Before / After Photos II, home organizing projects

I want to preface this post with a couple of things:

First, the project scope for all of these jobs included more than one room, but many of these photo sets only include one.  "Why??", you might ask... Because 

• I often forget to take before pictures and so have nothing to compare for all the work completed 😦😖😠, and 
• The change in the worked area after some organizing activities just doesn't look as dramatic, although it makes a very big difference for client. 

Second, I believe the majority of people who need my services think that their organizing mess is insurmountable and "fixing it" will take much longer than it really does.  It's astounding what you can accomplish with someone's help in just a few hours! And now, for a little before and after tour... 

Third, project hours given are total, not just for the room(s) shown.

 

 "Cute Rules"

1.  Project scope (approx 110 hrs):  Entire house (room list below) + off-premises garage w/loft storage area

There are other pictures from this home here.  

"But it's so cute!" was a very frequent reason this client gave when we would discuss whether an item should stay or go.  And, "cute" often took precedent over practical organization, which works.... 👀😉

Over a period of a few years we worked a large storage facility off premises, 2 or 3 bedroom closets, master bath, kitchen, formal dining room, an extensive collection of holiday seasonal decor, craft room and a home office; and "Marie Kondo style" we collected stationery from several rooms in the house and consolidated it into one room.  

 

 "Movers' Mess"

2.  Project scope (60 hours, working about 70% on my own):  13 rooms, whole house

 The whole (very large) house looked like the before picture, following a relocation done by professional movers.  The client worked out of town and was not able to participate much in the relocation process, packing OR unpacking.  There was a very extensive library and many collections related to a wide variety of interests.  The moving company had packed it all up and unpacked it, leaving a crazy mixture of items from all different categories and rooms scattered all over the floors.  I came in and essentially had free rein to put it all in order as I saw fit, with input when the client  was available.  Most of the kitchen items and client's clothing had been put in their places before I began working--all else was in disarray.

 

"Surprise---Deadline Yesterday!"

3.  Project scope (* approx 35 hours): 5 rooms + a small shed I worked on entirely alone

Well, the deadline was not really "yesterday..."  We started the project on a Thursday, but that morning I was told there was a deadline for some work that had to be done inside the house Friday of the following week. By the middle of the following week, though, it was clear we could not be done in time, and thankfully the date was able to be moved out 1 week, and...we made it--whew! My client had compromised mobility, so I had her "directing traffic" to move things from one place to another.  She was SO motivated, though!  She tackled so many things on her own the days I could not be with her, and she learned fast how to ask herself the right questions about what to keep and what to delete, and to think about how to store her possessions in ways that made better sense. Not a lot of money available to get lots of pretty new storage pieces, but we made the most of what was already in the home, and this was one happy lady when she got a handle on her household again. 

* Does not include several hours client and a family member put in on the living room apart from my time in the home.

 

 "Behind Closed Doors"

4.  Project scope (20 hours):  Mainly closets--master bedroom, under sinks, pantry, and office

These images are from the office. As can be seen, inserting shelving (adjustable) made a marked difference in the ability to maintain and store things much more accessibly.

"Class Homework"

5. Project: Home Organizing Class, homework assignments

These images are from a group of students who attended my home organizing class in somebody's home.  Students did their "homework assignments" and sent me the pictures from applying the principles.  

(upper left) One lady had various bins for clothing vs an actual dresser.  "Going vertical", putting clothing into the bins like a file folder instead of stacking flat was a huge help, and her hubby loved the change!  (lower left) Another lady had NO containers, so adding them was an important part of the solution.  (upper right) Corralling items in the bathroom drawer with small containers instead of letting them "run around uncontrolled". (lower right) Under-sink spaces are notoriously messy and hard to make work well.  Adding drawers or shelves around the plumbing usually cleans things up a lot. Measure carefully the space you want to fill AND some of the items you intend to store in any drawers to make sure it's going to work...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "Move, and Move Again"

6. Project scope (40 hours): Combine 2 households, and a follow-up project packing (2-bed/1 bath) home for out-of-state relocation

Client had planned to move to another apartment but had a last-minute change and had to pivot rapidly, moving to a different location, with no time to declutter and organize beforehand.  It was total chaos with belongings having been partially unpacked into the new location and piled all over the place.  Less than a year later, client moved out of state, and rather than pay movers, called me back in, which did cost a lot less--good for both of us!! 😁 The biggest challenge was an extensive wardrobe and not much closet space.

"Life Changes, Must Move On"

7.  Project scope (55 hours):  General household, main focus the basement family room; linens, jewelry, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, under-stair storage, memorabilia, laundry room, various closets

Client was dealing with many life and health changes, and the normal control of the household stuff just got away from her.   But her comment at the end of the project was so profound and such a key to almost ALL organizing projects. We were standing at the door of the garage, gazing in at all these things we had moved out of the house (she yard-saled it afterward), and she said something like, "I didn't realize until now that you have to get rid of the excess before you can get organized." Perfect summary! 

 "Rest Recaptured"

8.  Project scope (20 hours): office, kitchen, main bedroom

What a transformation!!  This was supposed to be the client's bedroom, but it was obviously not able to be used as such.  I can't really express what a joy this  transformation brought to me, land the client, because the process of dealing with some of the items in the space was so emotionally charged and ended up being a great release for her. Peace restored, room use recovered.

"Make It Easy, Please"

9. Project Scope (approx 130 hrs): Began with just general household, but turned into a relocation

Several weeks into this project the client made a remark one day that caught me by surprise, and I asked, "Did I just hear you say 'move'? Are you thinking about that?" She said, "I wasn't before, but now that you & I have accomplished so much, I realize we could...so, yes, we're considering that." And they did.  The interesting thing about this project was that once we began to create a system for possessions and gave them obvious, easily accessed homes, the other family members were much better about putting things away also.  This pantry is, of course, just one small part of our work in the original house.  This is a household where it's often NOT a good idea to put things into bins, because items needed to be clearly visible to all.