May 15, 2025 • 49 mins
Hey friends,
You are in for a treat with today’s episode of This Organized Life! I had the absolute joy of sitting down with my longtime friend and organizing powerhouse, Martha Carol Stewart of Chaos Organizing in Baton Rouge. If you’ve ever wondered how someone goes from teaching kindergarten to building a thriving professional organizing business—this one’s for you.Martha shares her real-world experience, her wins (and mistakes!), and her heart for helping people find peace in their spaces. We dive into so many listener questions—covering everything from how to deal with those sentimental items, to renter-friendly storage hacks, and how to price your services without selling yourself short. Whether you’re a fellow organizer or just trying to make sense of your own home, there’s gold here for you.
🎧 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
You are in for a treat with today’s episode of This Organized Life! I had the absolute joy of sitting down with my longtime friend and organizing powerhouse, Martha Carol Stewart of Chaos Organizing in Baton Rouge. If you’ve ever wondered how someone goes from teaching kindergarten to building a thriving professional organizing business—this one’s for you.Martha shares her real-world experience, her wins (and mistakes!), and her heart for helping people find peace in their spaces. We dive into so many listener questions—covering everything from how to deal with those sentimental items, to renter-friendly storage hacks, and how to price your services without selling yourself short. Whether you’re a fellow organizer or just trying to make sense of your own home, there’s gold here for you.
🎧 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
- How Martha went from classroom to chaos (organizing, that is!)
- Tips for getting started with organizing clients—and finding your first paid job
- Renter-friendly storage hacks that actually work
- What to do with sentimental stuff you just can’t let go of
- Daily habits to keep your kitchen clutter-free
- Why pricing feels hard (and what to do about it)
- The organizing tools Martha swears by
- The underrated power of Google and email marketing
- How mentorship shaped both of our careers
- Start where you are. Martha didn’t have it all figured out, but she took the leap—and so can you.
- Systems are your best friend. Even (especially!) in creative businesses like organizing.
- Let go of the guilt. Your memories aren’t in the item. We talk about how to honor the past without drowning in it.
- Business is personal. Whether it’s marketing, pricing, or serving your clients, authenticity always wins.
- Mentorship matters. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, challenge you, and help you grow.
- Connect with Martha: chaosorganizing.com
- Want to be mentored by me? → Check out my 1:1 and group mentoring for organizers
- Speakpipe → Leave us a message, a review, or ask us a question.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, they're organizing friends.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
If you are an aspiring professional organizer, or maybe you're
someone in the early stages of your organizing business and
wondering what the heck is next, don't worry. I've got
you covered here at simply Babe, we offer two mentoring
options to help you grow with confidence. First off, we
have our one on one start anytime program, which is
perfect if you're ready to dive in now. And our
group mentoring Comhork kicks off this coming September, and that
(00:25):
is ideal for somebody who's looking for a little bit
more structure. It's a bit more robust, and it's going
to put you immediately in with some community and give
you some extra accountability. So, whether you're looking for help
with pricing or services how to market your business, either
option is going to give you the tools that you need,
and I am here dot guide you every step of
the way. To learn more, visit simplyborganized dot com or
(00:48):
you can click on the link below in our show
notes and you can figure out which option is best
for you. Now, let's build the business that you have
been dreaming about.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Welcome to this is our organized life. If you're a
mom wife or coffee lover. Seeking advice on how to
reduce clutter and reclaim time, look no further than your host,
Laurie Pillau, Founder Simply Be Organized and author of hot Mess,
a practical guide to getting organized. For a lot of people,
clutter is their dirty little secret, but it doesn't have
to be. Each week we will share practical tips, chat
(01:20):
with experts, and provide strategies on how.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
To keep you organized.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I hope that by sharing our stories you feel a
little less alone and more empowered to tackle the areas
that are holding you back.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
So let's get started and.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Hi everybody, and welcome to you today's episode of This
Organized Life. I'm your host, Lori Palau, and you guys
are in for a treat today. I'm having a co
host for today's episodes. If you guys have listened to
our show for a while, you probably have heard our
guest slash co host before, and if you're new, I'm
going to just give you a little bit of intel
(01:58):
about her before I break her out. Joining me today
is my friend, very dear friend, Martha Carroll Stewart.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And Martha Carroll and I met probably.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Eight years ago. Now I'm thinking I don't even know
how long it was, It seems like forever. She runs
a professional organizing business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana called Chaos Organizing.
And at the time we met, she was newer in
the organizing space, and we got connected and we did
someone on one mentoring and through the over the past
(02:29):
eight years, her business has grown and exploded, to say
the least, by leaps and bounds. In addition to running
a incredible business and being featured in all kinds of
magazines and publications and winning awards for rest Organizer and
all that, she has this beautiful coffee team.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Book which, oh, hello on, I have it right here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
For anybody that's watching us on YouTube. It's called Southern
Chaos Organizing the Southern Home that she published with a
friend of hers a year or so ago, and it's awesome.
But we really, over the course of several years, have
gone through the ebbs and flows of both motherhood, becoming
empty nesters, and running an organizing business and looking at
(03:17):
all the different nuances and what that looks like as
women entrepreneurs going through life and trials and tribulations. And
I love doing these. Ask an expert or ask me
anything questions, because we're always getting questions, whether it's DMS
or comments or emails about a variety of topics, whether
(03:40):
it is personal topics or topics about a business or whatever,
whatever you name it. And I thought, you know what,
it'd be fun to not just get my take and perspective,
but get some of my other fellow colleagues involved in
the conversation. So over the next few months, you're gonna
be hearing a few different co hosts periodically of some
of my fellow or organizing friends from around the country.
(04:03):
And I figured who better to kick this series off
then my good dear friend Martha Carol Stewart. Without further ado,
let me welcome her back to the show.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Hey, HII me back and see your face muffort.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I know it's been a minute. We yeah, we're both
super busy and sometimes it like anything, you have to
schedule it, scheduling time.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
How is it that we're empty nesters and have less time?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What is that? It's like, I don't even know what
to say. I don't even know it say. So. I
gave a really high level, my very skewed like skinny
on you, but can you just tell our listeners if
they are new to our show, just tell them a
little bit about you. Give them a little bit of
snapshot into who you are and what you do before
(04:55):
we get into the Q and A.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Hi. I'm Martha Carroll Stewart. I okay, organizing. We have
been in business. It'll be twelve It was twelve years
two weeks ago. And I was a former kindergarten teacher
who saw families in chaos and decided I had the
skills to help them. I am not your typical organizer
because I have ADHD and own an organizing business. So
(05:18):
I love to work with families of all kinds and
teach you the tricks that I learned myself to be
able to function in this crazy world. I wrote a
book called Southern Chaos Organizing the Southern Home, because there
was no organizing book on the market for Southern homes.
They are missing tailgating and Marti gras and hunting closets
(05:40):
and all the things that we Southerners embrace and enjoy.
Down here lots of entertaining chapters and in it is
my chaos method that we have developed over the last
twelve years. Laurie Gosh, you and I have definitely run
the gamut of entrepreneur life of things or slows. Things
are big and as I start, when Laurie and I
started working together a million years ago, would you say eight,
(06:03):
I think that you're I think that's right. I was
doing all the organizing myself. Now I've got two teams
that are up and running, and we have an OT
on staff doing aging in place organizing. I've got a
child specialist working with children in addition to just our
regular organizers who are doing homes and corporate spaces.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
And you do speaking also.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I I've just started doing speaking, and I love it
so much. I'm a people person and I love to
meet people, and so speaking has given me an avenue
to really connect with people and really see what their
needs are and if they change. Because I'm an empty
nester now and everybody's a little bit different. The world's
changed a little bit since I had young kids, and
(06:45):
so I love reconnecting with people and learning about people
and speaking as a way for me to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, it's yeah, And I have to say again, and
then I'll stop with the with the love fest and
we'll get down to the nitty gritty.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
But what people I just want I.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Just have to say it someone who has been on
the front lines of watching the evolution of your business
for almost a decade and really the ups and downs
and growing pains that any business, whether you're in an
organizing business or any industry, right, any business goes through
(07:21):
growing pains and ebbs and flows and pandemics and all
of the things. And you've now you've navigated it with
grace and with patients even when that was tough. And
I'd like to think that I maybe had a tiny
little an oh.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
My gosh, what I would have done without you in
my life? How many brainstorm sessions did we have of
oh my gosh everything when twenty twenty happened? You and
I think I was a basket case and here are
the calm force in my life. So well, again, nice
to have somebody to walk through the weeds with you
and help you find the way out. It really is
(07:58):
an entrepreneur life is a bunch of weeds.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah it is. And so I was organizing, And I
think that's why as entrepreneurs we can also relate to
our clients struggles with this organization because there's all of
these balls that are constantly being juggled, whether that's personally
with your kids and your household, or just physical stuff
(08:25):
in your house, or just life and career and all
of that, and so being able to relate to our
clients and apply our own lived experiences as well as
perspective from MC clients.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That goes back to your integrams too, because we think differently,
which is why we were so successful working together. Because
I am a seven I need it to be fun
and exciting, and you are an eight. So you were
able to help me, hone in on the stuff that
I don't like to do.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yes, I'm crack that whip of Okay, it's time to
bring out the spreadsheet accountability.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Oh my gosh, this spreadsheet. Yes you don't like them,
but I do use them, but I don't like them.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
All right, all right, everybody, and I just again, I'm
peeling back the curtain for you guys. Right before we
have recorded, MC was like, okay, how's this going to go.
I'm like, okay, I have ten questions from the peanut gallery.
We've gotten people that have dmd us, people have emailed
us comments, and so I compiled this list of ten
(09:28):
questions right here.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
This is my favorite game.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, and so some of them will be like a
little rapid fire, and some of them we're going to
take turns answering. But we're just gonna go with the
flow and see how we both respond to some of
these questions from y'all. And if you guys have any
questions as you're listening to this, if there's something that
you want to know, there's like multiple ways that you
can connect up with me if you go to our website.
(09:52):
In addition to the contact form where you could just
write in your question, we also have this really cool
it's called a speak pipelink where you just click on
it and you can leave us a voice message and
you can lead your voice message yes, and we can
reply back to you. And what I've been doing is
collecting these speak pipe messages and like storing them up
(10:14):
for episodes like this so that I can then answer
them on the air. So again, if you are listening
you're like, ooh, I have a question, just jot it down,
put in your notes, and make sure you send it
over to us. Okay, all right, here we go. I'm
going to kick this off with you. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
This is about clients. So this is Martha Carroll.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
How do you help clients stay motivated during multi day
projects when energy starts to dip, like when and you
know this when you're working with somebody and that you
can see it in their eyes. They're losing.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yes, So it happens because the overwhelm happened, especially when
you like pull all the stuff out the space and
they start to shut down. That's time for them to
go take a snack. So what we do. We start
off with categorizing every time, so I'll tell them leave
the room, get out of the space, let us set
it up. And then in fifteen minutes after I had
(11:13):
a client that literally took a job around the block
one time because she just had to get out of there.
It was so overwhelming. And so when they come back in,
it's set up for us to go through and pick
and choice and sort it out and then we send
them away. We handle it, We put more stuff out,
and then they come back, so we pull them small
spurts instead of having them next to us through the
(11:34):
whole process, because it is it's overwhelming, which is why
they call us. Because if you pull all the stuff
out of your closet, you're going to sit there and
probably cry. I would cry, yeah much, it's overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, I love it. That's a great answer. Okay, this
next one is for me. What's one small daily habit
that keeps your own kitchen clutter free even on the
busiest of these Okay, so I've said this before, but
again if there's anybody new that's listening. So we have
always since the kids were little, we run the dishwasher
(12:10):
every night and empty it first thing in the morning. Now,
I will say, since we've been empty nesters there, sometimes
we will skip a night if there's not a lot
in there, or if Josh is traveling and it's just
me and there's two dishes, I won't do it. But
I've always, even from way before i've ben start by business,
I hate a sink full of dishes, so I the
(12:33):
easiest thing for me to do would be to be
able to have a place for it to go. So
having that empty dishwasher so that I can rinse, just
quick rinse it off and shove it in the dishwasher
has been always our thing. I'm that person when you
go to a friend's house, like if you're having a party,
I'm always you can always find me in the kitchen.
Josh jokes about it all the time. I love washing dishes.
(12:55):
I'll be doing and there's nothing I find more frustrating
of Like I'm trying to help clean up to keep
the flow of the party, and I go to load
the dishwasher and it's filled with clean dishes. So the
system of running it at night, unloading it first thing
in the morning, so that as the day progresses you
(13:16):
can funnel the dishes in there.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And that's like thought about that being a system, but
that's exactly what we do too, except now it we
same as you, empty nester, I might run it every
third night instead of every night.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, but oh my gosh, I hadn't even thought about that.
I'm the same when I go to bed, my sink
is empty.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah. Absolutely, Yeah, that's again, it's simple. But it's one
of those things that just do it on like Rinston,
repeat and it becomes to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
It's become to you don't even think about it.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
M Okay. Any advice this is for you, Any advice
for dealing with sentimental items when you're short on space.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Okay. So that's a tough one because I live in
the South and in the South. We have a lot
of sentimental items because we have a lot of things
that are passed down, like china and silver, So we
use our attics a lot for some things. But what
I generally do is you really have to choose. You
(14:18):
have to be very cheesy about what you love. And
I use things like shelf extenders and double layer shelves
because there's never there's always should be two more shelves
in a cabinet than there ever is, So I'll add
shelf extenders and double the space in the cabinets. But
you also really have to pare down to those things
(14:39):
that you know you use and love. And that's a
tough one. That's a really tough one.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It is. It is tough. I think it's one of
the biggest struggles with people is making those decisions on
those sentimental items.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
And so and it depends, too, Laurio, on the client.
So if you're downsizing, one of the things that we
might that we do is we teach people how to
have an album on their phone for cinnamon items like
you're not going to keep your kids stuffed animals at
our age because they're done with them, and why are
you keeping them? They don't want them. They're gross. But
if it's something you want to remember, you take a
(15:14):
picture of it and keep it in that album. And
we did this and actually at Easter we turned on
that album on the TV and with all for home,
and it was so fun because the kids were like, Oh,
that stuffed animal or that book or that toy. But
I didn't keep it all. It was just all in
a photo albums. Depending on your age and stage of life,
(15:35):
there's those are different choices about space too. Yeah, so
that's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
It is a tough one. Okay, So this one is
for organizer, like this is for me. Again, it's a
it's like a new organizer question. So I'm going to
ask it, Lorie, what is one operational system that every
new organizer should set up on day one? Okay I'm
not I'm not going to be like the police of this,
(16:04):
but and I'm curious to know what you think, because again,
I have a lot of different things that and you
can look at it from a few different perspectives. You
can get real tactical and be like every organizer needs
a label maker, Like you could be really like very
gragular at that. But if you're looking at the business
side of the business. Yeah, I would say having there's
(16:29):
a couple. I would say having a good intake process
of qualifying clients. Right from an if you're looking operational,
there's a lot of things that I think you should
boxes you should check from the business side of things.
But we're a lot but and again shout out to
our free mini series. I don't even know if you
know about that. I'll talk about that after, but that
(16:51):
we released recently. I'm out starting very professional organizers.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
You know you haven't talked about it. We'll talk about
it later.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, But which goes through like things that you need
for the business, like business insurance and getting business checking
account and separate accounts and all that stuff, right, or
that business relay stuff. But from an operational standpoint, I
think having a good intake process, like your client workflow.
And this comes with practice. This is a trial and
(17:19):
error thing. So if you're out there, you will refine
it because I've refined it and now I teach people.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Right now today. That's part of my thing today is
because we have changed so much that my procedures have shifted,
and that's it's an evolving system.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Absolutely but I think if you start going this is
what I want to know, and these are the things,
and having a work book and whether you're sitting that
down however your brain works. If your brain works, I'm
gonna do it on a whiteboard and write it down.
I'm gonna do it. I'm kind of paper. I'm going
to create a flow chart. I don't care, but just
(17:57):
get it down of and try to of what makes
sense for you and then reverse engineer from the user experience.
We wanted to be easy for if someone's coming to you.
And I just had this conversation with a mentee, somebody
who mentoring that's starting her own professional organizing business, and
I said, if you got to remember, people that are
coming to you are already stressed and overwhelmed. That is
(18:21):
why they're coming to you. So we need to have
a simple workflow for them. Whether that's scheduling that initial
call or booking a consultation or whatever it is, we
need to work through those things. So I think from
an operational system, that's what I would say.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And don't disagree. It's no different than saying, hey, set
up a morning routine because it makes your life so
much easier. You really need to document your system, even
if it's three steps, but whatever it is, start documenting
that system so it stays consistent.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
I don't be fore it to change it if it's
not working or tweak it. That's how we learn.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
You'd be like, oh, I never thought of you will
change it. In fact, you need to embrace changing it
because where you are at year one, and where you
are at year three, and where you are at year five,
and then now I'm your twelve, it's very different. Where
I started is very different, and it is a constant
evolving system.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yes, okay, all right, I love this is a good one. Okay.
How did you land your very first paying client?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Okay, So because I was a teacher, I advertised at
my school, Hey, I'm thinking about going into this business
or I've just started this business. And I talked to
the parents, and I had parents that hired me because
they saw me as an organized teacher. And y'all, I
had two young kids, so we had to be in
that classroom ready to go for seven am. And I
(19:48):
am not a morning person, so that was really tough.
I had to be extremely organized, and I would share
my tips all the time with parents who are struggling,
so they knew I was organized, and they knew I
had systems in place. When and I started an organizing business,
it was my first paying client. She's now living in Texas.
They moved, but we organized her pantry. It was the
(20:09):
first thing I did. And she's still in touch with
me and says the system we set up for her
then is still what she has in place in Texas.
And that was twelve years ago. So that was like
at our anniversary, she sent me a note.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It was I love that. Oh my god, I love that.
And yeah, I would say for me, it really just
word of mouth. I made the decision that I was
going to turn this thing that I was doing for
friends and families and my own kind of passion, if
you will, and I was going to turn into a business.
(20:44):
And I just started talking about it. This was even
before and listen again, I literally teach people on setting
up a website, doing all of the things. But even
before I did that, I wanted to start saying, we're
gonna pay for this. So I wanted to do this
like little test.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
The truth I think everybody starting out is, are people
are really going to pay me to do this?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I was shopped.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
My husband in year three came to me and said,
I really didn't think this was going to be a thing.
I thought this was going to be one of your
fun projects that would just fall apart. He goes, I
can't believe like I was hiring an assistant at year three,
And you're right, friends and family getting them to spread
the word, and you're spreading the work. That's the way
to go.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yes, okay, Oh you're gonna love this next one. So
this is we could both enter answer on this one.
All right, okay, so this is going back into the
client side of things. We rent and can't add shelving.
What renter friendly story attacks? Do you both love?
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Oo? Standalone shelving?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
I have? And this is obviously like totally editorial, no sponsorships,
IKEA pack systems. It depends on what you're doing. If
I've done New York City apartments of that are right,
so you can't relate to this. I've done where it's
you take a big bedroom and then people separate it
and make two rooms out of one away and so
(22:17):
the second room and you're talking, they're like little, they're
like eight by eight rooms, like they're tiny.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
What are you doing like standalone bookcases, so they're not.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
They will build like a fake wall or sometimes they'll
have like things, but there's no closet. Okay, no closet
in that second room because you have to sometimes you
have to pass through one room to get to another one.
All my New York people, you know what I'm talking about,
and using the Ikea pack system, which is their like
modular closet system, is a great storage unit. Now, yes,
(22:49):
you've anchored them to the wall from a safety perspective, but.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
You're not, like, so you're basically building a closet in
a room.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Oh, but okay, so in Germany they do that. I
know because in Germany. My sister lived in Germany. And
when you buy a house, it doesn't come with kitchen cabinets.
The kitchen cabinets go with you to the next house,
which I think is just absolutely bizarre. And then you
go to Ikea and you buy all new cabinets for
your house. Isn't it the craziest.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
That's weird. It's not weird. I shouldn't say weird.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
That's it's different.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
It's very very different, very different obviously, like underbed storage
and things like that.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
I don't know. I just feel like that's very like
and I like standalone shelving. So typically in a rental
there's one bar at the top, and not everybody has
long hanging so I'll do standalone shelving in the bottom
to create some shelving space and with bins and that.
But then they can take that shelving unit with them
(23:47):
and if they buy a house, you can use it
and you can use it anywhere. So that's something that
we have used very often.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Yeah, I've also used like those cobbies that again, now
they sell them everywhere. They used to only sell them
at a key. Yeah, but you can buy them at Target.
You can buy again, you can buy anything on Amazon.
But like you could go and get cubbies. And if
you are either if you don't want to do like
a closet system, and like you said, you have just
a hanging bar and you have kids, especially little kids
(24:16):
that they're not really hanging their clothes right, and you
can't do like a custom closet. Getting those cubbies and
having the baskets and then you can label them with
words or pictures if the kids are little, and you
could be like here's underwear, here's bathing suits. Here's you
can use those for like an added type drive type
(24:39):
spot in playrooms too. Now they make the binds with
the clear fronts.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Will okay, yes, both of the cubbies and shelves and
the ike I didn't know about the IKEA thing. That's cool.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Okay, Oh my gosh. Okay. So the next couple ones
are about our also about organizing, starting an organizing business.
This question is right up my alley. All right, I'm
gonna read it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Is it about spreadsheets?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
No, it's about pricing. What pricing mistakes do you see
most often among new organizers? And how can they avoid that?
I know exactly how you're going to answer that. You okay,
so you answer, go ahead, and.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Then you answer, and I want to see if I'm right.
I'm gonna tell you what you told me if the okay.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So, the first general thing is you're probably charging too little.
That's the first thing I knew that had to a
I'm probably charging too little, And I'll tell you why,
because most people, especially when you're first starting out, are
struggling with a level of imposter syndrome. Because you know
you're good at this, Okay, you know that you have
this tactical skill of being you have this knack for organizing.
(25:54):
It's something that you love and something you enjoy. But
there's almost some sort.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Of like radom what you told me, that's exactly what
you said to.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Me, say and I don't even remember because i'm and
that was eight years ago, and but you almost feel
guilty charging for something that comes a naturally to you
and be something that you enjoy. Your like, wait a second,
I get to do this for a living that I
like and enjoy, and I get to people are gonna
(26:23):
give me money for it. That's crazy. And then you
look ahead and you're like, oh my god, but I'm
just starting out. I'm only worth X. And it is
something I personally struggle with back one hundred and fifty
years ago when I started my business. And I'm telling
you right now, that is the number one thing that
I see organizers When I'm mentoring with somebody and they
(26:47):
talk to me about pricing.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Yep, spot on, and I will say I did it,
and I also see that, And now to me, it's
a little bit of a red flag because if they're
not charging enough, that means that they are not insured.
We don't have workmen's comp And so I tell that
to people when they call me and they're like, oh,
your price is this. But there's these other organizers and
(27:09):
I'm like, that's great, but you need to ask them
these questions. Do they have liability insurance and do they
have workmen's comp because if not, if they're in your house,
then your homeowner's insurance will have to cover that.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah. Absolutely, and I know this, and I'm going to
add this again not to go down a rabbit hole,
but again, this is what I teach, and I don't
believe all listen. As a consumer, I'm all about a deal.
I'm all about a discount. I'm all about a promo,
I'm all about a coupon. I'm all about that.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
That being said, I have seen and I'm not judging
how anybody markets their business, but I see a lot
of organizers that do a scaled package pricing where the
more hours you buy, the.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Less you the you get a discount discount.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
And I understand the mentality behind that for the consumer work.
If you're going to be here, you wanted to have
a value. However, the way that the formula is often
executed from the organizer they're doing a lot more work
for a lot less money, and it is not an
incentive for you from a wise business decision two price.
(28:24):
So if you are going to want to do something
in that package realm, I think you really need to
be very clear on how you're positioning it so that
it's a win win for you and the client and
not somebody is getting the short end of the step.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I feel and Laurie, you are such a great mentor,
and you've mentored so many people. I feel like there
is this path that you go on the beginning of
business to where I am twelve years later, and all
of the things that we've talked about, the pricing, the startup,
where do you start, what organizing system these are. It's
like a little candy Land path that you go through
(29:02):
all these things, whether you think you're going to or not.
Somewhere along the line, you're addressing these things because you
and I did. I was like, oh, let me do
the pack and you were like, let me tell you
why not to do that? And I didn't. I didn't
do it, and I don't regret not doing it. All
of your reasons are completely valid. I've never had a
client if they want that much and that many hours.
(29:24):
They're just gonna do it. They want it done. There's
ways to there's ways that you can throw some product
in or have a discount every now and then if
in slower times and things like that. But I agree
with you.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Yeah, okay, okay, this is one. I'm gonna let you
take this. I'll probably weigh in, of course. Okay. If
if an organizer, I don't like social media, what ways
can I market? What other marketing strategies can I use
to find new clients? We already talked about I think
we know we talk about the friends and family.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Yeah, we have, because friends and family are the biggest,
your biggest asset. I will tell you if you need
to Google and more Google, because.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Can you tell them the story that you just shared
with us before we went on the air about the corporate.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Oh, I ended up with one corporate client and I
added it to Google and I did the hashtag. I
did a hashtag or something in the comments about corporate organizing,
and within five days I have two more corporate clients
just from putting that on Google. Instagram and Facebook are
great nurturers, but they do not bring me business. So
(30:37):
it's not a place that I want to invest a
lot of money as far as ads and things like that.
And I don't do Google ad. But you have to
stay consistent on Google. You have to upload pictures. You've
got to get clients to write reviews. That's huge. I
give my clients an incentive. In fact, I'm pulling today.
I do a quarterly draw to give them a discount
for writing a Google review. Google is your best in
(31:00):
next to friends and family, because those friends and family
are going to refer their friends and family, and that's
how and that's how that network goes.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, you're so good about that, But I don't really
see a ton of clients.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
So I feel like, okay, oh my gosh. I send
thank you cards to my clients. I have a QR
code with a Google that brings them straight to a
Google review on my thank you note, and then I
handwrite a thank you note on the back. I really
nurture that Google. I don't want to say it's advertising,
because I'm not really advertised. I'm not doing paid ads,
(31:31):
but I really it's organic that. Yes, I really nurture
that Google relationship because that is so important.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Okay, I love that okay, and I'm going to add
one other thing. What's that email email us?
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Oh? Huge, that's huge. In fact, I stopped doing it
because I'm I got burnout. After you write a book,
you don't want to write any implum.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
That's so fair. I got burnout.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
But I will tell you when that time's got slow.
And I'm talking to Laurie and she says, are you
doing your emails? And I said no, So what did
I do? I wrapped up on the weekly email, which
I've not done this week because frozen childer and all
old lady, old lady. But when I did, I get
at hands down, I get a former client that is up.
Your email came at the perfect time. Email is huge?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, No, I think it's again with at with social media,
you're at the mercy of algorithms. You're at the mercy
of timing of whether somebody decides that I'm giving them
social media for lent and you're posting the most amazing thing,
but your ideal customer is not on there or whatever.
When you are in somebody's email and you that's a
(32:42):
direct invitation and they want to hear from you, and.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Here's what happens, And this is and you can verify
this because I promise you this is your you doo.
Somebody says I need a professional organizer, who are they
going to ask. They're going to go to their friend first,
and they're going to the friend's going to say let's
google it, or hey, I've heard of this company. Then
once they google it and they might look at your website.
I promise you, the next step is they go to
(33:05):
Instagram or Facebook, and what those do is validate you
as a company. But they're not going there first. So
that's why you could use it as a nurturing tool,
but not as a selling duel.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
And the other thing is it depends on what type
of organizer you're looking for, because if you are somebody
that there is such a spectrum and we've talked about
this on this show. There's such a spectrum of what
falls under the scope of organizing. If you're looking for
somebody to help you with move management that is not
(33:41):
you might find something but that's not a drool worthy Instagram, Pinterest,
closet or pantry. You're looking for somebody that is gonna
get get the job done, and that might not be
something that is like really enticing on Instagram or papers
(34:01):
or senior management or whatever.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Downsizing go ahead. Well, and we just talked about this
in the call before this, but you just talked about
not everything is pinterest pretty.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Yeah, and guess.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
What, a lot of organizing is not gonna be on
the page because it's not pinterest pretty. It's just better.
You don't get pinterest pretty until you have the white
painted cabinets and the and the clear binds don't even
show up well in a picture. And my rule is
I don't do before and afters. Everybody's oh, do before
and afters. I'm like, nobody wants to be shamed like that,
(34:36):
and I will never do before and afters. You can
appreciate an after picture without seeing the before, and so
you're I. On my Instagram, it is mostly conversational and things.
There's some tips in there, there's some pictures, but it's
it's not all not all jobs. Most of my jobs
(34:57):
are not pinterest pretty. So I think for Instagram and Facebook,
for me, it's more about hey, here, I am my
relatable personality. It's more of a personality thing than it
is about the work. You can see my work on
my website. You can see my work on Google, but
Instagram and Facebook really are more about here's my personality,
(35:20):
to know me, get to know me and my company,
and this is how to run. And I'm gonna say
I have videos and things that are like, yeah, if
you want your underwear file folded, don't call me. Could
throw it in the ben girl, because I've got better
things to do than filefold underwear. I love it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Okay, Now we're going to do a little because everybody
loves a product, and I always tell people that we're
not product pushers, but we love a good product. So
let's do a little bit of kind of lightning round
favorite products in different spaces. As I'm sitting here looking
at your product inventory behind you as a backdrop.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
You haven't even seen what's on the other side of
this desk. It's a hot mess over there because I
haven't finished un back in boxes.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Okay. So again, we're giving free promotion to all these places.
But okay, and I know for a lot of people
it's going to vary based on where you live geog
like geographically.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
And my place, we don't have a container story, Ikia.
I have to order those things.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Right, Okay, So I'm just gonna ask you, so, where's
your favorite place to source products? Like where do Where's
your favorite sourcing product place?
Speaker 1 (36:32):
So all of these are all container store and I
order those. And there are things I use consistently, so
I order in bulk when I order them. If I
had to pick somewhere here in town that I shop,
I go to Target.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Okay, I go to Target.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Target is consistently my favorite Walmart. I like, it's hard
to find products at Walmart because they don't restock as
fast as Target. The issue I run into in Target
is they like to change their products, so I try to.
If we're doing a pantry, I will buy enough bins
and even leave blank binds because I'm like, you don't
want to need two bins And then you go back
(37:10):
to Target in six months And there's that.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
That's my issue with home goods. Do you guys have
home Do you guys have home goods down there?
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Or like a T I tell every client, do not
go to home Goods and buy two bends because you're
gonna have two two two, and then your shelf is
gonna look cluttered.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Yeah, if you're looking for the one off thing. Oh,
I need an art caddy for my kids playroom, right,
and you find a cute thing there. But for your
staple items that I try to stay over that are
easy for me to replenish and replace, yeah, you know.
And also for your clients to be able to say, oh,
I could I want to order more? Like sometimes I'll
(37:46):
use something and I'll do the bathroom and then they're like,
we want to tackle another room in our house. We
love this. Where do you get it?
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I do. I have an Amazon storefront that I keep
some things on, but for the most part it's Target
and container store.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yeah, yep, okay, So let's go. I'm gonna ask you
in the in each room, what is your favorite organizing product.
For the kitchen, drawer.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Organizers say, and I like a click draw organizers not bamboo.
Why because I like to clean out my drawers and
so I can dump the stuff out, throw all the
acrylic in the dishwasher, wash them and put them back
in my drawer. You cannot do that with bamboo. It
falls apart with humidity and moisture. Yeah, humid state, So
(38:35):
my the bamboo. So here's what I did in my kitchen.
I had a bamboo drawer. I had a clear acrylic
drawer and I had the Target like softer plastics yeah, yep, yep,
and I tried them all out and the clear crylic
what go had them? Are you here?
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Do you use the that's the container shore.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
This is Amazon Amazon Story brand. This is what I use.
It's they do stack if you want them to stack.
But you yeah, but this is what I use for
all of my drawer organizers in the kitchen because I
can wash these in the dishwashers. So if you're cleaning
out your drawer, you dump it all out, you wash these,
you dry them up, they get dry, you pop them
(39:13):
in the soft target ones. You couldn't wash the heat
of the dishwasher. Just warp them, yes, okay, brain volve
what's the word. It warped them so they didn't go
back in straight where I can wash these.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
And which is it's interesting about the warping because we
have one of those egg things and I bought it
I think at like the egg contears, and but I
bought it at at Target and out of Target, sorry,
at home Goods.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
At home Goods.
Speaker 2 (39:41):
It was an impulse buy, it was, and Josh threw
it in the dishwasher and it warped and it warped.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
So I was like that soft flyable plastic does warp
with heat. Now, these are soft flyabel plastic here, and
I love those, And I really love them for kids
because when kids drop them, as they will, they don't
like the hard plastics.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
So like been draw.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Organizers, I like the soft pliable right organizers and bins
for pantries and other spaces. I like the soft pliable plastic,
especially if you have kids.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
And for those of you who are listening to us
not watching what Martha Carroll is talking about, it, are
these like white plastic bins? They sell them in different
places I buy we get ours primarily at the container store.
They come Yeah, they come in like a translucent a white.
(40:33):
They have a smoky gray and they're great like utility
bins because a they're inexpensive and you can use them
and like you said, they're if they get dropped, they're
not going to break, and they're great for storing. I
have them under the kitchen sink. I use them for
like under the sink cleaning products. I've used them in
playrooms for kids. They come small. Yeah, they're great. The
(40:57):
only thing is if you're looking for a lidd bin.
That is not the one to use. Nope, that is
not the one because they're not stackable. What is your
what is your lided bin? Oh, I was just gonna ask.
So my it depends. So my greatest utility lided bin
is container stores clear shoe boxes that I use them
(41:22):
for everything. I use them so for our Hampton's house,
I'm trying to set up like little stations of back
because I don't I'm not stocking with a full tools.
I do have a travel tool set, but like I
have a little like housewares thing. I have batteries, I've
got a little painting touch up, and I have all
these like clear you do theoes now I have.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I use the sterilite latch boxes.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
So I used to. Okay, so that is if we're
going into the garage and we're going into sterilite latch boxes.
I use those for I.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Love them for school supplies. I love them for for
the garage because they can latch and stacks so you
can pull out the bottom and you're not worried about
the lids popping off.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Yes, yes, And they're great also for like household things
like light bulbs. I use them for all the seasonal stuff,
seasonal clothes, because again where we live, we I flip
my clothes seasonally from winter to summer, and so I
have a seasonal I have two seasonal clothes bins, and
I just and they're lidded and so they go away.
(42:28):
So yes, the starlite latched lided bins for that type
of stuff. But in the house I use little those
clear shoe boxes, and they're also good for like younger kids,
like potoys that are like the little things like calcols.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
And the nice thing about the lidded shoe boxes, which
I also use a lot for the deeper shelves, is
that they're cheap. They're really cheap, and so you can
buy two dozen and have them look immaculate and they
look really good and they're not expensive. So that's yeah,
they're a great tool. We use those a lot too great.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
And this was not a question, but I'm giving this
prompt just as we wrap up. Always I always recommend
to people before you buy any products, do your decluttering first. Oh,
don't make the mistake that so many people do, which
is let me get to let me let the product
(43:24):
solve my problem. Because yes, the first thing is the
decluttering That is step one, and once you know what
your inventory is of that category that you need is,
then you can determine how the product's going to help you.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
My chaos method, which is five steps, it's step putting
it in bins is step four. Run, So you have
to go through categorizing first so that you can see
that you have ten thousand white button up blouses. Then
you I always go through helpful and hurtful because that's
where people get stuck, and so you're like, okay, here's
(44:01):
your goal. Is keeping this helpful or hurtful to your goal?
Then is the action step keep tossed, donate? Then it's
organizing bins because you can't You've got to purge first
to see how much is left, and then you can decide, okay,
I need a bin for this, or I might need
two bins for this. And then but also the stuff
(44:22):
has to fit the space so there's a caveat in there.
And then my last step is simplified by labeling so
that everybody in the house knows where it goes. I
love it, yeah, husbands.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, I love it exactly exactly, MC. I know you
touched on this before we wrap up I want you
to use you things. First, I want you to just
let everybody know where if they want to learn more
about you, buy your book or even higher you. If
(44:54):
they're living the Baton Rouge area, where can they go
to find you? Let's just start with that.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
We do try. We have been to Nashville and Oklahoma
and Virginia, so we do travel as a team.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
Not north of the Mason Dixon line though so far.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Not yet, and not in the winter because I do
not know how to drive in snow. Hey, as Organizing
dot com is my website where you can find me
and on there is an email and a phone number
you can reach me. We are on Instagram, we are
on Facebook Chaos Organizing, and if you are looking for
the book, the website for the book is Organizing Southern
(45:29):
Chaos dot com and you can buy the book. The
book is not on Amazon, not yet. We wanted to
be in small local bookstores, so we chose to do
this route first. But the book is also on Instagram
under Organizing Southern Chaos, and then it has its own
website too awesome.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
And then again because our audience here is split and
you could even just see from a lot of the
questions that we get. We have a lot of people
who come and listen to our show to get tips
either for their clients because they are professional organizers, or
they're in a period of transition in their own life
and they're either thinking about stopping away from corporate America
(46:10):
or teaching, or maybe they've had some time off because
they've got kids and they're in a new life stage
where they're like, I can take something on and I
want to do something, but I want that flexibility and
they're thinking about organizing and as somebody who has been
with through the SBO Partner program done one on one
(46:30):
mentoring with me, like what advice or things can you
share with anybody?
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Well, definitely get a mentor hooking up with you. At
the time in the beginning was it kept me from
wasting a lot of time and kept me on a
path of growth that helped me to be where I
am in twelve years. Because I think that there's so
much out there. There's so many programs. There's coaching programs
(46:57):
where the people the coaches have been in business year
or two like who can help a bit? No, absolutely not.
You need to be with somebody who's experienced who's gone
through the drudges, who understand imposter syndrome because you're going
to have it, and can talk you through those moments.
And I think that you and I meeting at the
time that we did of my business is the reason
(47:18):
I'm still here twelve years later and doing what we're doing.
It's been incredible growth, but you have kept me focused
on a path, and you have really held me accountable
to the parts of business that I really don't like
and you made me work through them, and then now
I know how to do them. And so even though
(47:39):
I still don't like it, I know how to do them,
and I have embraced that piece is just part of
It's just part of business, whether you like it or not.
And it's nice to have somebody who we can brainstorm
together and work through issues if there's a client issue,
if there's a and there always is, there's always something
that in your business that you really need somebody who
(48:02):
knows what they're doing to be able to walk you
through the best case scenario. And I think having a
mentor for that, and having you be my mentor for
that was really huge for those beginning years. For sure.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
Oh thank you, and I did, and I did pay
you to say that.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
I didn't even do that, and not good friends, and
I'm trying to convince her to come with me on
a retreat and she's her weddings. I did all of
those mentors who we got to be such good friends,
absolutely absolutely well.
Speaker 2 (48:30):
Thank you, and for all of you guys who wrote
in and who listen, thank you so much. I love
these questions. Please keep them coming again. You could be anonymous,
you could just leave us a message, you could just
send an email or whatever it is. We love being
able to give you tips and strategies, whether you're organizing
your home, your calendar, or your business. That's what we're
(48:53):
here for. So this was so much fun. I'm having
I love having you back as my co host. Thank
you guys for tuning, and if you know somebody that
could benefit from listening to this episode, please click that
share button. And if you're new to our show, just
hit the follow button. We're here every week. I'm Lori Palau.
Until then, peace out. Thanks for tuning in. If you
(49:14):
like this episode, please spread the love and share it
with your friends. And if this is your first time
joining us, make sure to click the subscribe button wherever
you are listening so you never miss an episode, and
while you're there, please leave us a review so other
people know that our show is worth to listen. You
can also find us on YouTube and Instagram at This
Organized Life Podcast, and if you'd like to connect with us,
(49:34):
you can head on over to our website at simply
the letter, B Like boyorganized dot com, which is filled
with tons of resources, including free downloads, checklists, links to
our amazing organizing partners, and all of our digital offerings.
I'll see you next week for another episode of This
Organized Life
Hey, they're organizing friends.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
If you are an aspiring professional organizer, or maybe you're
someone in the early stages of your organizing business and
wondering what the heck is next, don't worry. I've got
you covered here at simply Babe, we offer two mentoring
options to help you grow with confidence. First off, we
have our one on one start anytime program, which is
perfect if you're ready to dive in now. And our
group mentoring Comhork kicks off this coming September, and that
(00:25):
is ideal for somebody who's looking for a little bit
more structure. It's a bit more robust, and it's going
to put you immediately in with some community and give
you some extra accountability. So, whether you're looking for help
with pricing or services how to market your business, either
option is going to give you the tools that you need,
and I am here dot guide you every step of
the way. To learn more, visit simplyborganized dot com or
(00:48):
you can click on the link below in our show
notes and you can figure out which option is best
for you. Now, let's build the business that you have
been dreaming about.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Welcome to this is our organized life. If you're a
mom wife or coffee lover. Seeking advice on how to
reduce clutter and reclaim time, look no further than your host,
Laurie Pillau, Founder Simply Be Organized and author of hot Mess,
a practical guide to getting organized. For a lot of people,
clutter is their dirty little secret, but it doesn't have
to be. Each week we will share practical tips, chat
(01:20):
with experts, and provide strategies on how.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
To keep you organized.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
I hope that by sharing our stories you feel a
little less alone and more empowered to tackle the areas
that are holding you back.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
So let's get started and.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Hi everybody, and welcome to you today's episode of This
Organized Life. I'm your host, Lori Palau, and you guys
are in for a treat today. I'm having a co
host for today's episodes. If you guys have listened to
our show for a while, you probably have heard our
guest slash co host before, and if you're new, I'm
going to just give you a little bit of intel
(01:58):
about her before I break her out. Joining me today
is my friend, very dear friend, Martha Carroll Stewart.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And Martha Carroll and I met probably.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Eight years ago. Now I'm thinking I don't even know
how long it was, It seems like forever. She runs
a professional organizing business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana called Chaos Organizing.
And at the time we met, she was newer in
the organizing space, and we got connected and we did
someone on one mentoring and through the over the past
(02:29):
eight years, her business has grown and exploded, to say
the least, by leaps and bounds. In addition to running
a incredible business and being featured in all kinds of
magazines and publications and winning awards for rest Organizer and
all that, she has this beautiful coffee team.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Book which, oh, hello on, I have it right here.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
For anybody that's watching us on YouTube. It's called Southern
Chaos Organizing the Southern Home that she published with a
friend of hers a year or so ago, and it's awesome.
But we really, over the course of several years, have
gone through the ebbs and flows of both motherhood, becoming
empty nesters, and running an organizing business and looking at
(03:17):
all the different nuances and what that looks like as
women entrepreneurs going through life and trials and tribulations. And
I love doing these. Ask an expert or ask me
anything questions, because we're always getting questions, whether it's DMS
or comments or emails about a variety of topics, whether
(03:40):
it is personal topics or topics about a business or whatever,
whatever you name it. And I thought, you know what,
it'd be fun to not just get my take and perspective,
but get some of my other fellow colleagues involved in
the conversation. So over the next few months, you're gonna
be hearing a few different co hosts periodically of some
of my fellow or organizing friends from around the country.
(04:03):
And I figured who better to kick this series off
then my good dear friend Martha Carol Stewart. Without further ado,
let me welcome her back to the show.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Hey, HII me back and see your face muffort.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I know it's been a minute. We yeah, we're both
super busy and sometimes it like anything, you have to
schedule it, scheduling time.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
How is it that we're empty nesters and have less time?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What is that? It's like, I don't even know what
to say. I don't even know it say. So. I
gave a really high level, my very skewed like skinny
on you, but can you just tell our listeners if
they are new to our show, just tell them a
little bit about you. Give them a little bit of
snapshot into who you are and what you do before
(04:55):
we get into the Q and A.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Hi. I'm Martha Carroll Stewart. I okay, organizing. We have
been in business. It'll be twelve It was twelve years
two weeks ago. And I was a former kindergarten teacher
who saw families in chaos and decided I had the
skills to help them. I am not your typical organizer
because I have ADHD and own an organizing business. So
(05:18):
I love to work with families of all kinds and
teach you the tricks that I learned myself to be
able to function in this crazy world. I wrote a
book called Southern Chaos Organizing the Southern Home, because there
was no organizing book on the market for Southern homes.
They are missing tailgating and Marti gras and hunting closets
(05:40):
and all the things that we Southerners embrace and enjoy.
Down here lots of entertaining chapters and in it is
my chaos method that we have developed over the last
twelve years. Laurie Gosh, you and I have definitely run
the gamut of entrepreneur life of things or slows. Things
are big and as I start, when Laurie and I
started working together a million years ago, would you say eight,
(06:03):
I think that you're I think that's right. I was
doing all the organizing myself. Now I've got two teams
that are up and running, and we have an OT
on staff doing aging in place organizing. I've got a
child specialist working with children in addition to just our
regular organizers who are doing homes and corporate spaces.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
And you do speaking also.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I I've just started doing speaking, and I love it
so much. I'm a people person and I love to
meet people, and so speaking has given me an avenue
to really connect with people and really see what their
needs are and if they change. Because I'm an empty
nester now and everybody's a little bit different. The world's
changed a little bit since I had young kids, and
(06:45):
so I love reconnecting with people and learning about people
and speaking as a way for me to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, it's yeah, And I have to say again, and
then I'll stop with the with the love fest and
we'll get down to the nitty gritty.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
But what people I just want I.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Just have to say it someone who has been on
the front lines of watching the evolution of your business
for almost a decade and really the ups and downs
and growing pains that any business, whether you're in an
organizing business or any industry, right, any business goes through
(07:21):
growing pains and ebbs and flows and pandemics and all
of the things. And you've now you've navigated it with
grace and with patients even when that was tough. And
I'd like to think that I maybe had a tiny
little an oh.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
My gosh, what I would have done without you in
my life? How many brainstorm sessions did we have of
oh my gosh everything when twenty twenty happened? You and
I think I was a basket case and here are
the calm force in my life. So well, again, nice
to have somebody to walk through the weeds with you
and help you find the way out. It really is
(07:58):
an entrepreneur life is a bunch of weeds.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah it is. And so I was organizing, And I
think that's why as entrepreneurs we can also relate to
our clients struggles with this organization because there's all of
these balls that are constantly being juggled, whether that's personally
with your kids and your household, or just physical stuff
(08:25):
in your house, or just life and career and all
of that, and so being able to relate to our
clients and apply our own lived experiences as well as
perspective from MC clients.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That goes back to your integrams too, because we think differently,
which is why we were so successful working together. Because
I am a seven I need it to be fun
and exciting, and you are an eight. So you were
able to help me, hone in on the stuff that
I don't like to do.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yes, I'm crack that whip of Okay, it's time to
bring out the spreadsheet accountability.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Oh my gosh, this spreadsheet. Yes you don't like them,
but I do use them, but I don't like them.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
All right, all right, everybody, and I just again, I'm
peeling back the curtain for you guys. Right before we
have recorded, MC was like, okay, how's this going to go.
I'm like, okay, I have ten questions from the peanut gallery.
We've gotten people that have dmd us, people have emailed
us comments, and so I compiled this list of ten
(09:28):
questions right here.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
This is my favorite game.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, and so some of them will be like a
little rapid fire, and some of them we're going to
take turns answering. But we're just gonna go with the
flow and see how we both respond to some of
these questions from y'all. And if you guys have any
questions as you're listening to this, if there's something that
you want to know, there's like multiple ways that you
can connect up with me if you go to our website.
(09:52):
In addition to the contact form where you could just
write in your question, we also have this really cool
it's called a speak pipelink where you just click on
it and you can leave us a voice message and
you can lead your voice message yes, and we can
reply back to you. And what I've been doing is
collecting these speak pipe messages and like storing them up
(10:14):
for episodes like this so that I can then answer
them on the air. So again, if you are listening
you're like, ooh, I have a question, just jot it down,
put in your notes, and make sure you send it
over to us. Okay, all right, here we go. I'm
going to kick this off with you. All right.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
This is about clients. So this is Martha Carroll.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
How do you help clients stay motivated during multi day
projects when energy starts to dip, like when and you
know this when you're working with somebody and that you
can see it in their eyes. They're losing.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Yes, So it happens because the overwhelm happened, especially when
you like pull all the stuff out the space and
they start to shut down. That's time for them to
go take a snack. So what we do. We start
off with categorizing every time, so I'll tell them leave
the room, get out of the space, let us set
it up. And then in fifteen minutes after I had
(11:13):
a client that literally took a job around the block
one time because she just had to get out of there.
It was so overwhelming. And so when they come back in,
it's set up for us to go through and pick
and choice and sort it out and then we send
them away. We handle it, We put more stuff out,
and then they come back, so we pull them small
spurts instead of having them next to us through the
(11:34):
whole process, because it is it's overwhelming, which is why
they call us. Because if you pull all the stuff
out of your closet, you're going to sit there and
probably cry. I would cry, yeah much, it's overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Yeah, I love it. That's a great answer. Okay, this
next one is for me. What's one small daily habit
that keeps your own kitchen clutter free even on the
busiest of these Okay, so I've said this before, but
again if there's anybody new that's listening. So we have
always since the kids were little, we run the dishwasher
(12:10):
every night and empty it first thing in the morning. Now,
I will say, since we've been empty nesters there, sometimes
we will skip a night if there's not a lot
in there, or if Josh is traveling and it's just
me and there's two dishes, I won't do it. But
I've always, even from way before i've ben start by business,
I hate a sink full of dishes, so I the
(12:33):
easiest thing for me to do would be to be
able to have a place for it to go. So
having that empty dishwasher so that I can rinse, just
quick rinse it off and shove it in the dishwasher
has been always our thing. I'm that person when you
go to a friend's house, like if you're having a party,
I'm always you can always find me in the kitchen.
Josh jokes about it all the time. I love washing dishes.
(12:55):
I'll be doing and there's nothing I find more frustrating
of Like I'm trying to help clean up to keep
the flow of the party, and I go to load
the dishwasher and it's filled with clean dishes. So the
system of running it at night, unloading it first thing
in the morning, so that as the day progresses you
(13:16):
can funnel the dishes in there.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
And that's like thought about that being a system, but
that's exactly what we do too, except now it we
same as you, empty nester, I might run it every
third night instead of every night.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Yeah, but oh my gosh, I hadn't even thought about that.
I'm the same when I go to bed, my sink
is empty.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah. Absolutely, Yeah, that's again, it's simple. But it's one
of those things that just do it on like Rinston,
repeat and it becomes to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
It's become to you don't even think about it.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
M Okay. Any advice this is for you, Any advice
for dealing with sentimental items when you're short on space.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Okay. So that's a tough one because I live in
the South and in the South. We have a lot
of sentimental items because we have a lot of things
that are passed down, like china and silver, So we
use our attics a lot for some things. But what
I generally do is you really have to choose. You
(14:18):
have to be very cheesy about what you love. And
I use things like shelf extenders and double layer shelves
because there's never there's always should be two more shelves
in a cabinet than there ever is, So I'll add
shelf extenders and double the space in the cabinets. But
you also really have to pare down to those things
(14:39):
that you know you use and love. And that's a
tough one. That's a really tough one.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
It is. It is tough. I think it's one of
the biggest struggles with people is making those decisions on
those sentimental items.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
And so and it depends, too, Laurio, on the client.
So if you're downsizing, one of the things that we
might that we do is we teach people how to
have an album on their phone for cinnamon items like
you're not going to keep your kids stuffed animals at
our age because they're done with them, and why are
you keeping them? They don't want them. They're gross. But
if it's something you want to remember, you take a
(15:14):
picture of it and keep it in that album. And
we did this and actually at Easter we turned on
that album on the TV and with all for home,
and it was so fun because the kids were like, Oh,
that stuffed animal or that book or that toy. But
I didn't keep it all. It was just all in
a photo albums. Depending on your age and stage of life,
(15:35):
there's those are different choices about space too. Yeah, so
that's a tough one.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
It is a tough one. Okay, So this one is
for organizer, like this is for me. Again, it's a
it's like a new organizer question. So I'm going to
ask it, Lorie, what is one operational system that every
new organizer should set up on day one? Okay I'm
not I'm not going to be like the police of this,
(16:04):
but and I'm curious to know what you think, because again,
I have a lot of different things that and you
can look at it from a few different perspectives. You
can get real tactical and be like every organizer needs
a label maker, Like you could be really like very
gragular at that. But if you're looking at the business
side of the business. Yeah, I would say having there's
(16:29):
a couple. I would say having a good intake process
of qualifying clients. Right from an if you're looking operational,
there's a lot of things that I think you should
boxes you should check from the business side of things.
But we're a lot but and again shout out to
our free mini series. I don't even know if you
know about that. I'll talk about that after, but that
(16:51):
we released recently. I'm out starting very professional organizers.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
You know you haven't talked about it. We'll talk about
it later.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, But which goes through like things that you need
for the business, like business insurance and getting business checking
account and separate accounts and all that stuff, right, or
that business relay stuff. But from an operational standpoint, I
think having a good intake process, like your client workflow.
And this comes with practice. This is a trial and
(17:19):
error thing. So if you're out there, you will refine
it because I've refined it and now I teach people.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Right now today. That's part of my thing today is
because we have changed so much that my procedures have shifted,
and that's it's an evolving system.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Absolutely but I think if you start going this is
what I want to know, and these are the things,
and having a work book and whether you're sitting that
down however your brain works. If your brain works, I'm
gonna do it on a whiteboard and write it down.
I'm gonna do it. I'm kind of paper. I'm going
to create a flow chart. I don't care, but just
(17:57):
get it down of and try to of what makes
sense for you and then reverse engineer from the user experience.
We wanted to be easy for if someone's coming to you.
And I just had this conversation with a mentee, somebody
who mentoring that's starting her own professional organizing business, and
I said, if you got to remember, people that are
coming to you are already stressed and overwhelmed. That is
(18:21):
why they're coming to you. So we need to have
a simple workflow for them. Whether that's scheduling that initial
call or booking a consultation or whatever it is, we
need to work through those things. So I think from
an operational system, that's what I would say.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And don't disagree. It's no different than saying, hey, set
up a morning routine because it makes your life so
much easier. You really need to document your system, even
if it's three steps, but whatever it is, start documenting
that system so it stays consistent.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
I don't be fore it to change it if it's
not working or tweak it. That's how we learn.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
You'd be like, oh, I never thought of you will
change it. In fact, you need to embrace changing it
because where you are at year one, and where you
are at year three, and where you are at year five,
and then now I'm your twelve, it's very different. Where
I started is very different, and it is a constant
evolving system.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yes, okay, all right, I love this is a good one. Okay.
How did you land your very first paying client?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Okay, So because I was a teacher, I advertised at
my school, Hey, I'm thinking about going into this business
or I've just started this business. And I talked to
the parents, and I had parents that hired me because
they saw me as an organized teacher. And y'all, I
had two young kids, so we had to be in
that classroom ready to go for seven am. And I
(19:48):
am not a morning person, so that was really tough.
I had to be extremely organized, and I would share
my tips all the time with parents who are struggling,
so they knew I was organized, and they knew I
had systems in place. When and I started an organizing business,
it was my first paying client. She's now living in Texas.
They moved, but we organized her pantry. It was the
(20:09):
first thing I did. And she's still in touch with
me and says the system we set up for her
then is still what she has in place in Texas.
And that was twelve years ago. So that was like
at our anniversary, she sent me a note.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
It was I love that. Oh my god, I love that.
And yeah, I would say for me, it really just
word of mouth. I made the decision that I was
going to turn this thing that I was doing for
friends and families and my own kind of passion, if
you will, and I was going to turn into a business.
(20:44):
And I just started talking about it. This was even
before and listen again, I literally teach people on setting
up a website, doing all of the things. But even
before I did that, I wanted to start saying, we're
gonna pay for this. So I wanted to do this
like little test.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
The truth I think everybody starting out is, are people
are really going to pay me to do this?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I was shopped.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
My husband in year three came to me and said,
I really didn't think this was going to be a thing.
I thought this was going to be one of your
fun projects that would just fall apart. He goes, I
can't believe like I was hiring an assistant at year three,
And you're right, friends and family getting them to spread
the word, and you're spreading the work. That's the way
to go.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Yes, okay, Oh you're gonna love this next one. So
this is we could both enter answer on this one.
All right, okay, so this is going back into the
client side of things. We rent and can't add shelving.
What renter friendly story attacks? Do you both love?
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Oo? Standalone shelving?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
I have? And this is obviously like totally editorial, no sponsorships,
IKEA pack systems. It depends on what you're doing. If
I've done New York City apartments of that are right,
so you can't relate to this. I've done where it's
you take a big bedroom and then people separate it
and make two rooms out of one away and so
(22:17):
the second room and you're talking, they're like little, they're
like eight by eight rooms, like they're tiny.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
What are you doing like standalone bookcases, so they're not.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
They will build like a fake wall or sometimes they'll
have like things, but there's no closet. Okay, no closet
in that second room because you have to sometimes you
have to pass through one room to get to another one.
All my New York people, you know what I'm talking about,
and using the Ikea pack system, which is their like
modular closet system, is a great storage unit. Now, yes,
(22:49):
you've anchored them to the wall from a safety perspective, but.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
You're not, like, so you're basically building a closet in
a room.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Oh, but okay, so in Germany they do that. I
know because in Germany. My sister lived in Germany. And
when you buy a house, it doesn't come with kitchen cabinets.
The kitchen cabinets go with you to the next house,
which I think is just absolutely bizarre. And then you
go to Ikea and you buy all new cabinets for
your house. Isn't it the craziest.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
That's weird. It's not weird. I shouldn't say weird.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
That's it's different.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
It's very very different, very different obviously, like underbed storage
and things like that.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
I don't know. I just feel like that's very like
and I like standalone shelving. So typically in a rental
there's one bar at the top, and not everybody has
long hanging so I'll do standalone shelving in the bottom
to create some shelving space and with bins and that.
But then they can take that shelving unit with them
(23:47):
and if they buy a house, you can use it
and you can use it anywhere. So that's something that
we have used very often.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Yeah, I've also used like those cobbies that again, now
they sell them everywhere. They used to only sell them
at a key. Yeah, but you can buy them at Target.
You can buy again, you can buy anything on Amazon.
But like you could go and get cubbies. And if
you are either if you don't want to do like
a closet system, and like you said, you have just
a hanging bar and you have kids, especially little kids
(24:16):
that they're not really hanging their clothes right, and you
can't do like a custom closet. Getting those cubbies and
having the baskets and then you can label them with
words or pictures if the kids are little, and you
could be like here's underwear, here's bathing suits. Here's you
can use those for like an added type drive type
(24:39):
spot in playrooms too. Now they make the binds with
the clear fronts.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Will okay, yes, both of the cubbies and shelves and
the ike I didn't know about the IKEA thing. That's cool.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Okay, Oh my gosh. Okay. So the next couple ones
are about our also about organizing, starting an organizing business.
This question is right up my alley. All right, I'm
gonna read it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Is it about spreadsheets?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
No, it's about pricing. What pricing mistakes do you see
most often among new organizers? And how can they avoid that?
I know exactly how you're going to answer that. You okay,
so you answer, go ahead, and.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Then you answer, and I want to see if I'm right.
I'm gonna tell you what you told me if the okay.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So, the first general thing is you're probably charging too little.
That's the first thing I knew that had to a
I'm probably charging too little, And I'll tell you why,
because most people, especially when you're first starting out, are
struggling with a level of imposter syndrome. Because you know
you're good at this, Okay, you know that you have
this tactical skill of being you have this knack for organizing.
(25:54):
It's something that you love and something you enjoy. But
there's almost some sort.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Of like radom what you told me, that's exactly what
you said to.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Me, say and I don't even remember because i'm and
that was eight years ago, and but you almost feel
guilty charging for something that comes a naturally to you
and be something that you enjoy. Your like, wait a second,
I get to do this for a living that I
like and enjoy, and I get to people are gonna
(26:23):
give me money for it. That's crazy. And then you
look ahead and you're like, oh my god, but I'm
just starting out. I'm only worth X. And it is
something I personally struggle with back one hundred and fifty
years ago when I started my business. And I'm telling
you right now, that is the number one thing that
I see organizers When I'm mentoring with somebody and they
(26:47):
talk to me about pricing.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Yep, spot on, and I will say I did it,
and I also see that, And now to me, it's
a little bit of a red flag because if they're
not charging enough, that means that they are not insured.
We don't have workmen's comp And so I tell that
to people when they call me and they're like, oh,
your price is this. But there's these other organizers and
(27:09):
I'm like, that's great, but you need to ask them
these questions. Do they have liability insurance and do they
have workmen's comp because if not, if they're in your house,
then your homeowner's insurance will have to cover that.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Yeah. Absolutely, and I know this, and I'm going to
add this again not to go down a rabbit hole,
but again, this is what I teach, and I don't
believe all listen. As a consumer, I'm all about a deal.
I'm all about a discount. I'm all about a promo,
I'm all about a coupon. I'm all about that.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
That being said, I have seen and I'm not judging
how anybody markets their business, but I see a lot
of organizers that do a scaled package pricing where the
more hours you buy, the.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Less you the you get a discount discount.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
And I understand the mentality behind that for the consumer work.
If you're going to be here, you wanted to have
a value. However, the way that the formula is often
executed from the organizer they're doing a lot more work
for a lot less money, and it is not an
incentive for you from a wise business decision two price.
(28:24):
So if you are going to want to do something
in that package realm, I think you really need to
be very clear on how you're positioning it so that
it's a win win for you and the client and
not somebody is getting the short end of the step.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And I feel and Laurie, you are such a great mentor,
and you've mentored so many people. I feel like there
is this path that you go on the beginning of
business to where I am twelve years later, and all
of the things that we've talked about, the pricing, the startup,
where do you start, what organizing system these are. It's
like a little candy Land path that you go through
(29:02):
all these things, whether you think you're going to or not.
Somewhere along the line, you're addressing these things because you
and I did. I was like, oh, let me do
the pack and you were like, let me tell you
why not to do that? And I didn't. I didn't
do it, and I don't regret not doing it. All
of your reasons are completely valid. I've never had a
client if they want that much and that many hours.
(29:24):
They're just gonna do it. They want it done. There's
ways to there's ways that you can throw some product
in or have a discount every now and then if
in slower times and things like that. But I agree
with you.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Yeah, okay, okay, this is one. I'm gonna let you
take this. I'll probably weigh in, of course. Okay. If
if an organizer, I don't like social media, what ways
can I market? What other marketing strategies can I use
to find new clients? We already talked about I think
we know we talk about the friends and family.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Yeah, we have, because friends and family are the biggest,
your biggest asset. I will tell you if you need
to Google and more Google, because.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Can you tell them the story that you just shared
with us before we went on the air about the corporate.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Oh, I ended up with one corporate client and I
added it to Google and I did the hashtag. I
did a hashtag or something in the comments about corporate organizing,
and within five days I have two more corporate clients
just from putting that on Google. Instagram and Facebook are
great nurturers, but they do not bring me business. So
(30:37):
it's not a place that I want to invest a
lot of money as far as ads and things like that.
And I don't do Google ad. But you have to
stay consistent on Google. You have to upload pictures. You've
got to get clients to write reviews. That's huge. I
give my clients an incentive. In fact, I'm pulling today.
I do a quarterly draw to give them a discount
for writing a Google review. Google is your best in
(31:00):
next to friends and family, because those friends and family
are going to refer their friends and family, and that's
how and that's how that network goes.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Yeah, you're so good about that, But I don't really
see a ton of clients.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
So I feel like, okay, oh my gosh. I send
thank you cards to my clients. I have a QR
code with a Google that brings them straight to a
Google review on my thank you note, and then I
handwrite a thank you note on the back. I really
nurture that Google. I don't want to say it's advertising,
because I'm not really advertised. I'm not doing paid ads,
(31:31):
but I really it's organic that. Yes, I really nurture
that Google relationship because that is so important.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Okay, I love that okay, and I'm going to add
one other thing. What's that email email us?
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Oh? Huge, that's huge. In fact, I stopped doing it
because I'm I got burnout. After you write a book,
you don't want to write any implum.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
That's so fair. I got burnout.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
But I will tell you when that time's got slow.
And I'm talking to Laurie and she says, are you
doing your emails? And I said no, So what did
I do? I wrapped up on the weekly email, which
I've not done this week because frozen childer and all
old lady, old lady. But when I did, I get
at hands down, I get a former client that is up.
Your email came at the perfect time. Email is huge?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, No, I think it's again with at with social media,
you're at the mercy of algorithms. You're at the mercy
of timing of whether somebody decides that I'm giving them
social media for lent and you're posting the most amazing thing,
but your ideal customer is not on there or whatever.
When you are in somebody's email and you that's a
(32:42):
direct invitation and they want to hear from you, and.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Here's what happens, And this is and you can verify
this because I promise you this is your you doo.
Somebody says I need a professional organizer, who are they
going to ask. They're going to go to their friend first,
and they're going to the friend's going to say let's
google it, or hey, I've heard of this company. Then
once they google it and they might look at your website.
I promise you, the next step is they go to
(33:05):
Instagram or Facebook, and what those do is validate you
as a company. But they're not going there first. So
that's why you could use it as a nurturing tool,
but not as a selling duel.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
And the other thing is it depends on what type
of organizer you're looking for, because if you are somebody
that there is such a spectrum and we've talked about
this on this show. There's such a spectrum of what
falls under the scope of organizing. If you're looking for
somebody to help you with move management that is not
(33:41):
you might find something but that's not a drool worthy Instagram, Pinterest,
closet or pantry. You're looking for somebody that is gonna
get get the job done, and that might not be
something that is like really enticing on Instagram or papers
(34:01):
or senior management or whatever.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Downsizing go ahead. Well, and we just talked about this
in the call before this, but you just talked about
not everything is pinterest pretty.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Yeah, and guess.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
What, a lot of organizing is not gonna be on
the page because it's not pinterest pretty. It's just better.
You don't get pinterest pretty until you have the white
painted cabinets and the and the clear binds don't even
show up well in a picture. And my rule is
I don't do before and afters. Everybody's oh, do before
and afters. I'm like, nobody wants to be shamed like that,
(34:36):
and I will never do before and afters. You can
appreciate an after picture without seeing the before, and so
you're I. On my Instagram, it is mostly conversational and things.
There's some tips in there, there's some pictures, but it's
it's not all not all jobs. Most of my jobs
(34:57):
are not pinterest pretty. So I think for Instagram and Facebook,
for me, it's more about hey, here, I am my
relatable personality. It's more of a personality thing than it
is about the work. You can see my work on
my website. You can see my work on Google, but
Instagram and Facebook really are more about here's my personality,
(35:20):
to know me, get to know me and my company,
and this is how to run. And I'm gonna say
I have videos and things that are like, yeah, if
you want your underwear file folded, don't call me. Could
throw it in the ben girl, because I've got better
things to do than filefold underwear. I love it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Okay, Now we're going to do a little because everybody
loves a product, and I always tell people that we're
not product pushers, but we love a good product. So
let's do a little bit of kind of lightning round
favorite products in different spaces. As I'm sitting here looking
at your product inventory behind you as a backdrop.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
You haven't even seen what's on the other side of
this desk. It's a hot mess over there because I
haven't finished un back in boxes.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Okay. So again, we're giving free promotion to all these places.
But okay, and I know for a lot of people
it's going to vary based on where you live geog
like geographically.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
And my place, we don't have a container story, Ikia.
I have to order those things.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Right, Okay, So I'm just gonna ask you, so, where's
your favorite place to source products? Like where do Where's
your favorite sourcing product place?
Speaker 1 (36:32):
So all of these are all container store and I
order those. And there are things I use consistently, so
I order in bulk when I order them. If I
had to pick somewhere here in town that I shop,
I go to Target.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Okay, I go to Target.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Target is consistently my favorite Walmart. I like, it's hard
to find products at Walmart because they don't restock as
fast as Target. The issue I run into in Target
is they like to change their products, so I try to.
If we're doing a pantry, I will buy enough bins
and even leave blank binds because I'm like, you don't
want to need two bins And then you go back
(37:10):
to Target in six months And there's that.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
That's my issue with home goods. Do you guys have
home Do you guys have home goods down there?
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Or like a T I tell every client, do not
go to home Goods and buy two bends because you're
gonna have two two two, and then your shelf is
gonna look cluttered.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Yeah, if you're looking for the one off thing. Oh,
I need an art caddy for my kids playroom, right,
and you find a cute thing there. But for your
staple items that I try to stay over that are
easy for me to replenish and replace, yeah, you know.
And also for your clients to be able to say, oh,
I could I want to order more? Like sometimes I'll
(37:46):
use something and I'll do the bathroom and then they're like,
we want to tackle another room in our house. We
love this. Where do you get it?
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I do. I have an Amazon storefront that I keep
some things on, but for the most part it's Target
and container store.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yeah, yep, okay, So let's go. I'm gonna ask you
in the in each room, what is your favorite organizing product.
For the kitchen, drawer.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Organizers say, and I like a click draw organizers not bamboo.
Why because I like to clean out my drawers and
so I can dump the stuff out, throw all the
acrylic in the dishwasher, wash them and put them back
in my drawer. You cannot do that with bamboo. It
falls apart with humidity and moisture. Yeah, humid state, So
(38:35):
my the bamboo. So here's what I did in my kitchen.
I had a bamboo drawer. I had a clear acrylic
drawer and I had the Target like softer plastics yeah, yep, yep,
and I tried them all out and the clear crylic
what go had them? Are you here?
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Do you use the that's the container shore.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
This is Amazon Amazon Story brand. This is what I use.
It's they do stack if you want them to stack.
But you yeah, but this is what I use for
all of my drawer organizers in the kitchen because I
can wash these in the dishwashers. So if you're cleaning
out your drawer, you dump it all out, you wash these,
you dry them up, they get dry, you pop them
(39:13):
in the soft target ones. You couldn't wash the heat
of the dishwasher. Just warp them, yes, okay, brain volve
what's the word. It warped them so they didn't go
back in straight where I can wash these.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
And which is it's interesting about the warping because we
have one of those egg things and I bought it
I think at like the egg contears, and but I
bought it at at Target and out of Target, sorry,
at home Goods.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
At home Goods.
Speaker 2 (39:41):
It was an impulse buy, it was, and Josh threw
it in the dishwasher and it warped and it warped.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
So I was like that soft flyable plastic does warp
with heat. Now, these are soft flyabel plastic here, and
I love those, And I really love them for kids
because when kids drop them, as they will, they don't
like the hard plastics.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
So like been draw.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Organizers, I like the soft pliable right organizers and bins
for pantries and other spaces. I like the soft pliable plastic,
especially if you have kids.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
And for those of you who are listening to us
not watching what Martha Carroll is talking about, it, are
these like white plastic bins? They sell them in different
places I buy we get ours primarily at the container store.
They come Yeah, they come in like a translucent a white.
(40:33):
They have a smoky gray and they're great like utility
bins because a they're inexpensive and you can use them
and like you said, they're if they get dropped, they're
not going to break, and they're great for storing. I
have them under the kitchen sink. I use them for
like under the sink cleaning products. I've used them in
playrooms for kids. They come small. Yeah, they're great. The
(40:57):
only thing is if you're looking for a lidd bin.
That is not the one to use. Nope, that is
not the one because they're not stackable. What is your
what is your lided bin? Oh, I was just gonna ask.
So my it depends. So my greatest utility lided bin
is container stores clear shoe boxes that I use them
(41:22):
for everything. I use them so for our Hampton's house,
I'm trying to set up like little stations of back
because I don't I'm not stocking with a full tools.
I do have a travel tool set, but like I
have a little like housewares thing. I have batteries, I've
got a little painting touch up, and I have all
these like clear you do theoes now I have.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
I use the sterilite latch boxes.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
So I used to. Okay, so that is if we're
going into the garage and we're going into sterilite latch boxes.
I use those for I.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Love them for school supplies. I love them for for
the garage because they can latch and stacks so you
can pull out the bottom and you're not worried about
the lids popping off.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Yes, yes, And they're great also for like household things
like light bulbs. I use them for all the seasonal stuff,
seasonal clothes, because again where we live, we I flip
my clothes seasonally from winter to summer, and so I
have a seasonal I have two seasonal clothes bins, and
I just and they're lidded and so they go away.
(42:28):
So yes, the starlite latched lided bins for that type
of stuff. But in the house I use little those
clear shoe boxes, and they're also good for like younger kids,
like potoys that are like the little things like calcols.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
And the nice thing about the lidded shoe boxes, which
I also use a lot for the deeper shelves, is
that they're cheap. They're really cheap, and so you can
buy two dozen and have them look immaculate and they
look really good and they're not expensive. So that's yeah,
they're a great tool. We use those a lot too great.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
And this was not a question, but I'm giving this
prompt just as we wrap up. Always I always recommend
to people before you buy any products, do your decluttering first. Oh,
don't make the mistake that so many people do, which
is let me get to let me let the product
(43:24):
solve my problem. Because yes, the first thing is the
decluttering That is step one, and once you know what
your inventory is of that category that you need is,
then you can determine how the product's going to help you.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
My chaos method, which is five steps, it's step putting
it in bins is step four. Run, So you have
to go through categorizing first so that you can see
that you have ten thousand white button up blouses. Then
you I always go through helpful and hurtful because that's
where people get stuck, and so you're like, okay, here's
(44:01):
your goal. Is keeping this helpful or hurtful to your goal?
Then is the action step keep tossed, donate? Then it's
organizing bins because you can't You've got to purge first
to see how much is left, and then you can decide, okay,
I need a bin for this, or I might need
two bins for this. And then but also the stuff
(44:22):
has to fit the space so there's a caveat in there.
And then my last step is simplified by labeling so
that everybody in the house knows where it goes. I
love it, yeah, husbands.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, I love it exactly exactly, MC. I know you
touched on this before we wrap up I want you
to use you things. First, I want you to just
let everybody know where if they want to learn more
about you, buy your book or even higher you. If
(44:54):
they're living the Baton Rouge area, where can they go
to find you? Let's just start with that.
Speaker 1 (44:59):
We do try. We have been to Nashville and Oklahoma
and Virginia, so we do travel as a team.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
Not north of the Mason Dixon line though so far.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Not yet, and not in the winter because I do
not know how to drive in snow. Hey, as Organizing
dot com is my website where you can find me
and on there is an email and a phone number
you can reach me. We are on Instagram, we are
on Facebook Chaos Organizing, and if you are looking for
the book, the website for the book is Organizing Southern
(45:29):
Chaos dot com and you can buy the book. The
book is not on Amazon, not yet. We wanted to
be in small local bookstores, so we chose to do
this route first. But the book is also on Instagram
under Organizing Southern Chaos, and then it has its own
website too awesome.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
And then again because our audience here is split and
you could even just see from a lot of the
questions that we get. We have a lot of people
who come and listen to our show to get tips
either for their clients because they are professional organizers, or
they're in a period of transition in their own life
and they're either thinking about stopping away from corporate America
(46:10):
or teaching, or maybe they've had some time off because
they've got kids and they're in a new life stage
where they're like, I can take something on and I
want to do something, but I want that flexibility and
they're thinking about organizing and as somebody who has been
with through the SBO Partner program done one on one
(46:30):
mentoring with me, like what advice or things can you
share with anybody?
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Well, definitely get a mentor hooking up with you. At
the time in the beginning was it kept me from
wasting a lot of time and kept me on a
path of growth that helped me to be where I
am in twelve years. Because I think that there's so
much out there. There's so many programs. There's coaching programs
(46:57):
where the people the coaches have been in business year
or two like who can help a bit? No, absolutely not.
You need to be with somebody who's experienced who's gone
through the drudges, who understand imposter syndrome because you're going
to have it, and can talk you through those moments.
And I think that you and I meeting at the
time that we did of my business is the reason
(47:18):
I'm still here twelve years later and doing what we're doing.
It's been incredible growth, but you have kept me focused
on a path, and you have really held me accountable
to the parts of business that I really don't like
and you made me work through them, and then now
I know how to do them. And so even though
(47:39):
I still don't like it, I know how to do them,
and I have embraced that piece is just part of
It's just part of business, whether you like it or not.
And it's nice to have somebody who we can brainstorm
together and work through issues if there's a client issue,
if there's a and there always is, there's always something
that in your business that you really need somebody who
(48:02):
knows what they're doing to be able to walk you
through the best case scenario. And I think having a
mentor for that, and having you be my mentor for
that was really huge for those beginning years. For sure.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
Oh thank you, and I did, and I did pay
you to say that.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
I didn't even do that, and not good friends, and
I'm trying to convince her to come with me on
a retreat and she's her weddings. I did all of
those mentors who we got to be such good friends,
absolutely absolutely well.
Speaker 2 (48:30):
Thank you, and for all of you guys who wrote
in and who listen, thank you so much. I love
these questions. Please keep them coming again. You could be anonymous,
you could just leave us a message, you could just
send an email or whatever it is. We love being
able to give you tips and strategies, whether you're organizing
your home, your calendar, or your business. That's what we're
(48:53):
here for. So this was so much fun. I'm having
I love having you back as my co host. Thank
you guys for tuning, and if you know somebody that
could benefit from listening to this episode, please click that
share button. And if you're new to our show, just
hit the follow button. We're here every week. I'm Lori Palau.
Until then, peace out. Thanks for tuning in. If you
(49:14):
like this episode, please spread the love and share it
with your friends. And if this is your first time
joining us, make sure to click the subscribe button wherever
you are listening so you never miss an episode, and
while you're there, please leave us a review so other
people know that our show is worth to listen. You
can also find us on YouTube and Instagram at This
Organized Life Podcast, and if you'd like to connect with us,
(49:34):
you can head on over to our website at simply
the letter, B Like boyorganized dot com, which is filled
with tons of resources, including free downloads, checklists, links to
our amazing organizing partners, and all of our digital offerings.
I'll see you next week for another episode of This
Organized Life
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