Organizational therapy: Purge SLO has a plan 

Mr. Clean may make your countertops sparkle, but it's nothing compared to what Steffy Duncan, owner of cleaning and organizing company Purge SLO, can do.

Purge SLO specializes in helping those with ADHD or neurodivergent disorders by teaching them about organization systems and minimalism to avoid clutter. As someone diagnosed with ADHD, Duncan knows how hard it is for those with the disorder to focus on a single task.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Steffy Duncan
• BIG HAUL Steffy Duncan, owner of Purge SLO, loads boxes of materials that were cleaned out of a client's home.

So she came up with a system that would help keep everything related to a task in one place. For instance, she said, putting all of your hair stuff in one area so that everything you need when you're doing your hair is set up and ready to go.

"You don't have too many, you have just enough of what you need," Duncan said. "And then I set out a schedule or like biweekly coaching or every three months purging or whatever they need to stay on top of it."

Before Duncan started Purge SLO in 2016, she was going to school for psychology and anthropology. But after a house fire took everything from her dog to her textbooks, Duncan had to find a new direction in life.

Purge SLO came about while Duncan was pregnant and living in a studio apartment waiting for government housing. She was bored and started an errand-running business to keep herself busy because she knew a regular business wouldn't want to hire a pregnant woman.

A client hired her to help organize their office, and things fell into place for Duncan. Although she was technically an "errand runner," Duncan told her client that she would do whatever was needed.

"We really clicked, and I found that I loved to organize and I've always enjoyed cleaning, so it wasn't my intention of starting a business but one thing led to another," Duncan said. "It was like word of mouth after that and I just kind of kept this going while I was pregnant with no intention of starting a business but I felt fulfilled while I was doing it."

Duncan didn't plan on continuing her business after her daughter was born, but her clients motivated her to continue expanding Purge SLO. Currently, Purge SLO primarily serves residents from across the Central Coast—including Paso Robles, SLO, Avila Beach, Grover Beach, Nipomo, Guadalupe, and Santa Maria.

As Duncan's clientele grew, so did her business. Duncan soon realized that a majority of her clients had ADHD, just like Duncan and her neurodivergent siblings.

"I'm not a therapist, by the way. I don't have any training on that, but it just seems like there's always a core of why we are accumulating—overconsuming—and it's always based in emotional trauma or ADHD," Duncan said. "So it's really all about just bringing awareness to that instead of shaming them."

Duncan now works with a crew that helps her with the cleaning aspect while she focuses more on the coaching and ADHD management aspect of the job.

"My process is first talking with them and consulting with them and seeing [what] their traumas [are]. It's a very emotional job for my clients because a lot of clutter can be based on trauma," Duncan said. "And a little bit of their organizing style usually comes down to them being not very happy with themselves so they kind of seek joy outside of themselves and overconsumed to get instant gratification."

She works with her clients to create a schedule and periodically checks in on them to make sure that they're sticking to the plan.

"And we do that until it finally clicks, and I just kind of go in and visit them and hold their hand until the systems are implemented and integrated into their brains," Duncan said.

Once Duncan and her crew clean out clients' homes, she encourages her clients to donate or sell the items that have been purged.

"Pretty much everything that people purge, whatever we can donate, we get out to the local shelters or donation centers. But my goal is to try to give back to the community and really try to talk to my clients and not sell [but donate]," Duncan said.

To learn more about Purge SLO, visit their website at purgeslo.com or find them on Facebook.

Fast fact

• Firestone Walker Brewing Company crafted a new beer in honor of Cal Poly. The official craft brew of the university, Cal Poly Gold, made its debut at the Mustangs' first 2022 home football game on Sept. 10 and is now available at all Cal Poly Athletics events. It will also be available at Firestone's main brewery in Paso Robles. To learn more visit firestonewalker.com. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Shwetha Sundarrajan at [email protected].