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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wearing many hats

CdA mom juggles activities with flair

Carla Hofstee sells hats at the farmers market in Coeur d'Alene on Saturday. She has a home-based business, My Girls Hats, and has written a book, “Organization with Ease.”  (Kathy Plonka)
Laura Umthun lauraumthun@yahoo.com

In an average month, she washed 170 to 180 tubs of laundry, matched 420 pairs of socks, made 240 school lunches, averaged 60 to 70 hours of homework and maintained a 5,000-square-foot home without hired help.

During this busiest time of her life, and while Carla Hofstee was managing a family of 14, she learned that her challenges gave her opportunities to learn more about time management and household organization. Her focus moved to solutions instead of problems.

“As our family grew in numbers, I was constantly challenged to be organized,” says Hofstee. “I created schedules, checklists, charts, daily to-do lists, and I learned how to prepare meals in advance.” Over a period of time, Hofstee learned the benefits of time management and organization.

Eventually, she was able to oversee her responsibilities with ease, as she learned new ideas, which gave her more time to do other things she enjoyed.

Other women began asking Hofstee how she managed her large household so well and it became apparent that these women needed information to help manage their households more efficiently.

Hofstee decided to design and teach a fun seminar on household organization that would encourage women.

Much to her amazement, 250 women showed up at her first seminar. That seminar opened doors for her to teach at dozens of organizations and do more personal seminars.

After distributing many copies of her charts, checklists and other ideas, Hofstee published a book called “Organization with Ease.”

One tool that sets Hofstee’s book apart is the ready-made pull-out charts and checklists. Permission is given to copy the materials as much as necessary.

The book covers de-cluttering a home; storage and organization ideas for children’s bedrooms; a simple laundry system; schedules that help maintain order; morning school schedules, meal and holiday planning, overnight guests and camping trips.

Hofstee also has another home-based business called My Girls Hats.

When Hofstee was 12 years old, her aunt gave her a ball of red yarn and a set of knitting needles, and she has been creating with yarn ever since. While caring for her mother seven years ago, she needed a project.

She began crocheting hats for her grandchildren, creating her own patterns and designs. Later, she added embellishments that included beads, pearls, flowers, and ribbons.

Her little project turned into a successful business as Hofstee began selling hats to friends. Today, she sells and ships custom-made boutique-style girls’ hats, headbands, clips, flowers and bows all over the United States; sells them at the Coeur d’Alene Country Gift Store, 6112 Government Way; and every Wednesday and Saturday at the Kootenai County Farmers Market.

Hofstee also teaches beginner and advanced crochet and crocheted fabric rug classes at the Coeur d’Alene Art and Home Center; and will teach household organization seminars this fall seminar for the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center.

Hofstee encourages women to become creators. She feels strongly that women should engage in activities that bring joy, excitement, and energy into their lives, and use their gifts and talents to pursue their passions.

She said women should think about what they love to do and what comes naturally; ask for continued support from friends and family as they pursue their passions; consider how their gifts and talents could be used; brainstorm and talk to others about how they have used their gifts and talents; and move forward one step at a time toward their dreams.

“Everyone should be willing to work hard with discipline to reach their goals,” Hofstee said. “Never give up on our dreams or give in to discouragement.”