Story & Lesson Highlights with Pam Miller-Fitzgibbons of North Phoenix

We recently had the chance to connect with Pam Miller-Fitzgibbons and have shared our conversation below.

Pam, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
I think we all secretly struggle with trying to be the “ideal” person we want people to perceive us as and not the “real” person who is just trying to survive day to day. These days it seems like the photos and reels flooding social media have influenced us to feel we need to pursue a life of unrealistic perfection. But when we fail to achieve that level of perfection emulated all over social media, we feel like we’ve failed, or we become paralyzed in a feeling of “overwhelm” not knowing how to make that perfection happen. Social media has made us all feel that our homes and our lives should be in a constant state of perfection when in fact the truth of the matter is that life can be very messy at times and very often unpredictable.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Pam, I’m a mom of 3 amazing adult children, and I’m a Professional Organizer. I truly love helping people reclaim peace and organization in their homes, businesses, and personal lives. I feel blessed to be able to help people who are struggling with disorganization in their lives. When people reach out to me, they are usually stressed out, overwhelmed, and just don’t know where to begin to regain the organization they want. Believe me… I completely understand where they’re coming from. Life is full of unexpected events and it can have a profound effect on us. I’ve been through a lot in my own life including loss of family members (8 people in 10 years), an emotionally abusive marriage, a divorce, becoming a single mom, moving across country and starting over, becoming a business owner, and even recently helping my elderly parents downsize and reorganize after a dementia diagnosis. I think all those experiences help me relate a lot better to the people who reach out to me for help getting things organized. So often when someone calls me for help, one of the first things they say is how embarrassed they are that they let things get so disorganized. I really want people to know that when they reach out to me for help there is never any judgement, just understanding.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I can’t say that there was just one single moment that shaped how I see the world, but rather a series of moments over the years that have really influenced how I see the world. However, I can say that becoming a Mom definitely tops the list of what shaped how I see the world. Children have a magical way of turning your life completely upside down. I learned the importance of living in the moment and cherishing it. My children taught me that experiences are definitely more important than “stuff” like toys or electronics. If I ask them what are some of their favorite childhood memories, they will always talk about the experiences we shared together. They talk about playing outside together in the backyard or at the park, about riding bikes and playing catch. They talk about the times we’d go to the library and check out a crate-ful of books and how they couldn’t wait to get home and start reading them, or about the times we carved pumpkins, decorated Easter eggs, and about the games we played and the movies we’d watch together. Through my children, I began to see that memories aren’t built on the material things we collect and own, but rather on the experiences we share together.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
While I’d like to say that I’ve healed from past wounds in my life, I think it would be more accurate to say that I have learned from them. If I’m being honest, I still feel the pain of those wounds from time to time, but I have learned that facing those wounds and dealing with them helps to ease the pain so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming. I also keep my focus on learning from past wounds so I will hopefully avoid them in the future. I find that focussing on all of the positive things in my life is a much better use of my time and energy.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I like to think so, but if I’m being honest… maybe not. What I mean by this is that I’ve been told that I tend to keep a lot of the struggles that I go through in my life private. I remember when I was going through my very rough and very lengthy divorce, my friends and coworkers told me they were shocked to learn about everything I was going through during that time because I always seemed so “cheerful” on the outside. I guess I feel that everyone has “stuff” they’re dealing with in their lives so I figured complaining about my troubles really wouldn’t help the situation. However, lately I’ve opened up more about my experiences because I realize that sharing not only my experiences but also how I “survived” them can help others who might be going through similar struggles.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Simply put… that LESS is MORE. Time is the most valuable thing we have and time spent with our family and friends is PRICELESS. These days, so many people are focusing on how much “stuff” they have. We’ve become a very materialistic society fueled by all of the photos and reels we see on social media. I see so many chasing after the fallacy of “The more I have, the happier I’ll be.” They get trapped in a cycle of comparing their possessions with others which is a never-ending race with no finish line. As a Professional Organizer, I’m often called in to help families whose homes are overflowing with “stuff”. When people are so focussed on accumulating more “stuff”, they’re missing out on spending time and sharing experiences with family and friends which is what makes life so much more worth living. I hope I can help encourage more people that LESS stuff is MORE living.

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