If the house is a hot mess, nonprofit group volunteers step in to take the stress away

Whether it's cleaning, organizing, meal preparation or yard work, Hot Mess Express helps women get a fresh start.

Founded in 2021 by Jen Hamilton, HME is a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering support to women by tidying and organizing their homes.

Izzy Crislip, president of the Northeast Ohio chapter, recalls how hard it was when she had her son.

“I needed some help. There were days when I felt like everything was falling apart and I’m drowning,” Crislip said.

In 2022, she joined HME to help other women in her community.

“It’s meaningful to me that I’m able to provide that for others when I knew that sometimes I didn’t have that in the past and I don’t want any woman to feel like that,” she said.

HME supports all women, not just mothers. Nominees can fill out an application on the HME website, and a coordinator will reach out to them.

“We are a village of women here to help with a reset so that you can continue without being as overwhelmed,” Crislip said.

Nonprofit set up with chaos coordinators

Lisa McCoy, chapter vice president, had a different experience. She is someone who has a village and wants to give back to the community.

“I’m pretty detail-oriented and organized and I like to help others be organized. I felt that this was a great organization to be part of and that I could use my personal and professional skills,” she said.

McCoy coordinates three counties − Cuyahoga, Lorain and Medina.

As a chaos coordinator, she oversees the missions by reviewing nominee applications. Then she makes a walkthrough for the residents.

“The walkthrough helps us plan the mission to know how many volunteers we need and what tasks the nominees need help with it helps is to visually see it and also to check to make sure they follow our health and safety,” McCoy said.

Once the plan is set, the mission details are posted on the chapter's Facebook group to rally volunteers.

Each mission is between three-five hours long depending on the tasks, but good company makes the work easier.

“We have a great time getting together talking and helping to pick up here and there,” Crislip said.

Advice on how to live organized and simple

It’s often hard for nominees to get rid of items they are emotionally attached to, and that’s one of the challenges that faces HME during their missions.

“A lot of people are afraid to do that, whether it be like an emotional attachment to the item or they fear they might use it in the future,” McCoy said.

HME does not force nominees to get rid of items, but they offer advice of how to live organized and simple.

HME accepts most household chores, but has a list of tasks they cannot do, such as construction, childcare and moving.

Although HME does not accept monetary donations, it does welcome gift cards and contributions from their Amazon wishlist to help with cleaning supplies.

“Sometimes people also donate meals for the volunteers during a mission,” Crislip said.

Ohio chapters 'in desperate' need of volunteers

With over 20 chapters across Ohio, HME accepts nominees all year long. However, the number of missions that can be done is limited to the number of volunteers who signed up.

“We are in desperate need of volunteers, and that has been our biggest issue,” Crislip said. “In Wayne County, for instance, we have only five people who filled out the volunteer form, and not all of those five people will be able to show up on the mission day,” Crislip said.

Volunteering applications can be found on the HME Linktree account. Women volunteers ages 18 years and older can apply.

“We hope to have at least one coordinator if not two for every county. Our chapter covers over 20 counties and only about six or seven have coordinators,” McCoy said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: If the house is a hot mess, nonprofit group volunteers step in to take the stress away