The Organizing Witch is helping Lawrence conjure up better living
Lawrence resident Chloe Sheridan is changing the game around cooking and organization. What may seem like a tedious chore to most has become her career.
The organizing Withc in all her glory. // Photo by Corey Sievers
Lawrence resident Chloe Sheridan is changing the game around cooking and organization. What may seem like a tedious chore to most has become her career.
At just 18 years old, Sheridan was traveling across the country following The Grateful Dead, selling feather earrings to make money. She moved to social media as a way to share her travels and connect with people around the world.
She began picking up jobs on homesteads and farms in between, learning how to use the food she grew in her art. The traditional art moved to edible art through cooking and baking, and her following continued to grow.
Photo by Corey Sievers
“I just wanted to make art, so I was inspired to make really pretty, striking pieces of edible work,” says Sheridan. “That’s how I became known for my mandala pies.”
Her love for the occult is heavily displayed in her art, creating anatomical heart chocolates, spiderweb cupcakes, moon phase pies, and witches brew apple cider.
After settling in Lawrence, Sheridan began organizing artist events and art markets as a way for other local artists to come together and share their work. This is how she started at the Lovers of Lawrence Artwork (LOLA) Art Collective. Here, Sheridan sells handmade earrings, decorative signs, and other goodies to her friends and neighbors.
She worked as a full-time caregiver to neurodivergent, elderly, and disabled individuals. She spent time organizing her clients’ entire lives and fell in love.
“The caregiving and the art became so intertwined, it became something I am proud of,” says Sheridan.
Sheridan’s business, The Organizing Witch, uses trauma-informed care as a way to help people reclaim their space and learn to feel comfortable in their own world.
As someone who is neurodivergent herself, she understands the struggle that can come with taking care of yourself and your home. She wants to make sure her services are accessible to everyone, even offering good faith discounts to her clients when they need a little help but can’t currently afford it.
“I show up as a doula in people’s spaces without judgment to organize in ways that feel supportive and accessible but never to force people beyond their current capacity for change,” says Sheridan.
In just a year and a half, The Organizing Witch has become her full-time job. In August, she was awarded second place for cleaning services by The Best of Lawrence. Sheridan doesn’t use traditional means of advertising but rather word of mouth throughout the Lawrence community. As her business grows, she hopes to learn more to better suit her clients’ needs.
Sheridan tidies a spice cabinet. // Photo by Corey Sievers
“I am working on my death doula certification. I work with so many people who are helping their loved ones go through their items before they pass on. This work requires so much gentleness and care,” says Sheridan.
Her greatest advice: Don’t let anyone else’s fear affect the choices you make in your life.
As someone who didn’t finish high school, she felt like the world was stacked against her and no one supported the risks she took to get where she is now.
“I don’t have the security, I don’t know where I will be next month, but I am truly living proof of ‘I fucking told you so,’” says Sheridan. “Everything I have done in the last decade has led up to this moment.”
You can find The Organizing Witch on Instagram and on her website.
