Organizing Gallery
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This is one of our loyal and favorite repeat clients! We have worked on several areas of their home in the past, this time it was a few select areas that had grown unruly.
-The Master Closet.
-The daughter’s tiny closet in her room.
-The daughter’s spare closet in another space in the home.
-The daughter’s bathroom.
-The Medicine/Hallway Supply cupboard shared by the household.
The Master Closet: Our client wanted an overhaul in her closet after purging a TON of clothes. During our supplies consultation (we ask a lot of questions regarding how the client uses the space, most worn type of clothing etc etc) we established a need for some new lidded fabric containers for items rarely used, a shoe rack, as well as some purse hangers that not only are better for your purse straps, but also look beautiful in any closet. Acrylic Purse Hangers – Luxe Bag Care Amazon
First we switched all the clothes to the hangers the client wanted (recycling the dry cleaner wire hangers) then organized by use, style and colors. We built the new shoe rack, and swapped old fabric containers for our lovely new ones, Fabric Lidded with Wooden Handles M Design
After labeling the containers with the wonderful magnetic labels we found at The Container Store, Magnetic Labels for Fabric Baskets TCS, we loaded up our cars with the purged items and took them all to a local donation center.
The Daughter’s Closet(s): Our clients daughter has a tiny closet in her room & had resorted to using two other spaces in the home which was driving her crazy. She felt totally disorganized and finally waved the white flag. She said she resisted using our services (her Mom is a long term repeat client of ours) because she felt she should be able to do it herself. We often hear this and understand how this feels.
We assessed the three spaces during our consultation with her and again, asked a lot of questions regarding her routine, her most used clothing style, and most importantly her frustrations and challenges. For her, it was feeling like her clothes and shoes were spread out in 3 different areas so visualizing her outfit was almost impossible.
We really didn’t need many supplies and repurposed 95% of her existing items. We organized her closet in her room with items that she wears most of the time – jeans, sweats, t-shirts ,hoodies. She works at home and rarely dresses up to go out.
We used the hall coat closet for ALL her shoes – all boxed by style and color for ease of use, as well as using the hanging storage cubbies for ALL her purses.
We used the big cupboard with the rolling rack (the least accessible area for her) for her dresses, formal pants, and ALL her tall boots.
She was utterly amazed at how fast we made the transformation (less than 3 hours for 3 people) and was so incredibly grateful. We then spent less than an hour organizing her bathroom drawers and cabinets.
Medicine/Hallway Supply: These hallway cupboards were so oddly shaped (almost triangular) with lots of awkward spaces that it was a challenge to store and find much at all.
Our lovely clients had been using the space for overflow bathroom, medical and back up supplies but it was frustrating that they would not fit much or stay organized due to their tricky size.
We changed things up a little and purchased some acrylic adhesive wall organizers which we knew would be perfect for light weight, small dental accessories as well as medications and vitamins; in this skinny space it would allow us to double up and avoid wasted height. Acrylic Adhesive Wall organizers – M Design
We also purchased a lazy susan for the back stock vitamins, making it easier to see what you need with a quick spin to avoid buying what they already had (a common problem in many households).
We used large lidded fabric containers for bigger items that are rarely used (think heating pads, breathing treatment equipment and covid tests and masks). This allowed us to utilize the up til now dead space by stacking the containers 3 high.
As you can see from the photos, the space has been fully utilized with each shelf holding like with like items for a logical and easy to use system for our clients.
Our client, and her daughter, were so happy!
This client just needed a tidy and organize for her daughter’s playroom before their upcoming move!
Quick little job of 4 hours for a repeat client who wanted some help in her kitchen. As part of the project we organized her junk drawers! It’s the little things that make you happy and our client loved being able to find everything in its logical place once we had finished.
You may recognize this garage from previous before & after pics. My client/friend/fabulous realtor Susan Piazza would be the first to tell you (and it’s true) that organizing is not her forte or her priority. She is too busy closing real estate deals all over Orange County!
I have known Susan for years and after initially helping with her unpack and organizing into her lovely Trabuco Canyon home, we also set about “freeing” her from 4 storage units FULL of STUFF!
She is, and has always been, one of my biggest supporters and I LOVE working at her home. The menagerie of alpacas, chickens, a 60lb desert tortoise plus 2 dogs and a cat, fills my animal loving heart. Her yard is heaven on half an acre with so much always going in the beautiful garden.
This time around, the requirement was different …she didn’t just want me to “clean up and reorganize” the garage like normal. She decided that her hobby of refinishing antique furniture with chalk paint and glazes had gotten a little out of hand (ahem… it read borderline hoarding potential!!!) and instead of having a dozen cans of chalk paint in each room of the house, it was time she dedicated space in one area that she could go to when she had some spare time.
We discussed using the garage (which has the tendency to be a drop zone for many things work and home related) and decided that if we incorporated Peg Board on both sides of the walls, we could not only accommodate her Real Estate signs, but also tools and paint and painting accessories.
Her Dad Bob, who is amazingly handy, offered to help with the peg board pick-up from Lowes and installation – we used 2 x 96″ wide pieces to give us as much hanging space as possible. I ordered multiple peg board accessories on Amazon; insider tip …beware, if you are thinking about peg boards for your garage, the spacing between holes is not standard, so make sure you measure it before you order the accessories!!!
I first set about removing all items from the garage, getting the space cleared, cleaning and vacuuming the floors, yes, we are THAT thorough. Then as Bob was installing the peg board and other wall hangers I had ordered, I had all the paints and paint related items gathered from around the house and other out buildings brought into the garage for sorting.
The next part was the really fun bit! Figuring out what should go where based on its regularity of use. One side of one board was household tools and repair items, the other side was entirely dedicated to painting. We had the luxury of an existing metal shelving unit which we used for the actual paint (sorted by type into containers) and Susan is in the process of looking for a workbench which will sit immediately under the peg board.
Her Real Estate work signs (and as you can see from the pictures, there are MANY) took some creative thinking, making each one easily accessible, as well as handling the weight of the heavier ones. Susan’s Dad was incredibly helpful, utilizing some wood that was just sitting in the garage, making me little shelves in between the struts, and attaching wire to two screws to help hold some of the signs in place.
I was able to use the peg board hooks for many of the signs, and literally took up the entire wall with signs, stands and attachments. It was all consolidated in one easily accessible space.
Susan was just thrilled with the result …She said she never imagined it would turn out like this …Music to my ears.
This job was for an existing client of ours who moved last year into a fully renovated new home. There were a lot of furniture pieces and miscellaneous items placed in the garage that no longer fit the style of the new home, as well as all of the regular items we store in our garages…. Kids bikes, surf boards, tools, keep sake/memory boxes.
Our client finally bit the bullet after months of thinking they would tackle the garage themselves and realizing that the job just kept getting bigger and more daunting.
Organized & Orderly arrived with a crew of 3 and set about removing EVERYTHING from the garage and putting it all on the driveway. This allowed us to go through items with our client, assessing what she wanted to keep versus items that were not being used and just stealing space. After 7 hours, everything she was keeping had a home, all neatly stored like-with-like. We created enough space for hubby to park his car that night (he was thrilled!) and although there are still some furniture items that she wants to try and sell, once they have gone, they will be able to park not 1 but 2 cars in the garage.
This busy mom was surprised beyond belief when her boyfriend gifted her a garage makeover for Mothers Day! We gave him a list of things we needed, including clear containers and a metal rolling shelving unit.
After 6.5 hours, we had pulled everything out, edited items no longer needed, organized by type and put it all back together with clearly zoned areas. All the beach and pool stuff together in one cupboard, all arts and crafts in another, sports equipment in another.
We also cleared out the two utility cabinets and made space in one for large, rarely used appliances that our client did not have room for in the kitchen.
Needless to say she was THRILLED!
This family decided to list their beautiful home in Tustin and their wonderful realtor Kurt Galitski, Coldwell Banker called on Organized & Orderly for assistance with getting the home list ready. Overall, the home was looking pretty good, but the master closet even though it was big, was being poorly utilized and seemed much smaller than it really was. The number one goal was to get the shoe situation sorted out as the shoes were all over the floor, making it difficult to “see” the rest of the closet. During our Listing Consultation, we discussed changing out the hangers for a more streamlined aesthetic and the client was totally on board! (Yay! Costco to the rescue with their fabulous slimline black velvet hangers).
I spent about 30 minutes moving shelves, adjusting them to give better storage potential, as well as utilizing rails that had been empty due to shelving locations. I then organized the clothes by type (sleeveless, tees, long sleeve, workout wear, etc etc) and then by color and finally switched out the hangers. I also cleared off the shelves of items that did not belong, which allowed me to fold up wool and cashmere sweaters (better than hanging them) and reduce the number of hanging items. We love the new look and the both the homeowner and the realtor were thrilled with the results.
Our lovely client (who was referred by a very happy previous client) was moving from Irvine to MV. She works full time (from home) and just knew she didn’t have the time or the skills to unpack and organize her kitchen so asked O&O to come to the rescue.
As you can see, the job wasn’t that large and we had lots of lovely space to organize into, which made the job so much easier. 3 hours later = 1 absolutely elated client – she said it would have taken her weeks to do what we did AND it wouldn’t have been half as organized! She wanted to leave the cupboard doors open so she could stare at her freshly organized cabinets all day!!! We love what we do and we love our clients even more!
Thanks to Roxanne Ellison of The Bowen Team ReMAX for the referral to this lovely family. They had just moved and with two young children needed some help with unpacking and getting them organized into their beautiful new home.
In case you don’t know, unpacking and organizing is one of my favorite jobs… I get to ask a ton of questions about your lifestyle, your habits, your most used items, whether you are left or right handed (YEP…. it really matters) and then I get to organize your home in just the perfect way, maximizing your space and utilizing systems to best serve your individual needs.
My client said she was going to pour a glass of wine and just SIT in her closet in awe! I LOVE IT!
By the way, in case you didn’t notice, we alternated the shoes, front to back, in order to maximize space, and in this instance (with a LARGE and FABULOUS shoe collection) we were able to get an extra pair on each shelf, which wouldn’t have been possible if both shoes had been placed forward facing.
It all comes from 13 years of helping our clients get Organized & Orderly!!!!
We unpacked, we purged, we relocated, we donated, and finally organized and made this space beautiful! As part of a larger unpack job, the master closet was transformed in just a few hours! Unpacking and setting up a client for an organized life… she hit the ground running and just LOVES her new space!
This closet transformation only took 1 hour, just a portion of a much larger job. In this ‘His & Her’ closet, we switched to all white hangers, as well as sorted each item by type and color!
These pics are for a client in Coto De Caza who was overwhelmed with too much stuff!!! We were able to go through everything in the garage, purchase 3 large metal shelving units and lots of large clear sterilite containers, haul away a lot of donations, fill up 4 trash cans with trash…. = 1 very happy family! We even gave the hubby back his garage parking space and relocated all the kids outdoor toys and bikes etc for easier access!
This job was done for an 11 year old girl in Coto De Caza whose father had called me at his wits end. His daughter couldn’t find clean laundry, identify what was dirty or clean, find schoolwork and important items, and just generally needed HELP!
It was important that I was able to work with her to understand how her schedule and her life, her habits and her goals affect her ability to keep her room clean, organized and implement a personalized system. Yes, all kids are kind of messy (at least mine are!!!) but if a good system is in place, it should be much easier to keep on top of the “mess”.
With Wednesdays being late start, I arrived at 7:30am to have an hour and a half with her before she had to leave for school.
Although I could continue to work after she had gone, it was important to go through all items while she was there so that SHE could decide what stays and what goes, trusting that I would honor her wishes.
She has never had a Keepsake/Memory box and one of the biggest issues that she (and many other children) had, was that there were LOTS of items that she was attached to, but didn’t actually need to see or have in her immediate space. This space is what I call Prime Real Estate – it’s limited and therefore we should only use it for things that we need to use/touch often, or that we absolutely want to look at and enjoy.
She also had a gazillion stuffed toys and cuddly’s – all of which her Dad had tried to get her to part with, but she just wasn’t ready – and that’s OK!
The majority of her clothing was stuffed into drawers and while I agree that most kids struggle with hanging things up, there was SO much in the drawers that it made it impossible for her to put her clean stuff away (hence Dads frustration with the laundry situation!)
We agreed (after we had weeded out some items that no longer fit, or that she didn’t love) that we hang up jeans and hoodies, thus giving us more space in the drawers for other things.
We worked together through literally EVERYTHING in her room and made massive and very messy piles of keep and put back, memory items or keepsakes, items that needed to be relocated to other rooms in the house (think spare blankets and bedding or bathroom items). By the time she left to go to school, I knew exactly what was staying and what was going.
I immediately left to go and purchase her some containers – some large plastic sterilite totes for memory boxes (to be stored in the garage), some fun canvas totes that matched the color of her room, some matching hangers in her favorite shade of blue and some desk organizers.
2.5 hours later, I was finished. She now had defined space for her school work and electronics, her drawers were organized and still had available space, her closet (with matching hangers) was being utilized fully not just for hanging clothes but also her cuddly toys in big baskets that were still accessible but not stealing space all over her room.
Dad was thrilled and I was beyond happy when she texted me later that day to tell me how excited she was to come home to an organized room!
This client moved in 2017 and has never been able to park her car in her garage. Something I hear quite often with my clients. After 6 hours of organizing …voila! The transformation was incredible. We did remove a lot of items for donations and sale to make room but, now she is more organized than ever!
This job was a 6 hour garage and laundry room organize in Lake Forest (this is the same client whose closets, bathroom and kitchen we organized last year).
The clients wanted us to group holiday decorations, keepsake items, arts and crafts etc together, rather than being scattered all over. We didn’t need to purchase any containers as she already had enough, some of them half full.
My assistant and I pulled out EVERYTHING, lined all the containers up in the garage with the lids off, and assessed which containers needed reorganizing (to make more available space) and then were able to add the loose items that had not been containerized. We labeled EVERY container and then grouped them together in the same area of the garage for easier access. All of the keepsake boxes were placed in the least convenient areas, as they are rarely opened. We put all Christmas together, including the wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbon etc. We also were able to make space on the closest rack to the back door, and gave the client a shelf for overflow from the house (think paper towel, excess cleaning supplies etc).
The laundry room is very oddly shaped with limited access to the cupboards under the sink, due to the washing machine jutting out a little and causing one of the doors to only partially open. The cupboards above the washer and dryer are a problem too… the client could only reach the bottom two shelves, the third one was empty and totally inaccessible.
The client was storing all of her cleaning supplies on the counter top and the shelves inside the upper cupboards for laundry supplies and doggie towels and meds, as well as bathing and grooming items for the dogs (she bathes them in the laundry room sink, so wanted everything nearby!) plus a few other random items like lightbulbs and doggie poop bags! Under the sink was a bunch of tile that the builder had left, which was taking up a lot of space at the back.
We pulled EVERYTHING out (are you seeing a pattern here? You can’t begin to organize without assessing EXACTLY what you have got and what is staying!) We relocated the tile to a spot in the newly organized garage, bought out the lightbulbs and containerized them with the other lightbulbs already out there.
We removed both of the top shelves in the upper cabinets, and raised the middle shelf up a notch. Now the client can easily reach both shelves and we were able to use that space fully.
We decided to put dog cleaning and grooming under the sink, using a metal container for shampoos, conditioners, brushes and a hairdryer along with a container for dog towels. We also put a container with re-useable mop heads in this space too, as they get used weekly.
In the upper cabinets we were able to containerize and stack dog meds, dog poop bags, plug ins and refills as well as a sewing box. In going through the cleaning supplies on the counter, we removed any duplicates or overflow and took them out to the garage to put on a shelf on the rack nearest the back door. The remainder of the cleaning supplies went up into the upper cabinet.
The client was beyond thrilled… she said she had never seen that counter space clear before, and she LOVED how easily accessible everything now is!
This lovely job is a realtor client of mine who’s garage had gotten under husbands skin so badly, she surprised him with a secret clean up and organize session with us! The client is allergic to dust, and rarely goes down into the garage, without sneezing up a storm!
There were a couple of special requests… Her two young daughters love to play and make SLIME, which (as all parents of young kids know) makes a yucky mess all over because it involves glue, paint, glitter, hand soap etc etc. Her children are only allowed to play with it in in one corner of the garage, however the “mess” had spread all over and she ideally wanted to contain them to one corner, so that her husband could safely park his car in the garage without running over a bunch of slime!
The second request was to work on having the golf clubs and kids bikes and scooters more easily accessible.
The third request was to organize the keepsakes and memory boxes, label them and store them out of the way instead of on the ground as they rarely need to access them.
With that, my assistant and I set about making their garage Organized & Orderly.
It took us 5.5 hours, a trip to target for containers but when the husband arrived home toward the end of the project, he was just thrilled to see his garage floor again!
Browse By Room
Making Extra Space in Irvine
Mission Viejo Closet Transformation
San Juan Capistrano Dream Closet Makeover
San Juan Capistrano Garage
This job was for an existing client of ours who moved last year into a fully renovated new home. There were a lot of furniture pieces and miscellaneous items placed in the garage that no longer fit the style of the new home, as well as all of the regular items we store in our garages…. Kids bikes, surf boards, tools, keep sake/memory boxes.
Our client finally bit the bullet after months of thinking they would tackle the garage themselves and realizing that the job just kept getting bigger and more daunting.
Organized & Orderly arrived with a crew of 3 and set about removing EVERYTHING from the garage and putting it all on the driveway. This allowed us to go through items with our client, assessing what she wanted to keep versus items that were not being used and just stealing space. After 7 hours, everything she was keeping had a home, all neatly stored like-with-like. We created enough space for hubby to park his car that night (he was thrilled!) and although there are still some furniture items that she wants to try and sell, once they have gone, they will be able to park not 1 but 2 cars in the garage.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
Being organized is being in control.
Myth: Organizing is a skill you have to be born with. Fact: Anyone can learn to become organized.
Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
The Zen of Organizing philosophy refers to the creation of a calm, peace-filled, and joyous environment.
Less Stuff Means…less to clean, less to organize, less to store, less mess
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.
Clutter is a weight that has built on top of you so gradually, you don’t even realize anymore that it is holding you down.
