For this Type A lady, there are few things that feel as good as walking into a well-organized and good looking space. There’s just something so satisfying about putting everything into its place…in more ways than one.
I’ve talked about spring cleaning your closet before, and while I typically enjoy taking on this task by myself as a way to chill out (see Type A), I knew I needed to enlist some extra help this past spring to really get my closet in order. Lucky for me, one of my friends from college, Sara Landry, started her own organizing business and is helping people across the Capital City (and Lafayette and New Orleans) get their…”stuff” together.
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Through her company, South Coast Organizers, Sara offers a variety of different packages to help organize ANY space in your home or business.
STEP 1: PLANNING
All successful projects start with a well organized plan! Sara will coordinate the whole project from start to finish around your schedule – even a crazy and unpredictable one like mine. Our first step was a consultation where she came by to see my spaces and get a feel for what I wanted out of the project. One of my main goals was to consolidate my clothes that were spread out into random closets throughout our house and put them in a designated space.
Once she saw my space and stuff, she took measurements to know what types of containers we could use to get best organized. First, she identifies organizers you already have that can be repurposed for new uses in your closet. I appreciated how Sara doesn’t immediately tell me all these new things to buy right off top, and she is very creative on using different types of items you already own for storage. She likes to use what’s available before making purchasing suggestions. She will send you a detailed list of items for you to choose from and then purchases them all herself to use for the installation process.
STEP 2: PURGE + SORT
A major step to any organization project is purging what you don’t need or want anymore, so you are only spending time working with pieces that you are keeping. For this project, purging was the most important step, because I got rid of a ton of clothes to open up space in both my LSU closet and my main closet.
As we went through the clothes I decided I no longer needed (there was some counseling given by Sara during this process, especially when it came to my LSU closet), we sorted them into piles of what I was going to give away and what I was going to try and re-sell. If you have a variety of items, I suggest going one step further and sorting the giveaway items into piles specific to certain charities or community organizations who are in need of tailored pieces. Sara will also pack these items up and drop them off at the location for you. This is a HUGE help!
— SARA’S TOP FIVE ORGANIZATIONAL TIPS —
- GET RID OF IT – If you don’t absolutely love it or you haven’t worn it in for-ev-er, let your pieces to go to a home that will appreciate their value.
- MAXIMIZE SPACE – Use matching hangers, hat stands, boot hangers, etc. to see your items and cut down on wasted space.
- PUT IT ON DISPLAY – The more things you can SEE, the more things you will USE. This is wear my divided purse organizer and acrylic risers made a huge difference.
- USE BASKETS AND BINS – This is a great way to divide seasonal pieces that you don’t need every day and consolidate items that are for special use only.
- ENJOY YOUR SPACE – When everything has a place in your newly organized space, you will want to keep it that way instead of throwing everything on that random bedroom chair.
STEP 3: ORGANIZE
After you purge, then you organize! This is the fun part. Sara comes up with a specific plan to get everything to fit perfectly and neatly in your space.
For my specific spaces, her ideas during our planning session on what to use for organization were perfect! Did you know that there are special hangers for your boots so you can get rid of all your old shoe boxes? Or, that there are display shoe boxes to keep your most prized kicks in great condition? Also, I can now finally see all of my hats with this cool hanger, and I already had these storage boxes that she consolidated and labeled for easy use!
She also sectioned my clothes into type of item and then color coordinated from there. I already had these matching hangers, but I would highly suggest investing in a set you like as they give you a lot more space to work with when everything is matching.
SIDENOTE – Not only is Sara a fabulous professional organizer, but she is also a fabulously funny and entertaining lady. Add a couple of cocktails and a ton of laughs, and the whole process is basically hanging out with a college girlfriend who is getting you and your…”stuff” together 🙂
I am SO happy with how my closets turned out and am very impressed with Sara’s whole process from start to finish! I found some other spaces that I would like to have Sara come back and organize so everything in my house can feel as neatly organized as my closets. If you have any questions about my specific project and organization plan, please feel free to reach out! I have a feeling Sara will be back in our house again soon.
Thank you to Sara and South Coast Organizers for partnering up for this post and to Jordan Hefler for the beautiful photos!
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