Read time: 2 minutes In this virtual world we live in now, content creators are everywhere, influencing our late night impulse purchases & having us think we need a very specific product to feel like our life is together. The thing is ... most online organizing is optimized for filming — not real life living. A system can look beautiful online and still completely fall apart in a busy household. As a professional organizer, there are definitely micro systems and organizing pr

Read time: 3-4 minutes One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when organizing their home is creating systems for the version of themselves who has endless energy, motivation, and time. But that's not real life. Real life looks like rushing out the door, getting home exhausted & wanting to relax, juggling responsibilities, and trying to clean up at the end of the day with minimal energy left. That's why your organization systems should be built for your worst days - not

Read Time: 3-4 minutes You finally did it. Maybe you spent an entire weekend sorting, donating, organizing, and putting everything back in its place. Maybe you spent months tackling one space at a time until your home felt lighter, more relaxing, and easier to live in. Then life happened. {because doesn't it always?} A busy day turned into a busy week which turned into a busy month. The mail started piling up. Laundry stayed in the baskets a little longer than usual. Shoes fo

Read Time: 2-3 minutes If there's one piece of organizing advice I hope every person remembers, it's this: Declutter first. Always. Whether you're organizing your pantry, redesigning your closet, tackling the garage, or refreshing your office, the first step is never buying containers. It is never measuring for shelving. And it is definitely not heading over to hit up Amazon. The first step is making intentional decisions. Deciding what stays, deciding what goes, deciding how

Starting in March I receive many inquiries from clients for garage organization projects or a quick garage refresh. This need keeps rolling on well into summer and through the fall. As a professional organizer who lives in sunny California, I typically pause garage season around late May or June, depending on how spicy mother nature is feeling that year, and pick bookings back up come September. Quick tip from an organizer — tackle your garage between March - April so you can

As a professional organizer who designs for real life... I tend to choose products built for functionality & longevity. These are ten products I would recommend to the majority of my clients, especially if they were on a budget. These are a great start for those at the beginning of their organizing journey or for the seasoned organizer looking to refresh a space. TEN OF MY MOST FLEXIBLE {& affordable} PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS Lazy Susan An organizing star. I mostly use these i

Read time: 3 minutes I've noticed something over the years of working in people's homes. Very rarely do my clients talk about clutter as just clutter. Instead, they talk about what they think clutter says about them. "I'm so lazy." "I should have figured this out by now." "Why can't I stay on top of this?" "I feel too embarrassed to have anybody over. They will judge me, I'm judging me." There can come a point when clutter stops being about the things on the counter or the pi

Read time: 3 minutes As a professional organizer, this might surprise you: Sometimes the very thing people think will solve their clutter problem is actually making it worse. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a home and found beautiful baskets, matching containers, drawer organizers, and storage bins everywhere. And yet the space still wasn't functioning. The problem wasn't necessarily the bins. The problem was that the bins were purchased before there was a pl

Read time: 3 minutes When people hear that I'm a professional organizer, they often assume {rightfully so} that I simply love organizing. And while I do appreciate a well-functioning & aesthetically pleasing space.. the truth is that organization itself isn't actually what excites me most. What excites me is what happens after the organization. Organization is the tool I use to get to where I really want to be. The place where I have time and energy to do things I actually lo

Read time: 4-5 minutes Ever heard of the ten minute tidy? The daily tidy is one of the most realistic and beneficial organizing habits I know {I practice this myself} and if I could give you only one piece of advice after organizing your space, this would be it. This small daily habit is a recommendation for anybody, wherever you are at in the process of getting your home in order, but it is especially wonderful for those who have put in the time and hard work of truly going

Having a label maker that is easy to use — the ultimate key to keeping your space maintained & somewhat under control. Don't be fooled into thinking you don't need labels because, after all, you set up the system so of course you know where everything goes. The labels aren't necessarily for you, although sometimes even I forget where I placed something because I use it very infrequently. Imagine, if I forget where items go sometimes as the professional organizer in my househo

I HAVE SOMETHING AMAZING FOR YOU! As a professional organizer who loves to create systems to keep my life running smoothly, I have created many templates over the years. I would love to share a few of my basic and easy to use templates with you so you can start {or continue} your journey to a more organized life. Life is meant to be enjoyed... less stress, more creativity, more time for what you love, more consistency, and more living with intention! Like these templates? Exp

Read time: 8-10 minutes You all know I am huge advocate of decluttering. It should be a task that occurs regularly {like a household chore}, not once a year during spring cleaning. When you do declutter or have unwanted items, do you sell them? Is it worth your time and energy? Read on if you are interested in earning some extra side cash! Facebook Marketplace is a powerful modern day tool that you should definitely utilize! Gone are the days of old school garage sales being

Organization is crucial to living a life of ease, less chaos, and more time efficiency. However, becoming organized is just one step of the overall process. To truly create a life you love to live and thrive in, it requires more than just one time decluttering, zones, and containment. I can step into a house and spend hours creating a beautifully organized space for a client, but whether I come back six months later and see the same beautiful space is ultimately up to them.

Read time: 5-8 minutes Hello hello, and welcome to my blog! Thanks for being here! If you don't already know me, my name is Ashley and I am the owner and founder of Cleaned & Contained LLC based in Northern California. This business has been many years in the making, I just never dreamed everything would come together so perfectly and fall into place as it did. I took an uncharacteristic leap in October 2022 and made the decision to become a professional organizer and housecl