The Seven Organizing Profiles
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A Few of Our Favorite Things
If you are just getting started on your mission to organize your life, the sheer number of gimmicky organizing products can be overwhelming! Some of them seem too good to be true, some are ridiculously expensive, and some are straight up confusing. We asked our Bees to cut through the noise and share the products they swear by. This is NOT a list of sponsored links, so we are not selling or getting a kickback for promoting these products. These are just the tried-and-true tools that our professional organizers reach for day after day in real homes and businesses across the country. There’s Nothing Lazy About a Lazy Susan Turntables are one of the hardest working tools in the organizing universe. One spin and suddenly everything that used to lurk in the back of the cabinet (the soy sauce, the baking powder, the face serum you forgot you bought) is brought into the light! Turntables help you see what you actually own instead of letting items disappear into deep, dark corners that haven’t seen daylight since they were built. Our Bees see the biggest impact from Lazy Susans in the pantry, corner cabinets, under the kitchen and bathroom sink, and in the fridge. As Sara Munoz, the Bee Organized franchise owner in Peoria, Arizona, told us, “When space is somewhat limited or you have a narrow space, a turntable houses more items and yet you can see every item!” They are perfect for anything that tends to topple, roll away, or vanish into the abyss, including: Cooking oils and vinegars Salad dressings and condiments Vitamins and supplements First aid and pharmacy items Baking essentials Arts and craft supplies Coffee pods, teas, and sweeteners Cleaning products Hair products or skin care collections Every Bee has their favorite style, but most agree that clear acrylic is the MVP behind closed cabinet, pantry, and fridge doors because they are transparent and wipe clean without a fuss. If the turntable will be visible, like on the kitchen counter or desk, bamboo will give you a warmer, more natural look. Many of our Bees especially like the divided, high-walled turntables that keep taller bottles from toppling over if the spinning gets a bit aggressive! To Divide is to Conquer The problem with an undivided drawer is simple: the constant movement shoves everything together on a daily basis! When every item has a clear home, your drawers stop becoming junk magnets and start becoming functional spaces that you can easily maintain. Here’s how to whip your drawers into shape: Take everything out of the drawer. Yes, everything! Purge without mercy. Toss the trash, relocate the misplaced, and release anything you haven’t used in forever. Sort “like with like” so you have a handle on how big of a container you need for each set of items. Add organizers that fit each category. Our Bees use both acrylic and bamboo drawer organizers to create micro-zones that keep categories separate and prevent items from sliding around. As Sherry Gangel, our Bee Organized owner in San Diego, noted, “Drawer organizers create zones and make it obvious to the client where their items belong. Without them, things get jumbled and have a tendency to pile up.” Think about the different drawers in your home that would be most beneficial for you to organize - from the famous (or infamous?) junk drawer in the kitchen to the chaotic drawers in the bathroom, playroom, or utility room. Once a drawer is organized well, people are shocked by how easy it is to keep it that way. A little structure goes a very long way! More Than Just Hanging Out There is something almost magical about switching to matching hangers. This might sound silly, but they are a sneaky little game-changer. Closets instantly look neater and more intentional, clothes hang more evenly, and the whole space feels calmer and more inviting. Our Bees choose the hanger material based on the clothing type, closet size, budget, and style. They sometimes select velvet hangers because they save space and keep clothes from slipping. Wooden hangers are perfect for coats, blazers, suits (and guest closets!) because they hold shape beautifully. Most often, our Bees find themselves selecting slim acrylic hangers for their clean, modern look and functionality. Lori McKeever, our Bee Organized franchise owner in Carmel, Indiana, told us, “Our go-to is the clear acrylic for most everyday clothing. It brings uniformity and is literally a game-changer in the look of a closet.” Stop fighting with hangers that regularly drop your clothes like fall leaves or are constantly tangling with each other. If you want a quick organizing win to start out the new year, upgrading your hangers might be the simplest way! Starting the year with new systems does not require a marathon of decluttering. Sometimes all you need is a well-placed turntable, a thoughtfully divided drawer, or a set of sleek matching hangers to make your home more functional and less chaotic. And if you want help choosing the right products or setting up systems that fit your life, you can always call in the Bees!
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Is Workplace Clutter Holding You Back?
If your workplace feels busier than ever but not necessarily more productive, clutter might be the culprit. From overflowing supply closets and paper piles to chaotic shared drives and break rooms, disorganization quietly eats away at time, focus, and profit every single day. Studies estimate that the average employee spends an hour each day looking for items, information, and coworkers. When you multiply that lost time and productivity across your entire team, your workplace clutter problem is more than just an inconvenience! Why Clutter Piles Up in Businesses Clutter doesn’t usually appear overnight; it sneaks in slowly, one empty binder and 20-year-old plaque at a time. Then, one day, the supply closet is bursting at the seams, and the shared drive has 15 copies of the same presentation. Here are a few of the biggest culprits for office clutter: The ownership gap - That pile of cords, those stacks of old files, the random office chair with one wobbly wheel—they don’t belong to anyone, so no one feels like they have the authority to get rid of them. Turnover trouble - When people move on, change roles, or switch to a remote site, their stuff often stays behind. Old binders, equipment, and even personal items can linger for years, quietly taking up valuable space and hiding what you are actually looking for. Just-in-case thinking - Many items are kept past their prime on the very slight chance that they might be useful someday. That’s why so many companies have closets and cabinets filled with outdated manuals, old technology, broken equipment, and paper files that have already been digitized. Dumping grounds - Breakrooms, supply closets, and empty offices have an almost magnetic pull that draws in office clutter. Need to stash a box of swag for a conference? Don’t know what that charger is for? Did someone move offices and leave a mountain of items behind? Suddenly, your shared spaces are doing more storing than serving your team. Fear of tossing - No one wants to be the one who accidentally throws away something important, so everything stays. That’s why shared drives end up with endless duplicate files and break rooms have an assortment of chipped, stained, and never-used mugs. The risk of tossing the wrong thing can feel scarier than just letting everything stick around. The result is a slow build-up of clutter that eats away at time, space, and sanity until your clutter starts running the show! Clutter Hurts Wellbeing and the Bottom Line Clutter doesn’t just crowd your workspace; it drains your team’s energy, focus, and productivity. Every messy supply closet, overstuffed file cabinet, and chaotic shared drive has a hidden cost. Think about how much time your employees spend searching for things each week: someone hunting for printer paper or the “good scissors,” another trying to remember where the extra batteries are kept, or a manager scrolling through old emails to find the latest version of a document. Each minor delay feels harmless, but they add up to hours of lost focus each day, and that’s time your team could be using to serve clients, collaborate, or innovate. In addition to losing time and productivity, office clutter often results in wasted money. When no one can find what they need, they often end up ordering duplicates of items the company already owns. Our favorite story is the office that purchased three separate label-makers in various attempts to get organized over the years, but couldn’t find any of them until they brought in the professionals! Clutter quietly chips away at morale and focus. Neuroscientists at Princeton showed that messy environments increase stress and cognitive overload and noted that when people “cleared clutter from their work environment, they were better able to focus and process information, and their productivity increased.” When every surface, drawer, and shared folder feels chaotic, it’s harder to concentrate, make decisions, and feel calm at work. It also sends the message to employees that disorganization is normal and that the details aren’t important. The clutter in your workplace doesn’t just affect the people inside your organization; it affects how others see you. When clients, partners, or investors walk into a disorganized reception area or a new hire finds their desk piled with someone else’s folders on their first day, it undermines confidence in your company’s professionalism before anyone says a word. Advice for Getting Started Trying to tackle every disorganized space at once can be overwhelming, so here are a few tips to get you started: Organize a Free Sale: Ask everyone in your office to sort through their workspaces and look for things they no longer need but that might be useful for someone else: Extra staplers, folders, cords, travel mugs, office decor, dry-erase markers, etc. Arrange a location and time for everyone to drop off their excess and then encourage your employees to shop for items they need in their office or home. The remainder can be organized and then either stored or donated. Use our Power Purge: Our process has been tested in thousands of homes and offices around the country. Gather a small team of motivated workers, order some coffee and bagels, and put the Power Purge to work! Tackle one zone at a time: Focus your energy on one supply closet, shared drive, or breakroom at a time. Succeeding at bite-sized projects creates momentum that can lead to real, sustainable change. Label and contain: Clear bins and labels are our most powerful weapon when it comes to fighting chaos. For organizational systems to work, everyone who might need the item needs to be able to quickly see where and how it is stored. Set limits: As you are making your way through the clutter, keep track of the types of items that tend to pile up. Establish retention policies for files, unused equipment, and supplies so that everyone has permission to clear out items once they've been kept for the agreed-upon time. Partner with experts: Sometimes, the smartest move is bringing in an expert with an outside perspective. Your team is busy and you hired them for their specific areas of expertise not their organizing prowess! The Bees can quickly get to work helping you sort and remove items you no longer need, and then build new organizing systems that will work for your entire team. Consider assigning ownership: If possible, designate a person or team to be responsible for maintaining shared spaces once they are organized. If that’s not possible, it might make the most sense to plan on an annual maintenance visit from the Bees. All Workspaces Need Attention It’s not just supply closets, reception desks, and break rooms that need the occasional TLC. Over the years, we’ve organized artist studios, restaurant kitchens and pantries, hair salons, lifeguard shacks, and more. Every workspace, no matter how unique, functions better when it’s organized. Even remote employees can benefit. The National Association of Productivity and Organizing (NAPO) suggests that employers support home office organization to boost productivity and reduce stress. Whether it’s at work, at home, or somewhere in between, clear spaces create clear minds! The bottom line is that a cluttered workspace slows everyone down. When your office is organized, productivity soars, morale improves, and your employees can focus on the work you hired them to do. If your business feels more like a storage unit than a productivity hub, it might be time to call in the Bees!
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Cheat the Holiday Prep
Every year, we promise ourselves that THIS will be the year we simplify the holidays. The one where the cookies are baked early, the gifts are wrapped with care, and the mood stays merry and bright. And then December happens. Suddenly, we’re knee-deep in wrapping paper with no tape in sight, we’ve lost all but one guest towel, and we watch our To-Do List expand at a furious pace in the days before the festivities begin. This year, let’s do things differently. Let’s cheat. This year, think about what parts of the holidays you love and what parts you can jettison, what menu items you can buy and what you’d rather make from scratch, what tasks you can delegate to others and what you have to do yourself, and what you can do in advance and what must wait until the last minute. Cheating the holidays is about reclaiming your time, energy, and joy. It’s about focusing on what truly matters and letting go of the rest. Cheat the Prep The secret to a smoother holiday season? Do yourself a few favors before the chaos hits. A little preparation now saves you from the last-minute scramble later. Set it and forget it: You can set the table a week in advance (although if you have pets, you might want to keep the dishes upside down until the big day gets closer!) Round it up: Don’t wait until the night before to locate all of your hosting bits and pieces. You can match and wash linens, polish silver, count water glasses, and round up all of the serving utensils weeks in advance. Decide then duplicate: Choose a lovely gift for teachers, neighbors, or hosts this season, wrap several, and keep a stash ready to go. Pick a go-to appetizer: Find one dish that always delights and keep the ingredients on hand. You can quickly whip it up to bring to work events, potlucks, or neighborhood get-togethers. Take photos of your decor: Snap photos of your mantel, tree, or front door so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each year. Keep a "holiday basics" list: We like to keep a running list on our phone so that nothing crucial slips our mind, like foil pans, paper towels, and as much butter as possible. Get your kitchen ready: There are so many things you can do in advance to help prepare every part of your kitchen for holiday cooking. Revisit our kitchen organization blog for some of our favorite strategies. Stock a gift wrapping crate: Load up a crate with wrapping paper, tissue, gift bags, tape, scissors, tags, ribbons, and bows. Every minute spent putting this crate together will save you oodles of time later! Declutter before you decorate: Make space for the sparkle instead of layering tinsel on top of clutter. Skip unnecessary cleaning: When was the last time you invited a dinner guest into your basement storage room or your bedroom closet? Focus your energy on areas where your guests will actually be! Cheat in the Kitchen You don’t have to cook like you’re on a Food Network special for your holiday to be meaningful. Give yourself permission to simplify, outsource, or just plain cheat a little. No one is going to love you less if your mashed potatoes came from the deli or your cookies started life in the freezer aisle! Share the cooking: Choose one or two signature dishes to make and then delegate the rest. Most people are thrilled to contribute to a holiday meal! Buy pre-cut cookie dough, gingerbread kits, and ready-made pie crusts: You can focus more on the fun part and less on the technical details. We can state with absolute authority that children care more about the color of the sprinkles than whether the cookies were made from scratch. Keep "emergency appetizers" stocked: Whether it’s a Costco-size box of frozen mini quiches, a tub of pimento cheese and a box of the fancy crackers, or some golden goodness you can quickly toss in the airfryer, having emergency apps on hand is a lifesaver. They are perfect for when you run low on food at a party, have people stop by unexpectedly, or you get a last-minute invitation to an event. Decorate with food: Putting peppermints in jars, oranges and cloves in a vase, or cranberries and greenery around serving trays are simple but lovely ways to add some holiday spirit to your table. Take it down a notch: Make the pie weeks in advance and then freeze it. Or buy the pie crust and make the filling yourself. Or buy the whole darn pie. Or ask your cousin to bring it! You don’t have to do it all. Consider disposable plates: Before you immediately reject this bullet point, remember that disposable plates come in all levels of fanciness and price points … and they all save you from mountains of dishes. Just think about it. You don’t have to commit this year. Cheat Expectations The holidays aren’t a performance. They are a gathering of people who love each other, even when things get messy. Imperfect meals are still nourishing, and imperfect joy is still joy. Let "good enough" be great: The napkins do not have to match the table runner. The cookies do not have to look like the photo. Let go of tired traditions: Not every tradition needs to be sustained, so you can keep the ones that fill you up and let go of the ones that drain you. Say YES to help: You do not have to run the whole holiday show yourself. Be open to offers for help (and even to hiring some!). Give jobs to guests: Let the kids set the table or roll the crescent rolls. Ask your uncle to be in charge of answering the door and hanging up coats. People love to be involved in creating the celebration together. Focus on connection over perfection: People remember laughter and stories, not whether the napkins match or the lattice on the apple pie is perfectly golden. Simplify greeting cards: Maybe you can skip sending Christmas cards this year. Or if you do, send a postcard instead of one that needs an envelope. And maybe send New Year’s greetings instead so that you have more time! Streamline your wrapping: Use gift bags instead of wrapping paper and ribbons. Or if you prefer using wrapping paper, consider writing the names directly on the packages in a festive paint pen instead of dealing with tags that often get separated from their packages. The holidays are for connection, not exhaustion. You have our permission to buy the pie, delegate the side dishes, and use the pretty paper plates. You deserve a joyful season that feels doable, not depleting. If you need a hand getting your home holiday-ready, call in the Bees. We’ll help you find calm, clarity, and cheer in every corner of your home!
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