Local Stories with VoyageDallas

Hi Danica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I graduated from UC Berkeley. In 2020, right before lock down my husband got a job here in DFW. I was pregnant with our son, Rowan. The country went into lockdown, and being pregnant, we didn’t want to risk traveling, so we bought a house remotely in May and moved in July 3rd. 

Hack Decks came about from another business my mom and I run. We have a professional organizing company called The Uncluttered Life. We have extensive experience in organization – complete with a Master Level distinction in the KonMari Method (Marie Kondo’s method). I came up with our first deck, Declutter Deck, as a way to help our clients stay organized and for other people trying to get organized. Not everyone has the budget to hire professional organizers, but that shouldn’t be a barrier to having an organized and functional home. We distilled all of our knowledge into Declutter Deck® to come up with mini-organizing prompts to help people who don’t know where to start or what to do get their homes in order. 

After launching Declutter Deck®, I decided to create our second deck, Date Deck. My husband and used to do something fun and new every weekend, and with lockdown and being new parents, we weren’t getting to do that much. Not to mention, we were in a new state, and we had no idea what there was to do or where to go. So, I put 52 of my favorite types of dates that we used to go on down on paper and turned them into date idea prompts, and we slowly got to know the area and fell in love with DFW. The best thing about Date Deck, in my opinion, is that it removes the work associated with having fun. No endless scrolling or trying to figure out what to do. Just a simple prompt to guide you on your date adventure. It removes the pressure and mental fatigue that comes with having an endless list of things to get done and wanting to maximize your personal time. 

We also recently launched Dorm Deck, a deck designed to help college freshmen thrive during their first year of college. 

Next month, we will be launching our New Mama Deck. This deck is so close to my heart, and I can’t wait for it to come out. It’s all about taking care of yourself after you have a baby so that you can enjoy this stage of life instead of get through it. Mama matters, too! 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

No, definitely not smooth. Though, I can’t imagine it ever is for anyone starting a business. We had to fight for trademarks and copyrights, change the name of some decks, and even company! But here we are, and we got everything we needed. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?

I have always been very design-oriented. I studied design and was even an art major for a while before switching to an interdisciplinary major. I always found being creative to be very fulfilling. I’ve worked in social media and built websites, and I truly enjoy it. When covid started, everyone started organizing their homes, and I ended up getting into something I call “decor-organizing.” All that means is that I like to make functional organization pretty. I use decor to hide organization or enhance it. That’s how I ended up a professional organizer. We have recently been awarded the Decorganize® trademark, so you know we really believe in this method of combining beautiful items with storage.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.

You’re never going to know everything you need to know. Just start and figure it out as you go. You’ll make mistakes, but you’ll learn.