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!

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

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?

Less is More! A Unique Approach to Moving

Less is More! Especially when it comes to prepare for moving!

Moving is the perfect opportunity to Joy Check each and every item we own. After-all, the less we have, the less we have to move! This not only allows us to have less items but also frees space for new items – perhaps more tasteful furniture, updated appliances, in style clothing, and more.

My partner and I have always dreamed of living abroad. We’ve made so many memories traveling to various countries meeting locals, eating street food, exploring cities and adventuring outdoors. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we put off traveling and moving all together to stay safe.

Over the past few years we slowly began to prepare for a big move abroad. When we envisioned moving, we identified with the concept of getting rid of most of our things. Instead of going through the headache of packing and shipping items to another country, we decided to take a different approach. Most of our possessions – furniture, appliances, etc. were given to us by family and friends over time. This was VERY ideal for us, as we valued:

  1. Functional things with no emotional attachments
  2. Utilizing furniture passed down while also not purchasing new/expensive items
  3. No hassle to move anything or pay for a moving service and truck
  4. Sparking joy in others lives by donating/selling/discarding possessions.
  5. Having the freedom to move with less responsibilities

This situation may sound a bit extreme to most. You may be asking yourself – but why do you have to get rid of most of the things you own? Honestly, I don’t HAVE to. I WANT to!

Sparking Joy to me personally is less about the things and possessions I own and more about the experiences and memories I create. By letting go of almost all the material items in my life, there is a sense of freedom. Freedom to have only what I love. Freedom to not have many objects to be responsible for. Freedom to Spark Joy in the ways that mean the most to me. Plus having less is ultimately less to organize and maintain! Win, Win!

What is the process to discard possessions?

  1. Photograph & post items for sale online: this can be done through craigslist, facebook marketplace, or other apps/websites. Luckily for me, I love to sell things online! I love giving away things that people could use and that hopefully Spark Joy. I typically begin this process 2-3 months prior to the set move out date. This allows me to take my time and not compromise sales prices. It also gives me time to emotionally prepare myself to let go slowly, rather than feeling rushed.
  2. Joy Check every item that is considered to keep for the move. Yes, even as a professional organizer I go through my own tidying festival by category! I want to be 100% confident with every item I will take with me.
  3. Donate left over items to Salvation Army, local thrift stores, or Good Will. Another option could be to schedule a pick-up day with the local municipal.
  4. Begin the packing process. I intend to have just a few boxes and/or luggages to take with me. It’s always smart to organize boxes by categories and to label, label, label everything! This makes it easier to access things and to have everything organized when I arrive to my new home.
  5. Load the car and thank my home for all its given me – warmth, shelter, and memories. HELLO WORLD!

Less is More Final Thoughts

In our consumer society and high tech world we literally don’t have to leave our home to survive! With amazon, food delivery, grocery delivery, and the many other services and applications we can not only survive but buy anything at the click of a button! As amazing as technology is, it also encourages us to spend. Anywhere you go on the internet markets specifically tailored ads to you – companies learn your interests, habits, desires, and take full advantage to get us to buy buy buy! Some buy for comfort, necessity, or for status symbols of wealth or luxury. Think about your spending habits – What items are worth fixing, moving, and saving? What items are meaningful to you? Why?

It is not things that give us true joy. When we grow old what will we remember? What will we say? “I have no regrets because I’m happy I did…” What will resonate with us most are the memories we have of experiences throughout life. Be sure to create your own, each and every day.

Have nice things and also keep in mind there is so much more out there in the world than possessions. No one is holding you back from picking up and moving or traveling and seeing the world. The world is your oyster.

What sparks joy for you?

The Art of How to Let Go & Discard

What is the key to being able to let go and discard, for good?

joy checking process

Visualize your Ideal lifestyle

“When you imagine your ideal lifestyle, you are actually clarifying why you want to tidy and identifying the kind of life you want to live once you have finished.”

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo
  • Step 1: Visualize in detail the ideal lifestyle you dream of
  • Step 2: Identify why you want to live that lifestyle
  • Step 3: Dive into the specifics of how you want to live day by day.
  • When we skip this step it-
    • delays the whole tidying process
    • puts you at higher risk for rebound

Focus on What Sparks Joy, not what to Discard

What adds value to your life? When you touch something that brings you joy-

  • A feeling of thrill, often a full body experience
  • A pleasing design/look that makes you feel peaceful
  • An item with a high degree of functionality that makes life easier
  • A sense of rightness
  • An items thats useful in daily life

When faced with something that does not spark joy-

  • you feel heavy
  • your hands pause
  • you tilt your head slightly and frown
  • you have to think
  • you feel guilty
  • for essential items that don’t spark joy, think about the purpose

The Joy Checking Process

  • Step 1: Pick up one item at a time
  • Step 2: Hold it.
    • If you’re unsure if it Sparks Joy hug it close to your heart!
    • Gaze at it.
    • If it is clothing, please try it on!
  • Step 3: Pay attention to how your body reacts- how do you feel?
  • Step 4: If you do not know if it Sparks Joy, pick 2-3 similar items and compare
  • Step 5: Show gratitude for each item you keep or discard.

Try not to focus on-

  • reducing
  • efficient storage methods
  • feeling wasteful
  • giving items away

Instead focus on-

  • choosing belongings that inspire joy
  • enjoying life according to your own standards
  • appreciate how the items you discard supported you in your life
  • what role each item has in your life

Reframe Letting Go

When we let go of our belongings a weight is lifted. We keep items that truly Spark Joy®. We also allow the items we give to spark joy in other peoples lives. There’s an opportunity to learn from every material possession we own, even ones we discard.

  • If you let go of something you’ve used until it’s broken and worn out: appreciate how its helped to enhance your life
  • If you let go of something you never used: it taught you a lesson in how you shop, that it did not have a purpose in your life
  • Think consciously about each item you discard: how will you choose to live moving forward? how you will acquire new things?

Keep items with Confidence

If you keep it then…

  • Use and appreciate it.
  • Create a forever home for every item: find it and know exactly what you have.
  • It’s natural to not put away everything all the time. No one is perfect. Make it a priority to create positive habits. Maybe you won’t put belongings back all the time, every day, but commit to putting things away.

What is hard for you to let go?

Please note items discussed on this post were from the Marie Kondo books and KonMari networking group. Find more resources here.

Spark Joy

I promise myself every day to live a life where I Spark Joy

“Tidying can help you get in touch with what you really want, show you what you need to change, and help you find joy in your environment.” – Marie Kondo

I love taking care of cats.

A not so secret, not so crazy, cat lady. In my spare time I like to foster kittens for the local animal shelter.

I am also a proud cat mom.

Spark Joy with eating delicious nutritious food!

Looking good and more importantly feeling good and being healthy are so crucial to my mental health.

Transforming my lifestyle is a huge contribution to what sparks joy in my life today!

Setting aside time to be outside.

I consider myself an active individual. When I’m not home organizing and cooking, I love to –

Take long walks

Hula hoop on the grass

Window shop

Befriend neighborhood cats

Try new foods

Exploring hidden gems

This is a photo in a nearby park called Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve.

You would never guess this trail is smack dab in the middle of the city.

Sometimes it’s nice to escape the city hustle without any hassle. What’s your escape?

Spark Joy Adventures – explore all the great places California has.

This is a photo I took in Yosemite on the way back from climbing Half Dome.

A picture barely scratches the surface of the beauty in this National Park!

Genuine connection to people, animals, plants, and life around me.

I painted this photo for my partner as a memento to all of our memories camping under the stars.

What sparks joy for you?