Blog

Single Family Home Organization Before & After

Before & After Portfolio of a single family home organization project!

Rooms include: Family, Office, Laundry, Kitchen, Dining, Garage

YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT! ALL PHOTOS IN THIS PORTFOLIO HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE CLIENT!

Ready to Start Your Project?

Clients recieve discounts of up to 20% OFF on products and installations!

organized suitcase for weekend travel trip

Best Backpacking List 2023

Check out the best 2023 backpacking list for my upcoming trip! Six months, five countries, one bag!

2023 Country List

  • New Zealand (2 months)
  • Fiji – 5 islands (1 month)
  • Australia (2 weeks)
  • Vanuatu (2 weeks)
  • Tahiti (1 month)

New Zealand

New Zealand is known for its amazing scenery. A campers paradise and hikers dream! It’s important to wear layers, layers layers! Rain happens often and it’s important to be prepared at any moment – head to toe!

Packing List

Bottoms
  • 1 waterproof pants
  • 1 water resistant fleece pants
  • 1 thermal pants
  • 2 leggings
Tops
  • 1 fleece shirt
  • 1 light sweater
  • 3 thermal long sleeves
  • 1 tank top
  • 1 t-shirt
  • 1 turtle neck
Socks
  • 5 hiking socks
  • 4 socks
  • 1 waterproof socks
  • 1 compression socks
Undergarments
  • 2 swimsuits
  • 2 bras
  • 10 underwear
Shoes
  • 1 hiking shoes
  • 1 sandals
Accessories
  • 2 Masks
  • 1 pair gloves
Camping Supplies
  • Tent
  • Sleeping Bag
  • Stove
  • Water Filter
  • Reusable Utensils
  • Stasher Bags
  • (Everything else our camper van company is providing)

Island Packing List

Bottoms
  • 1 denim shorts
  • 2 workout shorts
Tops
  • 2 tank tops
  • 2 dresses
  • Sun hat

Toiletries/Health

  • 1 towel
  • 1 hand towel
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Floss + flosser
  • Nightguard
  • Deet bug spray
  • Bug balm
  • Lotion
  • Sunscreen
  • Face Wash
  • Nail Clippers
  • Feminine Products
  • Shampoo Bar
  • Spare Earrings
  • Laundry Bag

Electronics

  • Iphone + charger
  • Tablet + charger
  • Kindle + charger
  • Portable charger + cord
  • Headphones wired + wireless
  • Adaptors
  • Portable speaker

Medications/First Aid

  • Bandaids
  • Neosporin
  • Alcohol wipes
  • Gloves
  • Dramamine 
  • Ibuprofen
  • Cold Medicine

Day Pack

  • Dry bag
  • Waterproof Phone Holders
  • Water Filter Bottles
  • Snorkels 
  • Cards/Games
  • Hula Hoop/Stick

Important

  • Passport
  • Passport Photos
  • Copies of ID’s, Cards
  • Mini Locks
  • Money Belt
  • Credit/Debit Cards
  • Cash

Do you need help to create your best backpacking list?

best backpacking bag osprey duplex 60 women's

My Best Backpacking Products 2023

Check out my recommended best backpacking products for 2023!

Osprey Duplex 60 Backpack

Breaks into two pieces!

Frelaxy Waterproof Backpack Cover

Straps in the back and a reflective strip on the front.

DIMJ Packing Cubes, Toiletry Bag, Shoe Bag, Electronics Bag

Perfect set with everything you need.

Shappy Laundry Bag

Solid space and has a loop to hang.

Bogi Microfibrr Travel Towel

I love that it comes with a body and hand towel!

Katadyn Water Purifier

3L of easy peezy filtered water anywhere!

Katadyn Water Purifier Bottle

Filtered water on the go for hikes is a must.

Black Diamond 300-R Headlamp

So many settings and so convenient when hiking and camping.

Pelican Waterproof Phone Holder

Perfect for a day at the beach or hike in the rain.

Ceptics Fast Charging Adaptor Plug

Stay connected. Be sure to research what kind of plug you need for which country.

Stasher Bags

Super handy to use for small toiletries, packaged food, electronics and more.

Znocuetod Eye mask

I love the lavender and gel insert!

Looking for more best backpacking products?

How to Discard: Donations, Recycling, & Trash

Where do you take donations, recycling, and trash? What can I donate? What about hazmat?


Where & What can I Donate?

In the United States there are three major donation centers:

Goodwill

General Items:

  • Clothing
  • Housewares and Small Home Appliances
  • Toys and Games
  • Books and Textbooks
  • Bikes, Skateboards, and Scooters
  • Shoes
  • Purses, Bags, and Luggage
  • Home Décor
  • Movies, Music, and Media
  • Sporting Goods
  • Jewelry
  • Bedding and Linens

See more information about large donations, electronic donations, and items they DO NOT accept.

Salvation Army

  • Household Appliances
  • Automobiles
  • Clothing
  • Furniture
  • Household Goods
  • Electronics

Learn more about specific items to donate and how to value donations.

Habitat for Humanity

  • Household Appliances
  • Furniture
  • Building Materials
  • Household Goods
  • Electronics

Find a resell store near you and learn more about what you can donate.

Can I Schedule A Donation Pick Up?

Yes! All of the above centers offer Donation Pick Up Options!

You can also reach out to your local Waste Management for help!

What Can I Recycle?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the most common recyclables are:

What NOT to throw in the trash?

What are Hazardous Materials? What needs to be disposed of separately?

What if there’s just too many donations, recycling, and trash?

Consider renting a dumpster or hiring a junk remover.

Do you need more recommendations and help?

organized kitchen cabinet

How to Organize Duplicates Guide

Learn how to declutter, organize, and maintain duplicates with our step by step guide!


What are the pain points?

  • Having too much of the same thing
  • Buying items and then realizing you already have them
  • Wasting money by buying what you don’t need
  • Losing time by searching for items and then rebuying when you can’t find them

What are the causes?

  • Items do not have a designated home (place of belonging)
  • Like-items are stored in multiple places
  • Items are stored in inconvenient places – too high, far back, or out of sight

What is the solution?

Step 1: Joy Check Duplicates

Step 2: Designate a Home for the item(s)

When picking a location, pick a place that is:

  • Easy
  • Convenient
  • Flows with your daily routine and lifestyle

Step 3: Pick a place to Store and Display

  • Bin/Basket/Bowl on a counter
  • Basket/Bin on a shelf
  • Hook on the wall
  • Rack on the wall
  • Designate a drawer
  • Box on bottom or top shelf

Step 4: How to Store and Display

  • Organize items horizontally instead of vertically
  • The goal is to see everything instantly
  • The location and way it is placed is easy to get, put back, and maintain

Step 5: Practice and Repeat Habits

  • Try finding and putting items back regularly for 7 days
  • When you shop, be mindful of what have.

With a functional and organized system it is easy to take inventory and buy only what you need and truly want.

Step 5: Adjust and Evaluate

You know you need to readjust your system if:

  • You start to accumulate more of the same things
  • Your storage space can’t accommodate the amount you have
  • You buy more than what you use and need

Do you want help with how to organize duplicates?

How to stop Losing & Searching for Things

What can you do today to stop losing & searching for things?


What are the pain points?

  • Misplacing items on a regular basis
  • Spending time and energy to find items
  • Feeling frustrated/annoyed by repeating the same tasks
  • Feeling out of control in your environment
  • Panicking when you’re in a rush

What are the causes?

  • Items do not have a designated home (place of belonging)
  • Stress, fatigue
  • Multitasking

What is the solution?

Step 1: Designate a Home for the item(s)

When picking a location, pick a place that is:

  • Easy
  • Convenient
  • Flows with your daily routine and lifestyle

Step 2: Pick a place to Store and Display

  • Bin/Basket/Bowl on a counter
  • Basket on a shelf
  • Hook on the wall
  • Rack on the wall
  • Designate a drawer
  • Box under bottom shelf

Step 3: Practice and Repeat Habits

  • Try finding and putting items back regularly for 7 days

Step 4: Adjust and Evaluate

You know you need to readjust your system if:

  • You place items in random places
  • You place items outside of the designated home
  • You have to search for items

Try to move the location to an easy and more convenient place that makes sense around your habits.


Example: “I always lose my keys, wallet, and glasses.”

Step 1: Designate a home

  • Near the entryway so I can drop and pick up items easily at the door.

Step 2: Store and Display Options

  • The right drawer in the entryway console.

Step 3: Practice and Repeat Habits

  • For 7 days I will put my keys, wallet and glasses in the drawer when I come home.
  • For 7 days I will retrieve my keys, wallet, and glasses from the drawer when I leave.

Step 4: Adjust and Evaluate

  • After 2 weeks, I started to put items on the surface of the entryway console.
  • I placed a beautiful glass dish on the entryway console to place my keys, wallet, and glasses.
  • I find it’s much easier to empty my pockets and pick up my stuff easily off the counter rather than open a drawer.

What things are you losing and searching for?

questions and answers tidy lifestyle organizing

Q & A: Tidy Lifestyle Organizing

Q & A: Tidy Lifestyle Organizing

What triggers cause people to want to organize?

  • Feelings of frustration, stress, and distraction regularly when at home or in the office.
  • Life events like expecting a baby, a recent break up, or the passing of a relative or friend.
  • Special Occasions such as upcoming holidays, weddings, and birthday celebrations.
  • Situations involving a big move or trip abroad where organizing and preparation are a must.

What are the signs to start organizing now?

Physical:

  • Visual clutter from surfacing being covered and piles of stuff
  • Hidden chaos when you open drawers and closets
  • Duplicates of the same items

Behavioral

  • Losing track of items
  • Spending time searching for items
  • Consistently buying items at the store only to come home and realize you already have it.
  • Buying items only for them to be left unused with tags on or sitting around in original packaging
  • Organizing day by day, yet nothing changes

Emotional

  • Distraction
  • Frustration
  • Overwhelmed
  • Hopeless
  • Out of control

What can I do today?

Start with a category. Clothing is the easiest category to get started with. Clothes are something we touch and use daily. It is much easier to decide what to keep and discard because you know what you wear and what you don’t. Before you organize your clothes, first sort through them one by one.

Begin with a super simple subcategory like socks. Pick out the socks you use often and are prone to grab; use these as a basis for what to keep. Try to compare your favorite socks with the others. Is the band loose and fall down when you walk? Are there holes on the bottom? How old are these socks? If socks are 3-5 years old I recommend purchasing new socks. Once you know what socks you are keeping, check out your storage space – will all of your socks fit nicely? Should they be folded in half or in thirds so they can be lined up horizontally? Learn how to display and fold your sock with Tidy Lifestyle’s How-To Videos.

What can help me stay motivated to tidy?

Take a moment and think about why you want to tidy. If everything in your life was completely organized and seemingly perfect, what would that look like? What is your ideal lifestyle? Describe the physical space, how you feel in the space, and what you would do. Why do you want that lifestyle? Why do you want to tidy? Create a detailed image of this ideal lifestyle.

Before you begin to organize, transport yourself into this vision. This long-term goal is a great motivator and reminder of why you are organizing. Remember that the journey is just as important as the destination. Have fun and take breaks if you’re feeling burned out.

Find a nice space to fold or do a short meditation before you get started. Try your best to reframe your mindset to see organizing as a positive habit that helps make your life easier.

What does Tidy Lifestyle offer that I can’t do on my own?

A personal guide who will support you with solutions that are tailored to your specific habits and lifestyle.

Nicole’s coaching lessons can be compared to a life coach or personal trainer. Nicole teaches clients how to maintain organization through folding lessons, how to categorize, store, and to utilize spaces efficiently. She asks questions to understand habits and behaviors so she can strategically know where and how to place items. She creates an organizing solution personalized for each client and every client.

Too busy to organize? Want to save time and just get the job done? For those busy with work and other commitments, Nicole also offers traditional organizing services where she organizes for you. From organizing, to beautiful displays, to donation drop offs, and shopping – Take advantage of this all inclusive service.

Why should you pick Tidy Lifestyle?

Meet Nicole Sachiko – Organizing means so much more to me than tidying physical spaces. It is a vehicle to help clients learn about themselves, how to maintain organization, and to live their ideal tidy lifestyle.

During my childhood I grew up in a hoarder home. It was typical to walk through “alley ways” of piles upon piles of stuff, a tradition to clear clutter off the table before meals, and a struggle to find items when needed. I can empathize personally with what it feels like to be physically cluttered and mentally stressed. How items naturally accumulate over time and hold us back instead of enhancing our daily lives. In college I studied Psychology, Child Development, and Health Education to ease my insatiable curiosity to help and understand people. After organizing my parents hoarder home I realized how the magic of tidying up can change lives physically and mentally. I went on to get certified with Marie Kondo as a KonMari® Organizing Consultant.

It is my joy in life to help guide you to rediscover what truly sparks joy for you – not only with your possessions but with your life in San Diego!

What are the core benefits of working with Tidy Lifestyle?

Nicole –

  • genuinely cares about you
  • is committed to starting and finishing your project completely
  • carefully considers how to set up your custom organizing systems to make your life easier
  • creates a safe and judgment free zone where you can feel fully self expressed

Q & A: Tidy Lifestyle Organizing

Question? Concern?

Organize Sentimental

How to organize sentimental items and showcase joy in your home

Why do I have so many keepsakes?

  • We hold onto items to remember and cherish the past
  • When we see and feel these items we relive moments in the past

Remember & Reframe

  • Truly special memories never die, even when we discard items associated with such events.
  • The joy and excitement of the here and now is more important than holding onto something from the past, only to forget about it.
  • The boxes we store in the attic, back of the closet, under the bed often remain there, untouched.
  • When we store sentimental items away they become a weight from our past that holds us back from moving forward in the present.
  • The space in our home is for the person we are and want to become, not who we were in the past.
  • Organize sentimental photos now and display them throughout your home or in a photo album to enjoy for the rest of your years.

The Guide to Organize Sentimental

Photos

  • Remove all photos from albums and boxes
  • Joy Check photos one by one
  • Try to keep only five photos per a trip/event
  • Very important photos don’t often have duplicates
  • Keep scenery photos when you can identify the trip/event

“The meaning of a photo lies in the excitement and joy you feel when taking it. In many cases, the prints developed afterward have already outlived their purpose.”

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo

Letters

  • A letter fulfills it’s purpose the moment it’s read
  • The person who wrote it has long forgotten the existence of the letter, its content, and has moved on.

Gifts

  • Keep it if it truly sparks joy
  • Be courageous and say goodbye if
    • you held onto this item because of a sense of guilt
    • it sparked joy in the past but doesn’t spark joy in the present
    • adds joy to who you are today, not who you were
    • the items served its purpose in your life and by letting it go, frees more space in your home and mind for today and tomorrow

Childhood Memorabilia

  • Stuffed animals feel like they have souls. They were with us in our fondest childhood memories.
    • If it sparks joy for you to hold and see – Display it on a shelf or in your closet
    • If you choose to discard a stuffed animal it helps to cover the eyes.

How to Joy Check

  • Step 1: Pile all sentimental items
    • If you have many photos, it’s okay to create a separate pile of just photos
  • Step 2: Pick one item that undoubtedly sparks joy
    • If you keep it, where will it be stored?
    • Will you display it so you can see and enjoy it?
    • Ask yourself honestly, does it bring you joy today and in the future?
    • Does this item help you cherish who you are now?
  • Step 3: Place items in Keep, Donate, or Trash
  • Step 4: Display keepsakes on walls and shelves to spark joy every day!
  • Step 6: Have the courage to let go & say thank you

Final Touches

When we display sentimental items we remember and celebrate who we were. We are also reminded of who we are now and who we strive to be.

  • Hang sentimental photos on the wall to look at it
  • Display sentimental items to spark joy daily

What sentimental item do you display proudly in your home?

Client’s receive up to 25% off at The Container Store!

“By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past. If you just stow these things away in a drawer or cardboard box, before you realize it, your past will become a weight that holds you back and keeps you from living in the here and now.”

– The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo