I’m so excited to share about this podcast interview! I had the honor of being interviewed by Tiffany Anton on her podcast series “Powered by Her”, through the “Biz Foundry”. I met Tiffany through my colleague and dear friend, Andrea Kruszka, of whom I’ve known for years after working together in the world of marketing research. Andrea is a photographer, among many other talents and titles, and her business is www.andreakruszkaphoto.com. I have so much gratitude to women that focus on empowering other women!
Consequently, empowering women was an underlying theme of the podcast interview. Tiffany and I talked about so much, the time really flew by, and I almost forgot that I was sitting on the floor of my teenager’s closet to get a less echoey sound! It was such a joy to be able to discuss organizing and productivity tips, for entrepreneurs and non-business owners alike, and to share about my business’s conceptualization and journey. It’s not too dry, really, and we even shared a couple of laughs! I’m absolutely delighted to share the episode with everyone!
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Over a year ago, I had an idea for creating a video because of needing to reorganize my own kitchen pantry. I was frustrated with the downsize from a larger walk-in pantry with shelves, to a smaller pantry cabinet with deep pull-out drawers. Suddenly, all the containers I owned for dry goods were just all wrong! Lids kept getting stuck on each other and pulled off, resulting in several messes. Things just didn’t fit efficiently in the drawers, causing too much wasted space. Because of the downsize in space, every little inch mattered! Something needed to be done!
Unorganized Pull-Out Pantry Needing Help
Strategy
Time for me to follow my own organizing advice, and use my “3e Organizing Strategy: Evaluate, Edit, & Energize”. This is a strategy I use with my organizing clients, and consists of the following steps:
Evaluate: take an inventory of the items in the pantry
Edit: discard any spoiled or unwanted foods
Energize: create a new system complete with containers and labels
Evaluate
I evaluated and assessed my pantry contents. It is crucial to determine the amount of quantity that is typically purchased. This is so your containers will hold the amount of food on hand. When making a list of the foods you plan to decant into new containers, be honest with yourself. While it may look pretty, it’s not always the most practical, depending on how fast your family goes through certain foods, and the quantity that you buy. It doesn’t make sense for my family to have decanted containers of cereal, for example, since my kids gnaw through it all so darn fast! I found that 1: The containers took up more space than the boxes; and 2: I always had to refill containers before food even a chance to spoil!
Edit
Next, time for a Target Run! I chose my containers because of their shape and size. Square containers will nest right up next to each other, and make for less wasted space, unlike round containers. I also measured the height of my drawers, to be sure containers would fit both upright, and also while stacked in my drawer. Even though the drawers are adjustable, keeping them at their current drawer height was important, or else all the other drawers would all need to be reconfigured. And “easy” is what we are going for here. I also checked the quantity of the size containers, so that they would fit the quantity that I need for my home.
Energize
Then came the fun part – sorting, decanting, rearranging, and firing up my label maker to get the job done. Honestly, I only recently finished adding vinyl drawer labels to the outside of the drawers, to complete the look and function. I’m so pleased with how it looks!
While we are being completely honest, this video was actually recorded video a year ago! I even paid for professional video editing to take out all the bloopers, and yet, I’ve been so nervous about posting the video and putting myself out there. Recently, after talking with a good friend, I was encouraged to do that more – to “put myself out there”. Many times, my clients are feel vulnerable to “put themselves out there” to hire a stranger to come see their mess and help them get organized. If some of my most hesitant organizing clients can take the plunge and let someone in to see their imperfection, then surely I return the favor, right? So… without further delay, here is the link to my new YouTube Channel, and my premier video!
Thanks for being here! (And also for following, subscribing, and sharing! 🙂
I made this tutorial to showcase how I’ve organized a pantry with pull-out drawers in my own home. I hope that you find these quick tips helpful and inspiring.
My love for organizing began while I was in college. Admittedly, things may have been easier had I been born naturally organized, however I was not. As a youth, I learned that if I wanted to be successful and have more fun, I needed to be more organized. I became enthralled with highlighters, color-coding, labeling, and creating organization systems. Being organized became my strategy for success.
In my post-collegiate years, I held several corporate positions where a common thread was organizing something – such as a particular supply closet (it apparently had become where old marketing VHS tapes were left to die), and organizing events, data, and time. It seemed like everywhere I went, there was something I could organize, and I became known by my co-workers as an organizing expert. I often helped family and friends with organizing their homes and spaces, and I loved being able to help!
Becoming a mother intensified the desire to “organize-all-the-things”. Having a diaper bag ready the night before, meant getting to work on time. Having a meal plan and a grocery list prepared, meant spending less time (and money!) at the grocery store. As my children have grown, having a place for their “stuff”, and systems in place in our household has become a necessity for keeping the sanity, and the peace.
To me, being organized is more than just practical, it’s also FUN! Seeing things arranged neatly, labeled, or color-coded brings me a feeling of clarity, and a sense of energized joy. I actually love alphabetizing and sorting into categories. Having a place for everything, and putting everything in its place, helps me feel more calm and prepared. It’s this mix of practicality and positivity that energizes me, and fuels my love for organization.
I’ve always been a people person, I enjoy meeting new people, and helping others. When I discovered that I could merge my love of organizing with my desire to empower others to live their best life, I became SO excited. I decided to start a business where I could coach others, to get organized and stay organized. “Helping others to simplify their lives with Energy, Empathy, and Empowerment” became my mantra and the way I conduct my business. This blog chronicles my journey as a wife and mother, as a Professional Organizer, and on my quest to help spread my love for organizing.
