Mark is a very talented acting coach and audition coordinator - meaning he puts actors on tape for their big time auditions. Before calling TidyFairy, he had his taping equipment set up in the living room - but as clients started piling up, he realized he needed a waiting room. Because Mark is a can-do kinda guy, he built a Murphy bed and began to use his bedroom for taping. But this collision of office and bedroom left him needing help! 

Because he was so streamlined with his clothes and personal items, Mark considered himself someone without much "stuff." And he is - to an extent. But it turns out that Mark's "thing" is Books and Papers! 

​He had soooooo many!

Let's turn to the other side of the room!
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​He had banker's boxes full of:

• receipts
• old DMV notifications
• letters/cards (he even found $100 in one of them!!!)\
• random envelopes
• tax documents more than four years old
• school assignments
• teaching materials

His books consisted of:

• books he felt he "should" read
• sentimental books
• books he bought for a class as a student
• books he bought to lend to students
• art books for decor

We only had a tiny bit of miscellany to sort - a few picture frames, odds and ends electronics, pet supplies, and props for audition tapes. 

We discarded so much that I decided to get rid of one of the bookcases! His papers now easily fit in new and improved storage boxes. We were able to display the books based on personal or work, and even had room for some childhood memorabilia. Odds and ends found their little places!
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​I recommended to Mark that he paint the Murphy bed white, to make it less of a statement item and more of a canvas. He had also talked about disliking the transition from bedroom to office. He didn't feel creative in the space. We decided that the addition of a swing out desk, under the bed, would give the room shape during the day. I also recommended displaying art. He can now "make" his bed and look forward to a morning writing station revealed underneath!  
​

​I'll remind you about the Before...

Having culled a few pairs of shoes, Mark can now fit them all on a stylish and space-maximizing shoe rack. He also has space above his clothes for new purchases. 
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To spruce things even further, we discarded any hangers but his nice, wooden hangers. Hanging onto gross, lame, dry cleaning or plastic hangers is one of the easiest ways to clutter your space! Let them go! We also relocated his bedding from the top of his closet to a new chest (the one that took the place of his second bookshelf.) Now his suitcase can live there. 
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Do you have a closet or an office that could use some Tidy Fairy magic? Let us know! Email us at tidyfairyla@gmail.com or fill out a quote request on our contact page.

You can also follow us on Instagram or check out our Facebook page. (All the moms are doing it ;)

Heather and I were stoked to tidy for a good friend and woman about town, Liz. She has two kids, so in addition to her own things, many family items had been delegated to her personal space. Since we were only doing her closet for the day, we needed to work within the limits of keeping those items stored in her closet, with the goal of preventing them from having such an impact.

Liz's stated goal was to stop feeling that her closet was "falling down around" her. 
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​Liz had already cleared the space directly above her head bc she couldn't stand having things stored there. 

​Liz had her clothes pretty well decluttered, but it turns out jewelry was the category that got the best of her! 

Every little thing counts! Our concentrated way of decluttering left us with empty bins! Hurrah! The goal in a full-house declutter would be to save the bins and use them in other areas of the house. 

We were able to reorganize everything so that the storage is much more pleasing to the eye, all using bins that Liz already had. There was even space to create a gallery wall with her children's art! 

We also pared down her jewelry enough that everything she owns, she would at some point like to wear! I took a leap of faith and broke apart one jewelry tray, fitting it into her antique dresser top, which was designed for this purpose! 

Now Liz has a closet that feels more like a dream than a nightmare ;) Do you have a closet that is giving you the creeps? We'd love to hear about it!

Comment here or check us out on Facebook and Instagram!

​Or give us a call! Text or leave a message with 323-736-2594! ​

We can also be reached at tidyfairyla@gmail.com 

Bobby had his kitchen renovated and needed the final step - organization! What is the point, after all, of spending precious resources to refinish your kitchen only to struggle with space allocation? We were so excited to make it easy to use and picture perfect. 

Bobby's culling in the kitchen mostly had to do with glassware. We are fine with and even encourage breaking up sets. If you don't need all 10 glasses, don't keep them! Space is precious. 

We believe in grouping like items for best storage, with the exception of items you would especially like to display. ​So for example, those plates should be with the other plates! We also like for display areas like shelves to be arranged particularly for viewing!

After decluttering all the dishes, kitchen implements, pantry items and under the sink, we were able to rearrange everything in a way that is both best use and most attractive!

The insides of the cabinets and drawers were spacious, but not efficiently assigned. 

The new drawers were luckily spacious enough for vertical storage, but still needed some rearranging. 

After sorting the drawers, my favorite part is rearranging the counters! In general, lower counters are for food preparation, not display. Best use is always our focus. See below, Bobby's counters are not overly cluttered, but could be more efficient and attractively arranged. 

A few of our little tricks! 

Big secret/no secret I hate the stuff lol. There is something about plastic that is just unwieldy and disobedient. It's always falling and flying around when least wanted! Now I understand the convenience, especially with children, but if you really want to step up your kitchen organization, losing the plastic can go a long way. I recommend stainless steel and silicone as replacements, along with good solid glass Pyrex style containers. 

Making a change like this not only gets rid of the plastic, which in many cases is not food safe for as long as you think (your mother's Tupperware needs to be thrown. away. by. the. way.) BUT taking the time to do it means you will be thinking hard about what you REALLY need. 

I also like simple mason jars as food storage alternatives, and they are cheap. If you want to learn more about getting rid of plastic in the kitchen check out this other post on it!

Sorry bout it, can't be donated! In most cases it can be recycled, but there are many Tidy Fairy approved ways to keep it! See below a couple of ways we have used old tupperware to organize the kitchen.

In one afternoon we transformed Bobby's frustrating kitchen to one that is beautiful and easy to use. Do some of these solutions work for you too? We'd love to hear about it! Comment here or check us out on Facebook and Instagram!

​Or give us a call! Text or leave a message with 323-736-2594! ​
We can also be reached at tidyfairyla@gmail.com ;)

Today's is a very simple post, something I shared on our Instagram Story that could be helpful for many! The scary dungeon of under the kitchen sink! Doesn't have to be scary. 

Do you have a scary under the kitchen sink? Want us to come fix it? Give us a call!
Or talk to us on our Facebook page, or on Instagram (@TidyFairyLA)!
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  They are also the secret to my purse organization success. How many bags do you have?  Likely it's more than one. Are the bags that you are *not* currently using full of mysterious contents? Chap-sticks, lotions, band-aids, jewelry, receipts, notes, change, granola bars, maybe a pot of gold or two? Because who even knows?  Modules are the key to avoiding losing possessions to your purses.  But, what are modules?

  "The concept of Modules comes from systems design; basically, it means dividing a complex system into smaller, task-specific components....For our purposes, a Module is a set of related items that perform a particular task (like paying the bills or decorating a cake). To create them, we'll need to gather things of similar functions together, eliminate the excess, and make sure they're easy to access and move around when needed. In short, we'll need to consolidate, cull, and contain our stuff."  -- Francine Jay, "The Joy of Less"​​  

...Like keeping dvds together in one place, books together in one place, art supplies together in one place, socks with socks, dishes with dishes, coffee supplies with coffee supplies, etc. It's a simple and intuitive tool for keeping a home organized.  But how does that apply to bags and purses??

  Here's a not-so-secret about me; I am a chronic purse over-packer. I really took my brother's boy scout motto (Always Be Prepared) to heart. When I leave for the day, I am prepared for and number of scheduling, boredom, hunger, thirst, makeup, and first aid emergencies. If I get stranded somehow, that purse is filled with enough contents to keep me going for a day or two.  My secret to purse over packing while remaining organized is utilizing the module system. If I had a camera that worked right now I'd share pictures, but here is basically how it works for me: simply, I keep like items contained with like, within my bag.
  I have a:
   - Medical Module: a small zipper pouch full of  various band-aids, miniature Neosporin, Tylenol, floss, a tide pen, after bite, tissues, a spare lip balm, and an emergency feminine product or two.
    - Makeup Module: a small zipper pouch that is filled daily with *only* the makeup I am wearing that day. Usually for me, it's just whichever lip color I've decided on, a spare lipbalm (look, I'm addicted), loose powder and a brush. If I'm going to be going out straight from work, I may include an eyeliner and/or small blush, just to touch up on the go.  I trade out the contents every day, after putting on my makeup for the day. If I don't wear any makeup that day, the module is emptied into my makeup box (which is also full of modules) and left home for the day.
   - Writing Module: a pencil case with sharpened regular pencils, a few colored pencils, a hot dog eraser, a few pens, and a highlighter.
  - Day planner - self contained
  - Usually a book, packed in the morning and unpacked at night.
  - Cash system friendly wallet - has separate and defined areas that I use for cash, cards, coins, and receipts. Receipts and coins are removed either in the evening when I get home or the following morning when I'm packing for a brand new day! (I input my receipts into my budgeting spreadsheet & then toss most of them, and coins get put into my coin jar. They are rolled and deposited once the jar is full).
  - Sometimes, a phone backup module: a charger and/or external batteries, and/or headphones, kept in a clear ziplock bag.
  - Usually, a filled reusable water bottle or a spare La Croix, for thirstmergencies.

  The point is to keep like items with like, in separate containers. Then you will always know where everything in your purse is, and it makes it VERY easy to change from purse to purse; just remove your modules from one purse, stick em in the other, and put your empty purse away where all of you bags are stored neatly together.
  Going from a big bag to a small bag? No problem! Just transfer essential items from your standard modules to the clutch for the evening. If you're a big nerd like me, you can still keep like items together and separated through the use of clutches with multiple compartments, or small zip-lock snack bags.
  The use of modules keeps everything organized and easy to access. It also keeps you from ever having bags that are not in use but are full of mystery items and trash!

  Everything's got to be done in order, just like baking a cake!  If you want a helping hand with decluttering and organizing, send us a message on our contact page, or give us a call!

I love to find alternative uses for items. Here at TidyFairy we call it "shopping your house" to find the solution right at home! I wanted a place to sit down to do my makeup instead of doing it standing over the bathroom sink, but I love all the furniture (and floor space) in my bedroom. I knew I didn't want a whole new piece of furniture, but what to do?
​Enter my wardrobe! I repaired and refinished this petite Victorian era wardrobe (as seen featured here on ApartmentTherapy!) and it's still one my favorite pieces of furniture.

But ever since I did my full Marie Kondo-style declutter of clothing, I had nothing in it! I had also neglected to refinish the inside, because when it was full of clothes, who cared?

A quick dry brush job with some left over white paint gave it a "no spiders in here" look in under an hour. 

Then it was just a matter of outfitting the inside with the goods! 

Hang a mirror with a 3-M hook and pull up a stool and we're good to go! I wrapped flowers in cotton twine and hung them to dry from the old fashioned clothes bar hooks to include every bit of the architecture in the finished product. They're also just so pretty!

I shopped my house for the organization goods, settling on two stacked milk crates and a DVD box with lid for the heavy lifting. Also re-purposed a handed down Glamour Girl planter from the 1960s, a mason jar, and tea cup to corral the makeup items. This can be a great way to put to use sentimental items. ​I also grabbed a small Whole Foods brown bag and folded down the edges as a used Q-tip wastebasket.  

That's all she wrote! Do you have a creative place you get ready for the day? We'd love to hear about more space repurposing! 

Today's post is the very first of our "House Hacks" videos, where we demonstrate little ways to make your house tidier that don't take much time!

This technique is the VERY FIRST thing I did on my tidying journey, after reading Marie Kondo's "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up." While I am not quite as precise as she is with the folding, inserting clothes into the drawers vertically has CHANGED MY LIFE. (She isn't kidding around with that title.)  I like to call them my "serial killer" drawers because anyone who doesn't know the method would think I spent hours perfecting them. These drawers look beautiful and stay neat from laundry day to laundry day!

​Jump in!

Have you tried this method? How did it go? Leave a comment here on the blog or on our Facebook page at TidyFairy!
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Hello friends! Marlane Deanne here, and here at TidyFairy we are wrapping up our second week of the "6 Bags in 6 Weeks Spring Cleaning Challenge," which is books! This morning I put together a Pinterest board for you full of "gimmick free" bookshelf inspiration. Organization practices I deem too gimmicky for grown-ups:

• turning books backward so you can't read the bindings
• covering every book in white paper
• stacking books impossibly high

My belief is that you should still be able to see the books - and even read them! - if you want to keep them. So here is what I found!
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I also added my sweet bookshelf to the mix! This bookshelf is a Craiglist find, and the blue and pink paint are original from a 1950's child's bedroom. I love how it is a spin on typical cube storage, especially since someone added the little door, which is not original. I keep my sentimental Twilight book collection back there!

To hear more about my books and how I pared down, check out my YouTube video all about decluttering books! 

A few years ago, for health reasons, I became interested in removing as many chemicals as possible from my kitchen. While of course there are places that strong chemicals and preservatives belong, I don't think they need to be in my food or near my food. It turns out that plastics (all the many varieties) break down over time and can leave dangerous chemical residue in our food. What started as a health journey to remove those items from my kitchen turned into a tidying journey as well, when I realized how much more organized,  attractive - and appetizing! - my fresh food had become. 

My first resource was the Berkeley Farmer's Market, which published this amazing and comprehensive resource on the best ways to store fruits and vegetables without plastic. Let me tell you I was shocked to discover that not only was I storing items in plastics when it was not necessary, but in a way that would make them rot sooner! What a waste of money! It is not only less expensive to store items this way, but it is more convenient, because I am never hunting down tupperware lids! How is this possible?!

Read my top ​7 Ways to Store Food Without Plastic after the jumP!