Cabinets Archives | De-clutter Me!

A Kitchen Purge Before the Movers Come

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Ellen Gurwitz

Occasionally, De-clutter Me! is hired by Home Sweet Home, a California company that does corporate relocations. I work here in Vermont with the family that is moving away. With husband/dad Stephen already at his new job in the South, wife/mom LaTrisha and I focused most of our time purging in the kitchen, before the movers come to pack the family’s belongings and drive them away.

We opened several kitchen drawers, separating items, including lots of paper, to be recycled, shredded, or tossed. We put some of the remaining items in reclosable plastic bags. They will be easy to consolidate when the movers pack the kitchen.

We also worked on two kitchen cupboard shelves under a drawer. Newly organized, it holds a couple of small appliances, and varied other items that will be easy for the movers to pack.

About De-clutter Me!
De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been changing chaos to calm since 2013.

Cabinets, Kitchen, Success Stories

Helping with Kitchen Reorganization

Posted on August 6, 2018August 27, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

We met at a professional gathering. She is a young widow with three children, a dog, and a job. Despite previous attempts, the kitchen cupboards needed help from a professional organizer. The counters were cluttered, too. When could I be available? Soon! Continue reading “Helping with Kitchen Reorganization” →

Cabinets, Kitchen, Success Stories

A Work-Oriented Kitchen Cupboard Organized

Posted on July 6, 2018July 12, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

She realized that she needed help from a professional organizer. A google search led her to De-clutter Me! We had a lively and even funny phone conversation, and scheduled a session.

Among other work activities, she is a professional baker, providing “incredibly cute cakes!” Space is at a premium in her charming studio/one bedroom home, so we would have to be especially careful and strategic as we organized her cupboards.

Anticipating our work together, she bought some plastic containers to hold varied items. We worked on three cupboards. In one of them, we removed everything, placing items not often used at the top. The middle and bottom shelves were organized with baking supplies in the containers. We tested their weight. It would be okay to pull a container out completely to find the right ingredient. Other foods were placed around them.

I urged her to keep the top of the microwave clear, to eliminate “visual noise.” We also cleared the top of the fridge, then put into a cupboard above it items she rarely uses, since it’s not easy to reach.

We also organized the cupboard above the sink. As with the others, less-often used items were put on the top shelf, reserving the lower “most valuable real estate” for things she would reach for more often.

Our time used up, she smiled.

About De-clutter Me!

De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been “bringing calm to chaos” since 2013.

Cabinets, Kitchen, Success Stories

A Work in Progress – The Organized Kitchen

Posted on March 13, 2018April 10, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

Jennifer and Jim are so excited about organizing their home! When we were together last time, we agreed on some homework for the kitchen, where we would work next. They would clear the top of the fridge. They also would remove most items from its door, leaving only printed tasks lists. These are the first steps to their organized kitchen. Continue reading “A Work in Progress – The Organized Kitchen” →

Cabinets, Success Stories

Cleaning and Organizing a Free-standing Closet

Posted on January 23, 2015March 16, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

I worked with a lovely family whose home is near Lake Champlain. Our first task was with a free-standing red closet with doors. Mom Meg and I made sense of three young daughters’ art projects, placing all materials on low shelves, so they could get to them easily. We put table linens there, too.

Dad Mike has made some wooden plates, so we displayed them vertically, along with ceramic pieces, candlesticks and candles on higher shelves, for safe keeping.

Meg is attached to some of the girls’ art, so I suggested a changeable art gallery. She could buy inexpensive lucite frames (the ones backed with cardboard “boxes” and finger holes) to preserve and display drawn, glued and other creations, made both at home and at school. I recommended using walls that everyone in the family sees many times each day.

About De-clutter Me!

De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been “bringing calm to chaos” since 2013.

Cabinets, Kitchen, Success Stories

From Internet Search to Birthday Present!

Posted on February 24, 2014March 16, 2018 by Ellen Gurwitz

An email message appeared recently in my inbox. Heather’s signature showed that she’s a realtor/ home stager, with a 952 area code phone number. That’s the Minneapolis area! A bit tentatively, I wrote back that I’m in Vermont, not Minnesota. How might I help? She responded that she wanted to learn about my business, for a possible birthday present for her sister, who lives hereabouts. How did she hear about me? She googled professional organizers in the Burlington area. After a few more notes passed through cyberspace, she hired me for a session. Would I call her sister Heidi on her actual birthday to tell her about the gift and to arrange timing? Sure, this would be fun!

We scheduled a Saturday afternoon session, which turned out to be cloudy and somewhat blustery – perfect for de-cluttering. Her daughter was home, though her husband and two sons were off for lunch and a movie. We opened up kitchen cupboards. I asked questions, including about what was bugging her most. In the time available, we tamed below the sink and started on two other cupboards, consolidating cookbooks and moving some other items.

We had lots of fun. Heidi worked hard and was pleased with her sister’s gift. For my part, I was tickled to “be” a birthday present, and was/am truly amazed to get this project from so far across the country!

There was a last, small task for finishing under the sink. Heidi would buy a tension rod, for hanging cleaners from their handles to put unused upper inches to good advantage, and to free lower space for additional storage.

About De-clutter Me!

De-clutter Me! offers non-judgmental, competitively-priced and confidential assistance to help clear clutter in your home and/or business. We’ve been “bringing calm to chaos” since 2013.