Home Org to clear your space… and your mind! (Increase your home value at the same time!)
The BHAUS blog is a resource for our community to find different ways to add value to their homes or simply fall back in love with their homes. We love thinking outside the box and introducing ideas that can be carried out by homeowners when thinking about listing their home. Many of the ideas don’t call for a big upfront monetary investment, but are little details that a homeowner should always pay attention to.
This is one of many home org blogs we’ll be sharing with you in an effort to give you ideas to organize and declutter your home as a means of improving how a home “shows”, which could lead to more interest from qualified buyers, and ultimately to a great offer! Even if you are not ready to list, organizing your home is important so you can clear your space and your mind, and create a relaxing haven at home.
Today we’ll be sharing how to get started on the process, and our designer’s tips for a home office (even if you don’t have a dedicated space) as well as favorite organizing “must have” products to make your life easier! For the best ideas, we teamed up with Lucy Milligan Wahl, the founder of LMW Edits LLC, a professional home organization business headquartered in San Francisco.
Lucy and I met in 2010, while we were both attending UCLA Anderson School of Business. After graduation, Lucy moved to San Francisco, while I stayed in the South Bay. I went on to work in fashion marketing and soon thereafter, my sister and I founded our Real Estate boutique around the same time that Lucy founded LMW Edits LLC. Lucy was interested in home organization from an early age “arranging every crayon box she ever owned into rainbow order”. She believes that “an organized home is the foundation of a beautiful life that prioritizes the relationships, activities, and commitments that matter most”.
At BHAUS EIGHT we agree with her philosophy. As we see so many homes, those that are uncluttered and well-organized are the ones that show the best for potential buyers. And surprisingly, many times this is true despite some of the homes lacking recent upgrades. It is said that your home is a reflection of who you are, so with that in mind, we encourage our community to “style” their rooms, pay attention to the small details, showcase the special home features, and to love their home. Most importantly, why wait until you are ready to list it?
We had the pleasure of connecting with Lucy, and asked her to share her best tips of how to go about organizing your home.
1. Lucy, we would love to hear about your “story” and how you became passionate about home organization
I've always been organized. My dad is really organized and so I just grew up learning organizing techniques and assuming that a super organized home was normal! However, I had never thought to make it a career until I got my MBA and began to wonder if I could start a business. I was inspired by my friends! I saw how smart, driven, and successful my friends were, and honestly I wondered how I was able to keep up with them. Eventually it dawned on me that my secret weapon was my organized space, which saved me tons of time and energy that I could then use on other things. I realized that no one can out-work a cluttered space and the stress it causes!
2. What areas do you serve? Are you able to help clients remotely?
I offer hands-on organizing service in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and the Lake Tahoe basin, although my in person services are currently suspended due to Covid-19. The last thing I want to do is jeopardize the health and safety of my clients during this time! Pandemic or not, I do work with clients nationwide on a remote basis. It's a great solution for people who have more limited time or budget resources, but who still want the expert advice, detailed consultation, and enthusiastic cheerleading I provide on every organizing project!
3. What’s your favorite part about helping people get organized?
My favorite part about helping people get organized is seeing the "lightbulb moment." It's different for everyone, but there's always a point in the process when the concepts I've been teaching and the work we've been doing sort of click for the client, and they realize how big of an impact the project is going to have on their lives. I've had multiple clients tell me that they feel like they've lost weight, or a metaphorical weight has been lifted from their shoulders. Home organizing is simple, but it's really powerful too!
4. In your process, you begin by helping clients edit their pieces, analyzing their spatial storage needs and making necessary purchases, and finally, styling the pieces within the space. How do clients get in the mindset of editing? I feel that may be the hardest phase of the process!
My clients are actually surprised by how quickly they can get in the groove of editing! The important thing is to start. You can only learn how to edit and make good decisions through practice. That's why it helps to have someone like me there to guide you - I walk my clients step by step through the process, and ask them specific questions to help them understand how to reconcile their editing decisions with the goals they have for the overall project.
5. What tips do you give people who don’t have a designated home office space, but need to structure their work area during these times?
One option to consider is a workspace you set up at the beginning of every workday, and break down at the end. This may sound like a lot of extra work, but it ends up giving you back time: it provides the physical trigger you need to start being productive each morning and the feeling of closure you need to transition out of your workday each evening. The idea behind this strategy is that when you can't totally demarcate a separate space, you have to be even more thoughtful and disciplined about demarcating work hours. It's so much harder to be productive when you're distracted, and it's a lot easier to get distracted when personal life and work are leaking into each other at every hour of the day. You can get more great tips on setting up your home office space from the webinar I recorded with my friend and colleague Alexis Haselberger, a productivity specialist!
6. If someone has to choose, what are the rooms you consider they should tackle first? Does it go from easiest room to hardest? Or is it rooms that will give you most satisfaction?
I find that opposite approaches both work, it just depends on the person and their feelings about getting organized. If someone is really dreading the organizing project and intimidated by the scale of the work, I'll often start with the smallest or easiest space, such as a pantry or linen closet. It gives the uncertain client a quicker win, and helps them understand how the rest of the project will really be worth the work. On the other hand, if someone is super motivated and wants results fast, I'll start with the space that's bothering them the most. That way we can relieve the greatest source of stress and tension, and improve their daily life in a meaningful way.
7. Generally speaking, how long does the home organizing process take, from start to finish?
I'm sorry to say that it depends! It depends on two factors: how much actual stuff you have, and how quickly you can make decisions. My general rule of thumb is 3-6 hours per room, and that's being super thorough and making sure we look at absolutely everything. Because if you're going to devote all that time and energy to an organizing project, why would you skip over stuff and get a less impactful result?
8. What are some tips you have that people can do at home before working with a professional like yourself?
If you're planning to work with a professional organizer, the best thing you can do is spend some time fleshing out your goals. I always ask my clients to get specific about what success looks like to them. What do you want the space to look like? How do you want to feel in the space? What does the space need to help you do? When you have a very clear picture of what you're working towards, it's much easier for me to guide you towards decisions that will help you achieve that result.
9. Lastly, any favorite organizing MUST HAVE products?
My most purchased organizing products are drawer dividers. From kitchens to bathrooms to dressers to desks, they are a game changer for keeping all the little stuff in life categorized and contained. If you have drawers full of stuff and you can't keep them organized, I would highly recommend looking at drawer dividers. But don't forget - measure before you buy!
Thank you for joining us! You can find out more about Lucy and LMW Edits LLC at www.lmwedits.com
