Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 380: From Clutter To Clarity With Absolute Touch Organizing

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Marisa Hayes with Absolute Touch Organizing a good neighbor?

 Marisa believes clutter is rarely about storage—it’s about stories. In this episode, we sit down with the founder of Absolute Touch Organizing to explore how grief, scarcity, and childhood beliefs quietly shape the piles in our closets and the stacks in our garages. Instead of chasing picture-perfect pantries, Marisa focuses on compassionate, sustainable change—helping people reclaim peace, dignity, and control by understanding the emotions beneath their belongings.

Marisa shares her journey from more than two decades in healthcare to over a decade in professional organizing, sparked by a single act of service for a woman in need. That moment revealed a deeper calling: guiding clients through emotionally complex situations, including hoarding, which she approaches as a mental health issue that may require therapeutic support before any bins come out. She explains why the common myth—“it’s just stuff”—misses the truth, and how emotional decluttering helps clients rewrite old scripts rooted in grief, fear of not having enough, or the pressure to hold onto every memory.

We also explore how Absolute Touch Organizing grew largely through word of mouth, supported by Google, Yelp, Facebook, and candid TikTok Live sessions where Marisa answers tough questions in real time. She previews two upcoming books—one focused on grief decluttering and another on letting go of what no longer serves you—and explains how her services span in-home assessments, virtual organizing, and life coaching for clients across state lines. Based in Dallas, Texas, Absolute Touch Organizing specializes in professional home organizing services designed to bring clarity, function, and calm back into everyday living spaces. Each project—from closets and kitchens to entire homes—is approached with intention, structure, and respect for the client’s lifestyle and routines.

If you’re ready to take a gentle first step toward clarity and calm, this conversation offers a compassionate place to begin.

To learn more about Absolute Touch Organizing go to:
 https://www.absolutetouchcleaning.com/

Absolute Touch Organizing
+1 (972) 513-6750


SPEAKER_01:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a professional organizer? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Marissa Hayes, with Absolute Touch Organizing. Marissa, how are you today?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm doing wonderful. How are you?

SPEAKER_02:

I am also wonderful. Now we're excited to learn all about you and your business. Please start off by telling our listeners just a little bit about your company.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, well, I started Absolute Touch Organizing in 2015, and we provide home organizing services. We actually work with hoarders, we work with those who struggle with extreme um clutter and also disorganization. And we try to get them to get balance back in life or lead them to another step with therapy if needed. Because sometimes there are other underlying issues that may be causing this, right? And so if there's something else going on, something bigger may need to take place before we can even move forward effectively, such as hoarding, because hoarding is a mental illness that's typically attached to other mental illnesses as well. So therapy may need to take place before we can actually be effective. So it's pretty deep, you know, it's pretty deep when it comes down to professional home organizing because a lot of times people think it's only things, but it's it's a lot bigger than that.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, Marissa, where does your heart for helping with um this condition or the professional organizing industry in general come from?

SPEAKER_00:

I worked in the medical field actually for 20 years before I started my company. So um I actually started my company because there was a lady at church who needed help. She was disabled, and she asked me who if I could help her. And so I told her, yes, I'll be happy to. And so I went over there and she was borderline hoarder, and I was able to get things together, not knowing that it was I was able to actually do it. It was like a gift, right? That I was hidden. And so when I went over there to help her, I realized that there were a lot of people that needed help. So working in the medical field, I've always been a person that was a servant. I love helping others, but to know that I could actually help people in this way um was actually surprising for me. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna move forward with this. And I was that's the first thing I thought was there's someone else who needs help. And so when I began that process, um I learned a lot. I had no idea what I was getting into, honestly. And um, as I got deeper into it, I began to learn so much more because initially you see a person's home, and I know that I was not the only one, and a lot of other people who go into a home and you see clutter or you see a really bad situation, you're like, oh my God, why do they want to do this? Do they really want to, or is there something deeper? You know, so um to be able to help someone who can't help themselves, for one, is the first love um and passion for me. But also um the second part of it is helping them to be able to break free from what has been holding them back, to be able to get their house back, their life back, because it's not just a things, uh, it's a lifestyle, it is your peace of mind, it is your happiness, your joy. So, yeah, most definitely a lot more to it. But my passion is the love of being able to see people get their life back and make it a lot better for them.

SPEAKER_02:

So it was really your servant heart that led you to this industry.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I think so. Yeah, most definitely a lot of purpose in it.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, when it comes to organizing, what is the most common myth or misconception you come across? I'm sure you can help us all out today.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, yeah, well, first and foremost, it's that a lot of people think that it's just things. When I go into a home and I do an assessment, they're like, oh, I've let these things get out of hand, or I've always had a problem with clutter, I've always had a problem with um not being able to keep up with my house. But once we get into the work, now we begin to talk about childhood issues. How did they grow up? What were they programmed and taught as a child, right? And so now it becomes a process of emotional decluttering, mental decluttering, you know, um, spiritual sometimes, you know, letting go of old beliefs, like um a spirit of scarcity, thinking that they don't have enough that, or that something really bad is gonna happen. So they have to prepare. So now they're holding on to a lot of things, and also filling voids after grief. So there are so many situations that I can place on this table right now that is the cause for people's clutters because some people don't get cluttered until later on in life or deal with hoarding until later on in life, which it won't, like I said before, it's not the same thing. Clutter and hoarding, not the same thing, but uh, you know, it can lead up to it. But um, but yeah, so that is one of the biggest misconceptions is that it's only things are that it's you know, this is just junk. No, this is your life, this is your memory. Your entire house tells a story from where you've been, where you are, and maybe even where you're going. So this is something to keep in mind the next time you go to someone's house, or if you battle with this on your own, it's not just about things, there's something deeper going on, and it may be more than likely attached to someone's childhood because someone may have grown up where I had one client that was um taught how to steal when they were a little child um because they were poor. And so um, but she grew up and created this amazing life, but she still had this mindset of lack that she wasn't gonna have enough. So now she's overbuying and overbuying to feel the board that I'm gonna run out of money, but you you have to trust the life you created. Your parents did what they could do. Now you have your own life. So who are you in this moment? So now we begin to let go of things that no longer serve you physical, mental, and emotional as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, thank you for sharing that with all of us today. You know, if we don't heal that trauma, then essentially we're the same person, even if on the outside we changed. So I agree with you 100% there. Now switching gears for just a second. We know marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your current clients or your target clients outside of maybe people with a hoarding disorder? And today, how are you currently attracting them?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, believe it or not, uh I always tell people all the time uh marketing, because everyone has a weakness, right? Cleaning and organizing is my thing. Bam, easiest one, two, three. Marketing is something that it was always a challenge for me in regards to um moving forward in that. And and I and I always tell people if a lot of referrals have saved my, I mean, like that has been my whole business, believe it or not. My business has been word of mouth very, very heavily. Yes, I am on Google, yes, I am on Yelp, I am on Facebook as well. But being a heavy person that does heavy marketing has not been my strong suit. It is, I always tell people it is amazing that I have survived 10 years with word of mouth being as heavy as it has been for me, and it and it worked in my favor. Um, you know, everyone, every once in a blue moon, I would do a little ad or you know, but I do I am on TikTok though. Now I go live on TikTok. I just actually started that this year. I love it because I can go live, answer questions because a lot of people go through a lot of things, and um, we actually have live conversations about it, but um, but overall speaking, um, word of mouth has been my power force. It is a never-failing uh blessing in my life. And so, but right now I'm actually working with um Gilcrest Enterprises um as I'm getting ready to release two books. So I'm being a lot more intentional. One of it is one of the books um is about grief decluttering, the other one is about letting go of things that no longer serve you. So those books will be coming out in February, and so it's most definitely going to be really interesting to see how this all plans out. So right now, we are in that process of getting all of that together. And yes, I did hire someone to do that because, like I said, that is not my strong suit. That's come I always tell people if you need a professional organizer or a cleaning company or anything else, if it's not your strong suit, it's just not your strong suit. If you need help, you need help. So yeah, but back to the um idea of about marketing. When I did work with property management companies, I actually did a lot of book work because I am a very personable person. So I would go actually up there, very old school, um, introduce myself, my company, and that was it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So now, have you ever thought about having your own podcast before?

SPEAKER_00:

People have told me that I would be good at it. So um has it been a thought? Yes, but it's a very uh, it's one of those thoughts that's so far down on the list. But yes, I've thought about it, but I don't know if that's a course that I would go in, you know. But yes, I've thought about it mainly because other people told me I'd probably be good at it because I'm able to, you know, talk to people very, I love communicating, I love learning about other people, other businesses. So yeah, it was a thought, but it's one of those things that's very far down on that list of maybes.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Marissa, we are just about out of time for today's interview, but one final question for you where can our listeners go to learn more about absolute touch organizing?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, they can go to absolute touchorganizing.com. That is my website, and um they can book a consultation with me if they would um like for me to come out to do an assessment um in um in their home, but I also provide virtual services as well. So I do have clients that's out of state and we work on video, and I life coach you through the process of decluttering and organizing your home. So absolute touchorganizing.com is the website where you would go and just put your message in there. Let me know what's going on with you in regards to some people. Like I said, they have had someone to pass away. Um, and so now they have to get the house on the market or let go of things that's really difficult. And then you may have someone that may have gotten sick and gotten behind, or may have a family member. So it's a lot of situations that we can discuss, but um putting those details in there allows me to see a little bit into their world um before we actually get on a phone call.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Marissa, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_00:

I appreciate you as well, Sophia, for having me. I was very happy to find out someone nominated me to be on here. So thank you. Thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GMP Frisco dot com. That's GMP Frisco dot com or call four six nine two two one nine three four five.