While it was a VERY short organizational session in Chicago, we made a huge impact in just one day! Destination Organization has become a very fun way to flex my organizing muscle around the country. If you'd like to see previous projects, check out the amazing work in Atlanta here and in Raleigh here!
Meet Danielle and Andrew Olson, and their fur child Louis! I met Danielle via one of my sassiest and handsome friends, AJ Shirey. After Danielle and I met, we immediately gave each other the nickname Diva (Queendom recognizing Queendom). She graciously let me stay at her apartment in Chicago in 2015 while I was on tour with The Lion King. Danielle and Andrew were recently married and were ready to create less stressful storage solutions as they begin their lives together in their apartment. I extended a personal trip to Chicago for a wedding (Hi, Janet and Andrew!) so I could organize for them!
Pre-Arrival Product Orders & Decluttering
One week prior to my arrival Danielle sent over pictures and measurements of the spaces that made her most frustrated. While I didn't guarantee we would be able to accomplish everything in one day, I wanted to plan ahead so we could do as much as possible! I took a visual inventory as best as I could and made recommendations for product to be ordered prior to my arrival. I wasn't positive it would all work, but we'd have it on hand ready to play with things to see what could work best. Danielle also had decluttered before I arrived, which saved us an entire 8 hour work day. It took a total of 9 hours to accomplish the pictures you see below. The closet, which contained items such as memorabilia as well as games, cleaning supples, and travel gear, took the longest to sort. Let's take a look at what we achieved!
And Another Thing...
- Andrew has a very cool baseball memorabilia collection. Originally, he had all of his memorabilia combined in a huge cardboard box which also included miscellaneous items. In order to protect his baseball memorabilia, and make it easier for him to find his personal memorabilia, we gave him respective bins for each category.
-We moved their seasonal storage to their basement storage space. It's a very tight space so I sorted first based on their needs. Since you only need seasonal decor once a year, we made the choice to move it downstairs.
- I stressed how I was setting them up with a system, but that they should feel free to change it and make it their own if it doesn't work. All system evolve overtime! I usually spend a full weekend organizing, so I'm able to make tweaks as I go. This was a unique circumstance.
If you are interested in having me out to organize for a weekend, even if you are out of the NYC Metro area, email fourthwallorganizing@gmail.com to set up a weekend! #destinationorganization