The gift of organization was evident early in Paige Carey’s life when her mother noticed her lining up her shoes in her closet at just two years old!
After a career in marketing and becoming a mother herself, Paige re-evaluated her professional goals. Her entrepreneurial spirit and love of organization led her to open Paige Carey Organizing, where she could nurture her passion for helping others. Desiring to empower other women to rediscover their confidence after having kids enabled her to build an amazing team.
Some of the most common organizational challenges Paige faces with her clients include letting go of sentimental items, the lack of systems that accommodate daily routines, the different organizing styles of family members, time management, and maintenance.
Paige recognizes the importance of compassionate listening and genuine appreciation for the stories attached to one’s belongings to help ease the delicate process of downsizing. She recommends using memory boxes for sentimental items and thinking in terms of the value such items bear with kids or other family members.
A helpful tip she offers is the 20/20 rule. Can the item be replaced in twenty minutes for $20 or less? If the item is easily replaceable and hasn’t been used within the last year, it’s time to let go.
Daily systems that align with a family’s routine and where everything has a “home” can smooth differences in organizing styles and make things easier for families. For instance, establish stations where kids can make their lunches and pack their backpacks, dedicate a shelf in the pantry for dinner items, and designate an area for collecting kids’ school work in a place that complements the natural path of movement—typically near the door most commonly used to exit.
Paige encourages the labeling of every item’s “home” so each family member can follow the system, no matter their organizing style.
To address the issues of time management and maintenance, Paige suggests setting a daily timer to perform a 10-minute sweep of living spaces that the whole family can get in on. This will keep your beautifully organized areas looking that way. Surprisingly, just 10 minutes a day makes a significant impact!
By the way, after making your spaces not only gorgeous but functional as well, Paige and her team offer a maintenance plan. They understand how busy life gets and want to help maintain peaceful organization in their clients’ homes.
After an initial consultation with a client, Paige considers the aesthetics of their home when creating an organizational plan. She tailors it to the feel of their home and the client’s preferences, then shares her ideas before moving forward. In that way, her organizational plans are personalized and unique to suit each client and their lifestyle.
A home should be a sanctuary to relax and build memories with loved ones. A lack of organization can cause stress and overwhelm. Paige suggests practicing the 10-minute daily clean-up, starting small, creating simple systems that match natural habits, employing the one-in-one-out rule, setting realistic expectations, and practicing grace. Her mantra? Declutter, sort, organize, repeat.
Paige loves being a business owner in the supportive community of Windsor.
Find Paige Carey Organizing at paigecareyorganizing.com, on Facebook/Instagram at @paigecareyorganizing, or email her at paige.carey@gmail.com.