Karen Chappelear
Professional Organizer & Collectables Advisor
Organize for Serenity
About Karen
Organize for Serenity provides decluttering, organizing, and downsizing advice and consultation. Where needed, we establish and conduct an online estate sale in conjunction with an international auction partner. We also provide and coordinate moving, donation, and junk removal services using local providers in your area. As related services, we can also help you create a detailed and comprehensive inventory of personal items, useful for insurance purposes, and determine an objective valuation of high-value belongings.
We are especially aware of the unique requirements of adult children of elderly parents, perhaps deceased or with diminished capacities, and of spouses of those recently experiencing age-related diminished capacities. We provide solutions for all generations: Traditionalists (The Silent Generation), Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. We want to help you resolve short-term emergencies and achieve a simpler and more serene lifestyle.
Estate Clear Outs – MaxSold
Our online auction service makes it easy for executors, beneficiaries, estate planning professionals, and heirs to quickly and easily rehome or otherwise remove the entire contents of a residence. In just a few short weeks, all items can be cataloged, auctioned, and removed. We partner with a Canadian-based online auction company, MaxSold, to find a new home for most of these items. Remaining unsold items are donated or, if they have little or no value, discarded. During this process, it is typical for the owners or otherwise authorized individuals to reserve some high-value items for private sale.
Downsizing and Move Out Readiness
The decision to declutter or downsize can be based on any number of factors, including but not limited to job change, retirement, death of a spouse, or all the children having left home. It can be necessary or by choice. Whatever the situation, packing up a house full of memories and moving to a smaller home can jolt even the calmest, most rational person into an uncomfortable state of stress.
Once the decision has been made to downsize or merely declutter, it’s important to begin as soon as possible. This makes the whole process more manageable and less stressful. Don’t wait until the last minute. The sooner you can see real progress toward your goal, the sooner you can begin the practical implementation of that plan from beginning to end.
Throughout this process, you will have many questions to answer. We tackle these questions regularly. We already have practical answers to them and resources to help implement the solutions. There is no need for you to reinvent the wheel.
Collectible Advising – The Keys Guild
The Keys Guild is a unique resource in the downsizing and collectibles industry, serving as a one-stop shop.
“I have the Key to unlocking your dusty treasures.” – Karen Chappelear
The Keys Guild is a community of professionals bridging the gap between individuals with unwanted items in their homes and the experts who know where to sell them. If you want to earn money with your collectibles and gain the peace of mind that comes with a trustworthy source, then you should be working with Karen Chappelear, Collectible Advisor.
Education
Karen has a master’s degree in education (M.Ed.) from San Jose State University, where she also taught Instructional Technology in the Education Department, with specialties in Instructional Technology and Adult Learning Principles.
Professional Organizations
- National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)
- The Keys Guild – Collectible Advising
Hobbies & Interests
Karen lives with her husband and five rescue cats, two pet swans, a productive vegetable garden, and a small orchard. When Karen is not busy working with clients, she spends her time gardening and flipping furniture.