Karen Fraser

Karen Fraser is a PhD Candidate in Material Culture Studies in the Department of Human Ecology at the University of Alberta, Canada. She is researching how people declutter and organize in their homes with help from a professional organizer or through community-based methods. Her ethnographically informed fieldwork has brought her in touch with a local network of people who engage with strategies, relationships, and insights to achieve a variety of organizing goals in everyday life. Alongside her studies, Karen is a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses on fashion, textiles, and apparel. She has also used her knowledge of textiles, clothing, and everyday objects to contribute to an online course for a local weaving studio and shares her skills with people who mend their own garments at clothing repair cafés.