You may know that I got my MBA from UCLA Anderson in 2010. It was an incredible experience that continues to shape the course of my life for the better. It also gave me a mighty wake-up call and let to my lightbulb moment. You see, I was behind. Very behind. I came from a university fundraising job where my manager was supportive, the work/life balance comfortable, and the tech minimal. I was considered a power user of our fundraising software just by… well, using it how it was intended! And then I landed in my first quarter economics class study group, where we would be building the solution ..read more

Are you one of the millions of people who did home improvement projects during quarantine? If so, you’re not alone! I actually had to warn all of my clients in 2020 and 2021 to be patient about their organizing products, since so many things were out of stock or on long term back order. It was pretty wild. Did you think about doing any home improvement during quarantine…. but you never quite got around to it? That’s totally ok, please don’t feel bad. The pandemic affected all of us in different ways. and for some of us, that meant we felt lethargic and unmotivated. I do want to take a moment t ..read more

As a professional organizer working for over 7 years in the city of San Francisco, I've seen some really wacky spaces. Old apartment buildings and homes started out with very little storage space - and then over the years as they were updated by various owners, they just got weirder! So trust me when I say that I understand the struggles you might be having with a home that’s smaller or more frustratingly shaped than you’d ideally like. I mean, exhibit #1 is the closet in my guest room (the primary bedroom in the original home, before we renovated). It opens up with folding doors as you might ..read more

I think we can all agree that moving totally SUCKS. It’s always more expensive, time consuming, and stressful than we imagine. At the same time, it’s almost always worth the trouble to make that big move. We move for reasons hopeful and tragic, temporary and permanent. We might be moving for a new job, a new relationship, or a new perspective… or due to a financial setback, an ill relative, or a retreat to the comforts of home. But every time, we get something of a clean slate, a chance to remake our lives better than before. So, how can we make moving easier? There’s one single thing you can ..read more

Simple, minimal style can be as visually compelling and fashion-forward as it is timeless.  Think of classic “French girl” style, which gets fawned over every few months by fashion blogs.  You can instantly conjure an image of what this looks like in your head and it’s an image you likely want to see yourself in… imagine, if you will, a pair of straight leg jeans, smart little booties, and a slouchy sweater topped with a classic leather cross body bag. I have a theory about how “French girl” style evolved... and you’re not going to be shocked that it all comes back to organizing ..read more

There are SO many professional organizers out there, with more entering the profession every day. This is great: that means that there will be more providers available to help even more people get organized! But it can also be overwhelming. In a sea of professional organizers, all of them creating ever more digital content from blogs and YouTube videos to Instagram stories and TikTok videos, how do you figure out who to trust? You can’t always tell how good a professional organizer is at making an impact in actual homes by their smiling face, pretty website, or well designed logo. But if you c ..read more

If you've ben following me for any length of time you know I like to call it how I see it. And I saw something the other day that didn't sit right with me. As a professional organizer, I often serve as the project manager for other vendors, like closet installers, handymen, and cleaners. I've built great relationships with professionals in these businesses, and I'm happy to coordinate their services so that my clients get the best outcomes possible! We have a lot in common, we home and garden pros. We do physical work, which is rewarding and also taxing. We have a service mindset: our utmost ..read more

Some of us wear tons of makeup, and some of us wear very little or none at all. Some of us have huge collections of beauty products and some of us just have a handful. We all have different needs, and that’s ok! What’s not ok, in pretty much any context, is waste. I think we can all agree that it’s pretty pointless to buy more of something than we can ever hope to consume before it goes bad! And when it comes to makeup, it’s easier to create waste than you might think. Makeup is marketed as a seasonal fashion product, but it actually takes a surprisingly long amount of time to really use up a ..read more

It seems like I need to charge everything in my life right now! It’s so great to have these amazing devices at my fingertips, but the cords can be a real drag. And I know it’s not just me, because a lot of my clients get frustrated with cord clutter and never knowing where their devices are charging! The good news is that the solution to cord clutter can be as simple and inexpensive as it is elegant. It’s surprisingly easy to organize cords for all those electronics that are more essential than ever. That solution? Cable clips. They hold your cords for you so that they’re always there, in the ..read more

I met Kate Grayson through the Female Founder Collective, a network of businesses led by women and supporting women, founded by Rebecca Minkoff and Polina Veksler and Alexandra Waldman of Universal Standard. Wow, do Kate and I have a lot to talk about! We quickly realized there’s a lot of common ground between my approach to home organizing and her approach to personal finance. Hi! I’m Kate Grayson, Founder and Money Coach at Beyond Money. We help folks maximize their personal financial lives, in order to access their ideal lifestyle and future. I’m really excited to be here with you today, b ..read more