 with the vision to help people find clarity in their lives through my own OCD practice — thus birthing “Organize & Create Discipline,” a bi-coastal service teaching organizational discipline in every area of your life.

With some hard work, despite days waking up not knowing what city I was in, and with an incredible group of supportive friends, the business continues to grow every year. When Oprah was in her heyday, very early on in my business, I got to work with her go-to organizer, Peter Walsh, who lent me some wisdom along the way (basically telling me to stay out of this crazy world!). After working with Peter, I continued to build out different divisions of the O.C.D. Experience. I launched O.C.D. Events (Original & Creatively Designed) with Heather Schertz and started discussions on other aspects of the business. O.C.D. Experience also just finished working with Saks Fifth Avenue, Joss & Main, and the Container Store to develop strategic partnerships and product services. We are proud to be growing into a recognized national brand and taking on organizational consultants throughout the country while upholding a solid reputation.

Tell us about your space. Any special considerations that influenced its set up? What do you like or dislike? What would you change if you could? I consider everything when it comes to the way I setup my personal space. It is part of my OCD.

Our entire place has a specific purpose for living. It has been that way since I was a child. My favorite space right now is the O.C.D. Experience office. On the ground, I put in an red area rug, which fuels me, and an ottoman that doubles as a two-person window seat and storage for all our office supplies. Cork boards line the walls for organized visions, goals, and creative expectations. I brought in a large citrine crystal to add life and career energy, as well as “El Jeffe,” our security guard — an office plant of five years, who has traveled from NY to LA, LA to NY, and NY back. The best part of the office is the desk system I built from scratch; I’ve labeled it the “O.C.D. Desk System.” (Did I mention that you can’t see one wire, as the desk hides them all?)

I always like bad news first, so what I dislike about my office is how obsessive I can be about maintaining its structure and flow. Constantly thinking about space, not just outer space (which I love), can take up a lot of time and energy. It also affects the people around me, sometimes causing a little more stress than necessary.

The redeeming fact of this is that I have managed to make sure the positive moments of my space-obsessing outweighs the negative. My office is always clean and my desk never has piles. I then get to help clients throughout the world make stronger choices about their personal space, thought process, and decisions through my practices.

What I would change? I would revamp the desk system, which is in its second prototype process! I have some new organizational solutions that will be incorporated into the next one.

You have an Aeron Chair in your space. Why did you choose it? I have three, actually. I got my first Aeron because I used to work for a talent agency and I remember all the agents having these big, comfortable, ergonomically-correct office chairs. I was 18 and wanted one so bad. The moment I had my own working office, I got one. A few years later, I needed more chairs and had no choice but to buy two more because they all had to match.

Tell us about your work: what you’re passionate about, what inspires you, and where you’re going. I’m a professional organizer and I love to help clients go from chaos to calm. My business’s tagline is “Life; Simplified, Organized.” That’s what inspires me and that’s how we strive to live our lives, too. Dan’s passion is simplified design and technology that makes people’s lives better. He also has a gift for breaking down complex tasks and explaining them in a way that people just get it. For us, life is better simple. We like to help people who want “more simple,” not “simply more.”

How long have you worked from home? What do you like or dislike about it? We’ve worked from home for the last two years. We actually had two different home offices that were separated from one another by only a few feet: one was the dining room table and the other was a glider we bought in anticipation of the birth of our now five-year-old daughter. As comfortable as the glider is, it didn’t make for much of an office. We both run our businesses from home: I have my Get Simplifized! business and Dan does technology/marketing/media consulting. Together, we’re on a quest to simplify all aspects of our lives, from family lives to digital lives to our business lives. I spent much of my work time on site at clients’ homes, businesses, or schools and Dan has no desire to have a traditional away-from-home office. Further, we both wanted to be more available to our kids, family, each other, and even ourselves after nearly three decades of structure. Working from home allows that. Typically, Dan wakes without an alarm, takes the kids to school, prepares for the day, and then hits the office after his short commute (about 19 steps from the back door to the office door). I still commute to serve clients, but the major change for me is the burst of creativity I get when I get back to our office. I can really focus on writing blog posts and planning out videos. There used to be many distractions when I worked in our home; those don’t happen anymore when I’m in the office.

What inspired the building of your office shed? How has it changed your workday? We both got pretty tired of our temporary offices and the clutter that inevitably takes over. We decided that an actual office was not only necessary to keep the peace, but also to keep our sanity. So, we built our own. Thankfully, Dan has a passion for design, and after looking around the Internet for some inspiration, he designed one for us. The biggest change with having the office shed is the options we now have with clients.  With a separate office, I’m able to coach/consult with organizing clients virtually no matter where they are in the world. I couldn’t do this as effectively without a dedicated space. Dan can now have clients in for training sessions without having to disrupt the rest of the family or find an off-site facility.

Tell me about your new space. Any special considerations that influenced its set up? We mapped out our goals before we started, so the things we needed were designed into the office. We think that is what good design is all about. We absolutely love the modern aesthetic but form must equal function — for us they are mutually supportive attributes of good design. The result certainly achieved our goals of having a space large enough for two separate work spaces, that can host three or four clients comfortably, and is tech-infused, meaning Dan could have all his gear integrated in (and as cord-free as possible). It needed to be comfortable in the hot San Antonio summer and cool winter and look great in the back yard. Finally, if we had the choice, we would choose sustainable options over non-sustainable. We love the result. We get lots of light from the clerestory windows and the glass double doors. But, the one “wish” we have is that the design would have allowed for one tall casement window on a wall to help with circulation on those mild Central Texas winter days. That’s it…we feel we nailed everything else we wanted.

You have a pair of SAYL chairs. Why did you choose them? We absolutely LOVE our SAYL chairs. These were a splurge for us — but it really makes sense that, if you’re going to spend a lot of time sitting, you really need to invest in a good chair. We were well aware of Herman Miller’s commitment to design. With a bend toward the contemporary aesthetic, the SAYL chair line caused a Pavlovian response in Dan the moment he saw it. To us, it was the embodiment of the same function-meets-form test we applied to the whole project. A former paratrooper, Dan has some back issues, and since we both were previously in the military, we each still feel the effects of years carrying around a rucksack. We knew it made perfect sense to invest in solid ergonomic design. After using the chairs for over a year, I am still amazed how comfortable they are and how much better we feel at the end of a long day sitting when compared to other chairs we’ve tried. Dan says sometimes he gets jealous when showing off our “world shed quarters” and the first thing people notice is the SAYL chairs before his design and DIY skills! Jealousy aside, we enthusiastically recommend the SAYL…it just doesn’t make sense to skimp on yourself, your back, or your productivity.

Any tips for couples who share a home office? First tip: Make your space “yours.” I have a few things on display that to me represent peace: a little tea pot I bought in China, some little boxes I got in Korea, and a small plant. Dan doesn’t have decorations, but has his gadgets — podcast equipment, an iPad, etc. — and these things make his space his own. Together we love to listen to music via Pandora or radio stations on AppleTV. We didn’t have those options in traditional offices. And when it’s time to take a break, we like to take it together and spend a few minutes enjoying the day on the deck. So, I guess my first tip would be make your space individual but take time for togetherness, too.

Second tip: Headphones work great! And third: It can be easy to fall into the trap of chit-chat and letting conversation rob your productivity. So, let your partner know if you need to completely focus on a task — and commit to respect each others’ efforts during those focused times.

Photos: Vanessa Hayes

With tax deadlines around the corner we asked Angela to help out Lifework readers with a few key organizing tips. Feel free to add your own tips or questions in the comment section. I know Angela would love to hear from you.

Above: Angela’s home office and her dog, Max.

The key to a stress free tax season is to have a system in place to collect receipts and tax related documents throughout the year. It’s a classic organizing principle of “a place for everything, everything in its place.”

1. Prepare a Tax Folder in January for the year ahead. Place the folder at the front of one of your file cabinet drawers for super easy access. You want to gather all of your tax related documents in one place throughout the year – even though you won’t necessarily be looking at them till the following January. If you make charitable contributions for example, put the acknowledgment letter into your tax folder. Use a checklist to determine if you have all the documents you need. If your accountant hasn’t given you a check list, use your previous year’s taxes as a guide.

2. Collect receipts in a centralized location. A client of mine who works out of her home office simply puts all receipts in a basket on top of her file cabinet. Once a month she enters the receipts into a spreadsheet. She includes income at the top followed by expenses. At the end of the year she totals each of the categories and voila – she has a list of all of her income and expenses. You can also use a software program like QuickBooks to track income and expenses for your business.

3. Don’t wait till the last minute but if you did…don’t panic. Are your receipts and 1099’s buried under mounds of papers with no records of your income and expenses in sight? There’s still time to get organized. Use the quick sort method to locate your tax related documents. You’ll need a staging area – an area to do all of your sorting. Gather all your receipts in one pile. Sort by category. Total all of your categories. Enter into a spreadsheet. Locate your end of year credit card statements. Highlight tax deductible expenses. Add to your spreadsheet. Review your checkbooks. Pull out personal expenses such as medical and education that can be deducted. Add to spreadsheet. Do the same for business expenses. Not sure what’s deductible? Use last year’s tax return as a guide.