Kitchens are a source of frustration for so many of us. Dishes pile up, counters get cluttered, kids leave papers and toys scattered about, and suddenly the space feels unusable.

When a kitchen feels too overwhelming to handle, some people hire a cleaning service. In the absence of an organizing plan, however, the kitchen quickly returns to its previous state. That means hiring the cleaning service on an ongoing basis--which means ongoing cost to you.
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By contrast, I want to help you get organized and stay organized! I want to help you save money. I want you to have easy, sustainable systems that keep working for you... so you can get more out of life!

Many people think of organization as boxing up old files and office supplies—but I encourage you to think outside the box!

Protect your investment in houseplants by organizing them: i.e., curating them with intention and thoughtfulness, so each can delight you for a long time!

Plants can be arranged for style and appropriate light exposure via the use of inexpensive plant stands, as seen in the photo below, and many other techniques.

​The latter include hacking IKEA products to make custom plant accessories; reading books from plant stylists, and browsing Instagram for inspiration.

Simply contact me: together, we can transform your plant inspirations into your greener, calmer space and lifestyle!!

The DC Department of Public Works has a brief, informative video on which take-out food containers are recyclable.
[Note: Unfortunately, this video lacks captioning for d/Deaf and hard of hearing viewers. If you’d like a transcript, I’m happy to prepare one (at no charge, of course): please contact me.]

Organizing your trash and recyclables may seem daunting, but it’s worth it: for the planet, for future generations, and for your own health!
Recycling electronics (vs. throwing them in a landfill) helps prevent toxic chemicals from leaching into our water and food.
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If you’d like help designing a functional, unobtrusive, even stylish (!) recycling system, please get in touch!

Binder pencil cases are inexpensive all year round, but especially now, when back-to-school supplies are on clearance.
It’s a great time of year to stock up on cases for your home, office, car, gym bag... you name it!
The cases are perfectly sized for your:

• ​backup smartphone battery pack and wall charger
• swim cap, goggles, and combination lock for the pool
• keep-kids-occupied kit (ideal for unexpected delays during errands, at the doctor, etc.): game cards, stickers, finger puppets, crayons, origami paper
• & more!

My priorities, in order, are ensuring that the child feels safe, content, valued for who they are, and /then/ whatever the organizing task may be.

• When working with kids and teens, I use age-appropriate humor, positive incentives like stickers, and abundant patience. I enjoy helping children and teens learn valuable lifelong skills.

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• I don’t “drill” kids, but rather pay close attention to whether they’re having fun.

• I make an agreement with each child that if they’re getting tired or confused in any way, they’ll tell me so that we can stop to course-correct (and if necessary, stop entirely).

• I care about helping all children succeed, regardless of their families' financial resources. I offer sliding scale discounts in cases of financial need. Please contact me to discuss further.

Many people wonder if all organizers are like Marie Kondo, the multimillionaire personal organizer of Netflix and authorial fame. The short answer is no--and, without saying anything negative about Kondo, diversity among professional organizers is a good thing!

Different people need different organizing solutions, and sometimes that means a different organizer. As with any personal service, no single individual or approach will be a good fit for everyone.

Here are some hallmarks of my philosophy:

• Personalization: I value my clients' individuality and work with each client to find customized solutions. I don't have a single method that I apply with every client. Instead, I offer many ideas and possibilities.

 

• Acceptance: I value you, as you are. I work with your existing preferences, finding ways to support how you prefer to live. Fighting yourself a) would be unsuccessful in the long run and b) make both of us feel bad! My goal is to set you up for contentment and continued success.

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• Partnership: I view our work together as fundamentally collaborative. You are the expert on you: your preferences, experiences, and what's worked for you in the past. I will never tell you what to do. I bring expertise about both organizing methods and how to "fit" those methods to individuals. ​

• Affordability: People do not control the circumstances of their birth: financial, familial, or otherwise. In the U.S., many unexpected events beyond an individual's control can also damage personal finances--including medical bills, disability, family crises, and the effects of climate change. I deliberately price below what is typical for the DC area and offer sliding scale discounts in cases of financial need... because I believe organization should be available to everyone. 

I enjoy working with children and teens: their energy, ideas, and novel perspectives inspire me! I also value knowing that these organizing and executive function capabilities will serve them throughout their lives.

It's a lifelong gift, to help your child(ren) learn to use their innate personality traits for their success. My services are one way to give that gift. 

I value the success of children from all backgrounds and am happy to discuss a sliding scale discount with you.

Please check out the full text of this rave review from a pleased client (posted with permission):

​"My husband and I have had great success enlisting the help of a professional organizer [Steven] to assist in making sense of our respective home offices.  Imagine our surprise, however, when our sons started asking if Steven (our organizer) could please come and help them with messes in their own rooms.  

They were literally begging us to invite him over, as my husband and I looked at one another quizzically.  “Well, why not?” we figured.  These were good skills for someone to grow up with!

So Steven came on a Sunday and spent an hour with each of our children.  And it was like watching a miracle worker. 

He sought early buy-in, worked with their individual personalities, turned the project into a game for my little guy, and taught my oldest the difference between items used for 'play; versus 'display.'  Talk about giving language to things I really hadn’t ever thought much about before."

Long time, no post, for the best of reasons: I've been busy with a fun and fascinating range of client projects!

So, if you're like many people, you have a Post-it/sticky note habit... which makes sense because they're just so handy. This is not judgment, but rather offering information so you can make the decisions that feel right for you.

Sticky notes:

• Usually cost you money, unless you get them for free from your job or a promo
• Definitely cost us trees
• Are frustrating when you can't find a specific note--or when it turns out the adhesive weakened and the note fell somewhere
• Also, did you know that sticky notes can damage your books and damage recycling equipment?!

If you want to save money, trees, and time spent on the floor searching for Post-its... you've come to the right place! 

Here are a few suggestions to reduce the eco-impact of sticky notes. These are roughly in order of increasing eco-friendliness:

• If you're buying stickies, get recycled ones that are also compatible with future recycling, like these (as always, no product endorsement implied: this is just an example).
• Use scrap paper for jotting notes or reminders
• Purchase a reusable, erasable board, ideally something glass instead of plastic
• Use a note-taking app on your phone: Apple also offers a proprietary Notes app, while Google has a Reminders function in Google Calendar. There are also many free options in app stores. 
  • Most of these programs are searchable and back up to the cloud, so you never have to worry about losing a specific note again!