Mrs. Lee, Organize Me

I am so excited to do this post. It has been long in the making and I have been to blame for not posting this earlier. I would like to introduce you to my good friend from college, Rachel Lee.

Pictured with her wonderful husband, O'D

Rachel is an incredible friend (fabulous new mother of a beautiful baby girl) and a very successful business woman in New York City. Honing in on her god-given talent of being naturally organized and efficient, Rachel started her own personal organizing business almost a decade ago. Since the conception of her business she has worked with a range of clients (artists, business women and men, new homeowners, small and large corporations) and has helped them streamline their personal and professional lives through the act of getting organized.

Wouldn't this be amazing?!

I thought it would be fun to interview Rachel on this blog and ask her a few things I have been wondering about personal organizing. I hope you find her answers as helpful as I have!

1.) I find it inspiring when people start their own business from a hobby or passion. Can you briefly share how you got into the line of professional organizing?

I owe a great deal to my mother. I had recently left my job in fashion and was trying to figure out my next move. My mother and I were sitting on the floor folding sweaters no less, and she asked me what I thought I was good at. Jokingly, I replied, I'm really good at organizing things. She immediately lit up and told me there was a fabulous booming industry - professional organizing - and i should do some research on the Internet. I went straight to the computer and decided within a few hours that I would start my own organizing business. After that, it was simply a matter of spreading the word to friends and family and getting started on some "practice" projects with those I knew best... my mother was kind enough to loan me her walk-in closet as a trial run:)

2.) What do you think is the biggest challenge for people in terms of keeping their lives organized, and does there exist a simple solution for this challenge?

I have found that for a majority of my clients, the real problem is simply how busy we all are. Yes, some people struggle with the particulars of organizing, but in general, my clients just have a hard time keeping up with the day to day tasks that would easily keep anyone organized. This would be my best and most important piece of advice for anyone trying to get or stay organized: do not let it get to the point where it is all too overwhelming to manage. Try to do the small things every day that will keep you in line - fold your sweater at the end of each day so you don't find yourself at the end of the week with 7 sweaters in a pile at the end of your bed. Sort through your mail - and TOSS the junk - every single day! Do not wait until you have an insurmountable and overwhelming pile at the end of the month. Taking 5 or 10 minutes out of every day to do these simple things will change your organizational style tremendously. Also, these things then become a simple part of your daily routine - just like brushing your teeth. You will soon find that you do them without even thinking about them as individual tasks - it will just be a quick part of your morning or evening routine.

Closet in need of help!!

Looking great afterwards...

3.) One of your specialties is settling clients into their new homes. Although we are moved in - our stuff still hasn't really been *organized* - especially within the few closets we have. What is one of the first things you do to the actual closets before moving any items in? Is there a type of organizing system, boxes etc which you find universally works well in closets?

Truthfully, there is no one simple answer that works with every client in every closet. I work with each individual client to determine how they live, how easily they maintain whatever systems are in place already, how much stuff they have, how much space they have to work with, and move forward from there. But there are some simple steps everyone can use to set up a very functional closet. Before moving your stuff into its new home (whether it be clothes or kitchen supplies or toys), go through and purge! We all have too much "stuff" and I have never in 8 years had a client regret tossing something! Once you are down to the bare minimum, this is when you sort. For a clothing closet - simple steps that many do not follow -put like items together (skirts, pants, blouses etc) by color (blacks through whites). Spend the money to purchase new slim, sturdy hangers - I assure you once your closet is filled with all the same hangers, it will look incredibly streamlined! Depending on your closet space and set up, out of season clothes can be stored elsewhere in plastic bins (for cotton and basics) and breathable fabric bags (cashmere etc), or if you have the space - in the back of your closet arranged the same way as your in-season clothes - this makes the seasonal transition easier. Before packing away for the season, do your purge once again. If you continuously sort and purge, you will never be too overwhelmed by the project at hand. A good rule of thumb to follow - an item comes in (a new pair of shoes) an item goes out. For children's toys - again like items together - bins of balls, small figures, legos, art etc. Large trucks, dolls, learning tools can be grouped on shelves. I am a big fan of starting to teach children at a young age about organizing. Explain to them and work with them as to where things go, putting away what we take out, etc.. You will find that many children love "helping out" and feel empowered to do so. In the kitchen, I like to do like items together as much as is possible, but the kitchen is where we really need to keep the useful items in the most convenient locations and the rest up high or out of the way. Yes, this sometimes means keeping the few serving platters we use most often in an accessible location and the rest of our endless serving platters away in a closet. Kitchens need to be functional first and foremost. But I do like to keep baking items together (both food in the pantry and tools for baking in the cupboards), platters and serving bowls together, etc. Try to keep your everyday plates and glasses and silverware near your dishwasher for easy empty when the dishwasher is done. Items like vases and pitchers can be grouped together and put up high. Also, think about using storage outside of your kitchen if you are working with little space. For instance, I live in Manhattan and have a very small kitchen. We keep all of our fine china in china bags in the front hall closet where we have ample space. It is nicely spread out there, won't get damaged and easily accessed should we entertain. A bar area can be used for wine glasses and such, rather than taking up space in your kitchen. With all organizing in every type of room, the idea is to think outside of the box a bit. Go up high - there is always space there for "deep storage" - the stuff we don't use regularly.

5.) Do you have a golden rule of organizing?

This goes back to the biggest challenge question: the golden rule is to do it continuously, keep up with the small stuff every day. So many people allow organization to overwhelm them - therefore letting their organization systems get out of hand and eventually making a much bigger project for themselves in the end than is necessary. And start small - things always get much messier while I'm working with clients before they get organized. You really have to tear through everything to get to the bottom and start fresh. Know that it will not happen overnight. Some of my projects take weeks or more - but in the long run, having these systems in place will save you so much time everyday it will be worth the hard work!

Storage Closet Chaos:

After:

Bathroom closet organized:

Rachel, Thank you so much for offering your advice to the readers of this Blog! I know many people have the "Get Organized" item on their New Year's list of resolutions! I hope we can chat with you again soon!

Love, Christina