I recently saw an organizing team on TV tasked with transforming someone’s pantry.  Work crews of men came and went replacing the current pantry shelving with custom shelving. Walls were painted. Teams of skilled organizers fit groceries and snacks perfectly in clear, acrylic bins beautifully, labeled in large cursive fonts. Rolling bins on the floor were filled with sparkling water, wine and juice boxes for the kids. Canned goods and cereals lined up in color order better than any grocery store.  Small appliances were on the top shelves tucked away neatly. Lazy Susan corners spun and sparkled salad dressings and condiments. None of the food was open or used – it was all new. 

As always TV has such a way of glamorizing the world …

Of course this transformed pantry was AMAZING!  But in order to achieve this look, I would need to break down the cost of work crews, custom shelving, teams of organizers, and multitudes of storage bins and labels. Who knows, maybe the TV network paid for all of their travel costs.   

The reality is most people really just need to reclaim a space.  Each individual or family has a goal to declutter and organize in order to use a certain space again. For lots of reasons, the space became a catch all and then became too overwhelming to handle on their own.  That is where a professional organizer comes in.

We don’t normally have to change shelving or hire work crews or even buy storage bins.  In most cases, we actually eliminate storage bins after decluttering items they are no longer using. The process is not so much about a glamour pantry but more like the process of clearing the space and cleaning. Then, we consolidate (group like things together), and find containers that work, then reconfigure to find the optimal arrangement.  It’s hard work and you need to be decisive.  There ends up being lots of trash and donations. But in the end, the finished product is a useable functional space. 

I am always so proud of my clients when we finish!  

Reality Organizing