Erica DeSpain
What was the driving force that made you reach out to Life Simplified?
I reached out to Life Simplified to help us with our playroom for two reasons:1.) my children are very receptive to working with other adults when parting with their things and 2.) we struggled to find an entire weekend to do the project ourselves! Time is money!
Was there any initial preparation on your end before they came for your playroom makeover?
We didn’t do any preparation for the project other than chatting with our kids about a future vision for the room so that they had a little bit of buy-in and purpose when working with Life Simplified to clean!
What have you and your girls been enjoying most about your new playroom?
Our girls have enjoyed playing more one toy/activity at a time because it actually has all of its pieces organized together! I have enjoyed seeing it more aesthetically pleasing. It’s a beautiful space again!
Karen always leaves her clients with a plan to maintain their newly organized space. What practices have you implemented to keep your playroom in the best condition?
Moving forward, we are working to clean the playroom at the end of every day and reminding the girls to organize it the way Life Simplified did. Because they helped to organize it themselves, they know exactly what that means!
Karen Wright
It can be overwhelming when a room becomes so cluttered that it feels like it will never be clean. How do you reassure clients that it can be organized and what are the initial steps your company takes to get started on a new project?
Our team always meets our clients where they are and completely understands the effects everyday life can have on their home. We approach each situation with no judgement and are here to help locals simplify their life by providing expertise and over 16 years of experience. We assure each client that organization is attainable, it just takes time to create personalized systems and discipline to maintain the systems put in place.
Most individuals seeking to get organized contact us through our website. We then reach out to them to talk about their needs and schedule a free in-home assessment. At the assessment, we map out our plan of action and talk through next steps with the individual to ensure expectations are clearly communicated. We are usually able to begin working on the individual's project within two weeks from the assessment.
Is the family typically included in the organization process? What role do they play from start to finish?
For the best outcome of a project, we always prefer for every family member to be on board with getting organized—that means kids too! We have experience working with people of all ages and believe it is imperative to have everyone in the home involved in the process in order to maintain the organizational systems put in place.
From start to finish, we encourage each member to take responsibility over their space and make decisions on whether their items need to be kept, discarded, or donated. It is difficult for one person to make decisions on another member's items. Having each member work in their respective space allows them to take ownership of their specific items.
Every family is different. How do you determine how to organize different spaces to accommodate the needs of each individual family?
We believe the key to what we do is communication. Yes, we can come into a home and organize a family's items without their assistance, but to us, working hands-on with families and one-on-one with each member is where we can make the most impact. There, we learn what their specific needs are, how they work to make decisions, and storage solutions that work for their lifestyle. We find that this collaboration results in prolonged success.
For example, a family with young children may contact us to organize their children's playroom. They may be desperate for some structure and desire to teach their children to take responsibility for their items. We would prefer to work one-on-one with each child, at their own pace, and assist them in making good decisions. When it comes to organizing, if the majority of their toys are bulky, large baskets and bins in their playroom would be optimal to contain those items. If the children are unable to read yet, it would also be beneficial for the baskets and bins to have labels that have an image of the type of item inside instead of a label with a word. Our goal would be to create systems that allow the children to effortlessly put away their toys, providing the structure their parents desire and teaching them responsibility along the way.
How do you set the family up for success in keeping their space organized once your part is complete?
We truly believe that being organized is a skill you must learn. For some people, that does not come naturally, and that's okay! We work to teach clients the tools for success when it comes to organizing and how to set realistic expectations. Yes, the physical items like baskets and bins help, but if you are not maintaining the systems put in place, then you will soon be back where you began your journey to getting organized. Another important thing to remember is that as time goes on, your needs may change and your systems may need to evolve alongside that. That means tweaking storage solutions already put in place to better serve your family's lifestyle. Organization is there to help your family live life to the fullest!