As our family eagerly anticipates the arrival of our third little bundle of joy, the need for a more organized and functional living space became glaringly obvious. With baby clothes, toys, and essentials quickly piling up, it was time for a closet refresh. To tackle this challenge, I turned to the expertise of professional organizers Jen Rowe and Sarah Gerber from NEAT Method. Their reputation for transforming chaotic spaces into models of efficiency and style made them the perfect choice for our pre-baby home makeover.

The NEAT Method team introduced us to a trio of game-changing products: Everyday Hangers in matte black for a sleek, unified look; Oxford Bins in stone for stylish, yet functional storage; and Magnetic Label Holders for easy identification and retrieval of items. These products not only enhanced the aesthetic appeal of our closets but also significantly improved our overall organizational system.

During my interview with Jen and Sarah, we delved into the philosophy behind closet organization and its impact on daily life. They emphasized that a clutter-free space leads to a clutter-free mind, highlighting the direct correlation between our living environment and our mental well-being. For those feeling overwhelmed by disorganization, they recommended starting small—a drawer or cupboard at a time—to gradually build confidence and momentum. Identifying one’s organizing style was another key point, with a focus on choosing products that cater to individual lifestyles and the unique constraints of their spaces.

The NEAT Method experts also shared invaluable tips on decluttering, including letting go of “what-ifs” and managing seasonal items to avoid unnecessary storage strain. Proper layout planning, cohabiting harmoniously with a partner, and achieving a successful sort-and-organize process were other critical areas covered. Additionally, they offered practical advice for maintaining order, tackling clutter, and overcoming common decluttering roadblocks, such as sentimentality and burnout. 

Beyond having a beautiful, presentable home, why should we organize?

Studies have shown that we carry stress around with us related to the state of our living space. A cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind, but the opposite is also true. The visual chaos of a cluttered living space can impact sleep quality and cause anxiety. It can also make it difficult to focus. 

Countless clients have expressed to us that they know their disorganized space was causing them stress. A roadblock for them was that they didn’t know what to do about it or where to start. Upon revealing the space after our work is complete, they not only felt their stress dissipate, but many have told us they didn’t realize just how much stress they were carrying around related to the state of their home.

Why is it important to be organized before having a new addition join the family?

Anytime there’s a life transition, including welcoming a new baby, staying organized helps maintain order in your life and mind. In your space, we discussed your interest in having some baby items having prime real estate in your dresser because the baby would be sleeping in your room for the first few months. This would then make those middle-of-the-night diaper changes more streamlined and efficient for you than having to walk down the hall to the nursery. Additionally, it keeps the noise for other children in the home to a minimum. Organizing key items like diapers, onesies, sleepers, etc in the top two drawers meant that it would be easier to grab what’s needed, regardless of how rested (or not) you were on any given day or night. It would also make it easy for Gary to be able to help out in the night.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, where to begin?

We always recommend starting small before taking on an entire space. For example, choose a drawer or a cupboard and organize that. Build your confidence and then move onto something a bit larger. Work your way up to tackling a whole room.

How to identify your organizing style and choose the right products?

It’s always important to consider your lifestyle and how you live day-to-day. You may see beautiful images of organized spaces on social media and want to replicate them in your own home, but the organizational solutions used in these images may not be what’s right for you, your space, your household, and your lifestyle, the nature of your space.

For example, if you are not a person who is good at keeping folded clothes organized or you just don’t like folding clothes after a laundry cycle, you probably would want to hang as many clothes as possible. Or if you’re not the kind of person who has time to decant dry goods into beautiful canisters each time you shop for groceries, canisters may not be the right thing for you. 

The constraints of your space are also a factor. No matter what size of home you live in, the storage space you have accessible in each room will determine the best solutions for your unique needs.

Whatever products you choose to organize your space with, based on what your lifestyle and space can manage, we always recommend choosing solutions that offer the function you need, have clean lines, and neutral colour palettes so they blend in seamlessly and don’t add visual clutter.

Letting go of “what-ifs” or “just in case” items, what to do with seasonal items, and what happens if you don’t have enough space?

This really comes down to evaluating if you actually have enough storage space to comfortably store these items until you need them again or if storing them is going to exacerbate the clutter. Sometimes, reclaiming the space these items are taking up is worth more for your mental health and the state of your home than hanging on to them. 

When it comes to seasonal clothing, consider at the end of each season if the item is worn out or no longer wanted and part with it then before storing it away until next year, so that you’re not hanging onto items unnecessarily. 

For maternity wear or items that don’t currently fit, consider if you intend to try to expand your family further, if the items are still in good condition and, if this is important to you, if they are classic pieces that will be in style when you next need to wear them.

For categories that are not currently being used, there are organizational products such as vacuum seal bags that will help to compress clothing for compact storage. Bonus points if there’s a storage space in another area of the home that these items could move to temporarily until they’re needed again.

Lastly, the average person only wears about 20% of the clothes they have. Consider this in relation to the closet space you have when you evaluate whether or not to keep something as a what-if or just-in-case item. Consider if it’s possible to edit your wardrobe in order to keep all of the items you do use for all seasons so that you’re not needing to do seasonal swaps nor borrowing storage space from another area of the home.

How to plan your layout?

We always recommend thinking about how you currently use and move through the space and determining what the roadblocks are, so you can really narrow in on what issues you’re trying to solve. As you do so, consider what items you typically use together – you want to store these in the space near one another to make your use of the space most efficient.

Sharing the space with a partner while not fighting?

This comes back to space planning. Ensure that you each have dedicated zones within the space so that your items aren’t mixed in with one another. To maintain these dedicated zones, use the one-in, one-out rule: if you get a new item of clothing, you need to part with another to make space for it. This will prevent you from overbuying and will prevent you from encroaching on one another’s space.

How to achieve the sort-and-organize process?

We always recommend taking everything out at once and categorizing and reviewing items as you go. This also helps you see just how much of each category you have so that you can evaluate if you truly have enough space to house that entire category. Once this is complete, place things in the space to ensure they will fit. Then measure for, purchase, and implement the necessary organizing products to make the space function best. Lastly, labels encourage your entire household to maintain the organizational systems you’ve put in place.

Jewelry organization, what goes where, common mistakes?

We recommend keeping like items of jewelry together. For example, rings with rings and earrings with earrings. This way, it’s easier to mix and match items. If you’re someone who wears jewelry daily, put it somewhere really accessible in the space. If you only wear jewelry for special occasions, consider not giving it a home that’s prime real estate and could be better used for a category you use daily. Find a product like stackable jewelry trays or drawer inserts that have multiple small compartments for separating individual pieces to reduce tangling, keeping pairs of earrings together, or matching items close to one another.

How to maintain order and organizational function?

Once a space is organized, the day-to-day challenge is to keep it that way. Part of maintaining it is having chosen the right organizational systems for your unique lifestyle and habits. The other is to be ok with a space not looking social-media-perfect every moment of every day. Life happens and some days or weeks will be more hectic than others. But when you do have the time in a day, week, or month to touch up a space, the systems should be easy to reset. 

How to keep a handle on clutter?

Try having each member of your household dedicate just 10 minutes a day to tidying and use the one-touch rule: only touch something once before it is back in its dedicated home. A phrase that we love to teach our clients is “Don’t put it down, put it away!”

What roadblocks do you often see when it comes to trying to declutter a space?

Often, our clients are willing to or have already edited their belongings, but get burnt out from that or just don’t know where to go or what to do thereafter. 

Additionally, sentimentality can get the better of anyone. Sometimes, this can be solved by displaying items or binning them up and storing them in another storage space in the home. If you have sentimental items that are not displayed as decor and you’re tight on space, storing them in bins. Another idea, if you want to house less memorabilia, is to consider taking photos of the items and having a coffee table book made of them. You can even use a service, like our partner Artkive, to do that for you, whether it’s kids’ artwork or physical items from your life or that you’ve inherited from a loved one.

How many hours should you allot to the decluttering and reorganizing process?

As people who organize professionally, we have the ability to dedicate entire workdays to the task. This isn’t always possible if family and work are competing priorities. But there is value in setting aside some uninterrupted time, during which you can focus on the task and achieve results. In addition to our recommendation to start with a small project and build up your confidence, get a project into your schedule – book it in your calendar for however much time you have available – to hold yourself accountable. Maybe enlist the help of a partner or friend who will hold you accountable.

How do you know what to get rid of and what to keep?

We always recommend keeping items that fall into one or more of the following three categories: favourite, best, and necessary. As you pull items out of the space you’re organizing, ask yourself if it meets any of these criteria. If not, it may be time to pass it on or donate it so that it can become one of these to someone else. 

How hiring or being gifted a session with a professional organizer can help an expectant parent:

1. Product expertise: Professional organizers are experts in what products work best for what purpose and whether or not they’ll fit the space. They take the guesswork out of the product selection, no more amazon returns or last minute runs to Home Sense!
2. Regain space: Sometimes, when you live with a space long enough or if you’re new to a space, it’s hard to envision it differently or to know exactly what makes sense where. A professional organizer has seen it all and knows how to make the most of any space.
3. Solutions designed for your unique lifestyle: No two households are the same. You may see gorgeous organized spaces online and want to replicate them in your home, but those solutions may not be the best for your specific space and lifestyle. A professional organizer knows how to integrate your goals with your lifestyle habits and functional needs.

In conclusion, this closet organization and reveal project was not just about preparing for our new arrival; it was a transformative experience that taught us the importance of a well-organized living space for our family’s happiness and well-being. Thanks to Jen Rowe, Sarah Gerber, and the NEAT Method’s innovative solutions, we are now better equipped to welcome our third baby into a home that feels more spacious, serene, and prepared for the joys and challenges ahead.

Products used:

Everyday Hangers

Oxford Bins

Magnetic Label Holders

 

Photography by SoWedding

Built-ins by Stor-X Organizing Systems

Thank you to NEAT Method for sponsoring this post. All comments and opinions are my own.