The mother of three busy kiddos ages 12, twin 10-year-olds, DaLona Niland values the simplicity of a well-organized lifestyle. DaLona is familiar with the needs and lifestyles of busy families and thriving businesses because she has both!
She has a BS in Elementary Education from University of Houston, Clear Lake and has run her own business for since 2003. She very much enjoyed teaching seventh grade Language Arts for Deer Park ISD but made the decision to be a stay-at-home mom when her first child was born. She stayed home until all three of her children were in school and then nothing could keep her home any longer! That was when she started Organized by Design.
Utilizing her innate skills, DaLona assesses various aspects of the home and corporate organizational needs and establishes order where chaos once reigned!
DaLona is a charter member of both the 288 Corridor Rotary club in Pearland, Texas
(south of Houston) and the American Business Women's Associates - South East Express Network (ABWA-SEEN). DaLona is also a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).
After living in the Houston area her entire life, she has recently relocated along with her husband, to San Antonio. The entire Niland family believes that San Antonio is definitely where they are meant to be and have loved living here from the very beginning.
DaLona took six months off to get her own home organized but when she began accepting clients, she hit the ground running and hasn't looked back. She began building her San Antonio business in July 2006 and has been pleasantly surprised by the tremendous success she's enjoyed in the city with corporate and residential clients keeping the calendar booked. She attributes her success to the Lord and is very thankful for each new client, who often becomes her dear friend.
Accomplishments:
One of DaLona's greatest accomplishments is beating breast cancer in April 2004. Of course, she is very thankful to be alive and tries to make the most of every day. Click here to see photographs of her and many other cancer survivors celebrating life at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event held by cities all over the country every year.
After surviving cancer and the surgeries that inevitably go with it, DaLona began exploring a healthier way to live with hopes of staying cancer free. She discovered that carrying extra body fat puts a woman at a higher risk for breast cancer. So she set out on a journey to eliminate that risk from her life. After moving to San Antonio, she lost 40 pounds over a 9 month period through diet and exercise and has maintained that weightloss for two years. Something really exciting came out of that -- besides new clothes! DaLona was featured as a success story in SHAPE magazine's January 2009 issue. To see that article, click here!
One of DaLona's proudest moments is related to the success of the Box Tops for Education program at Huebner Elementary where her children attend school. She took the lead of that program during the 2006 - 2007 school year and has organized it ever since. She has taken it from a meager earnings of $872 over an 8 year period to almost $20,000 THIS YEAR alone. With her encouragement and enthusiasm, the parents, students, staff and administration have gone wild for Box Tops! Even General Mills took notice of her passion for the program and generously donated $10,000 to Huebner elementary simply because of what DaLona calls her "ridiculous enthusiasm!" To see news coverage of this awesome event, click this link!
DaLona has also been called on as a professional source for articles on organizing issues in the San Antonio Express-News. She's also written an article about mudrooms for the Express-News called Order in the House. Below are the links for these articles.
Source for San Antonio "Express News" article