Tomorrow Isn’t Promised: How Grief Became the Heartbeat of My Work
“When I lost my brother, all the clichés about living life to the fullest became reality.”
Loss cracked me open
When I unexpectedly lost my youngest brother, everything I thought I knew about what it means to live, shattered. Face to face with the fragility of life, I became crystal clear that I hadn’t actually been living my life. Instead, like so many of us do, I’d simply been going through the motions.
The stark reality that tomorrow isn’t promised offered me a sense of courage that I’d never known, and that courage invited me to step into the world of entrepreneurship.
Beyond that, it shifted my perspective. Through loss and grief, I gained clarity on what truly matters in life. I began to notice how much of our time, thoughts and energy we give away to things that don’t matter.
That clarity is the foundation of my work: the reason I help others align their homes and reshape their lives around what matters most.
Turning loss into a living practice
I lost my brother two days after moving into my first home. As a first time homeowner, I simplified, organized and renovated my way through grief. I fell in love with the concept of home. I came to understand the innate role our homes play in shaping the course of our lives, and the potential they have to support us in living deeply meaningful and fulfilling lives.
I made it my mission to help others simplify their spaces, create functional systems and design homes in the name of reconnecting with what matters most; in stepping back to recognize that our time here is fleeting. We aren’t promised tomorrow.
That truth is at the heart of everything I do: as a minimalism coach, an organizer, a woman learning to live more fully and authentically in each and every moment.
The empathy that built my business
So while on the surface I offer a very visible, tangible service, my work isn’t actually about stuff.
When people invite me into their homes, we explore stories and beliefs, memories, identities, and dreams that never came to fruition. That’s where grief bubbles up: in yearning for a son you never got, in wishing you had more time with mom, in the desire to become an artist, or the longing for the good ol’ days.
♥️ I recognize it because I’ve lived it.
That lived experience is what allows me to guide clients through the deeply human process of letting go. In helping them to understand that letting go doesn’t mean they’re releasing the past, it means they’re making space to live more fully in the present.
“Decluttering isn’t just about clearing closets. It’s about making space for life.”
There is no finish line
I’ve learned that grief and entrepreneurship are endless teachers. While there may be a clear beginning point, there’s no such thing as a finish line.
As I’ve grown, my business has evolved with me. What began as pragmatic and practical has softened into something more soulful and healing.
Yes, design matters. Tidy shelves, labeled bins, and spaces that flow truly do change people’s lives. But the deeper work, the real magic, is helping people live more meaningful, fulfilling and authentic lives within those spaces.
🤍 If you’re an entrepreneur walking through grief:
Your grief is here to serve you. It’s not your undoing, it’s your becoming.
Be gentle with yourself. Pause when you need to.For a day, for a week, for seven months. Tend to what’s here now. Find faith in something greater than yourself: nature, the Universe, your higher self, God.
You may not see it yet, but you’re alchemizing pain into medicine. Find a way to trust that. Because someday you’ll offer that medicine to others in ways you can’t yet imagine.
Stay open. Stay human. Trust that your best today is enough.
At the heart of it all
Through grief, and entrepreneurship, I’ve learned that connection is at the heart of what matters most. To be fully alive is to be connected: to ourselves, to each other, to purpose and meaning.
Connection is at the core of everything I do: every client I meet, every home I touch, every workshop I host.
While yes, there’s inherent value in minimalism, organization, and functional design, I see them as so much more.
They’re the gateway to reconnecting with ourselves. A portal to healing. An honest and tangible path toward a life built in alignment with what matters most. A life that embodies what it truly means to be alive.
Find Olivia at Little Storied Homes and on Substack. She's inviting our community to spend 60 minutes with her in a complimentary session exploring your minimalism and decluttering journey.
Olivia has worked with Johanna Setta, the founder of this online magazine and says, "Johanna’s approach to business is the future of business. She is ahead of the curve and it is such a gift to be on board."