Over the years, clutter tends to pile up, our closets start to overflow, and our kitchens suddenly have mismatched food storage containers. It’s overwhelming to declutter, organize and purge a home, especially if you don’t know where to begin or which items to ditch. That’s where Lisa Eckerle and her team at The Designer Organizer can help, with services like organizational consulting, organizational design, in-home organizing and closet confidence.
“Sometimes clients approach me and say they just want help with their pantry,” Eckerle says. “Sometimes clients will say to me they feel their whole house is a mess, and they just don’t know where to start. I go in and get a map, and help them decide where to start. Then we take it project by project or space by space so it doesn’t overwhelm the client. This process gives them a sense of control and empowerment over their living spaces.”
Eckerle says her staff works to determine which area needs to be changed, and which will have the biggest impact on a client’s daily life. She says she concentrates on the design and functionality of everything she does.
“Sometimes certain areas of the home are designed to be beautiful, but then we quickly realize they don’t work in our daily routine with kids,” Eckerle says. “So I will come in and say your pantry shelves need to be deeper to be better utilized. I’m currently working with a client who wanted an area organized so that her children would reach for an educational toy first, so we made sure to put those lower, and toys where her children might need adult help up higher in that area.”
It can be difficult to look at a blank wall and see something more, but Eckerle says that’s her specialty. She can see a bare wall as an area where hats can be hung, so the space becomes like an art installation to her. She does not recommend clients purge their homes before she arrives for their initial consultation.
“I tell every client beforehand not to touch anything before I get there because I want to see everything in the wild,” Eckerle says. “It gives me a better idea of how they’re living, which gives me a better idea of how to fix it. Plus, I can help purge items from a home because I don’t have the same emotional attachment as the client.”
She utilizes a process she calls C.R.A.P. to eliminate clutter from your home, so you can easily remove anything Cheap, Repetitive, Aggravating or Past Its Prime. Eckerle says she provides a nonjudgmental, safe environment for her clients.
“One trend I’ve been noticing is that clients don’t want a lot of dead space in their homes,” Eckerle says. “They want to make the most out of every square inch of their house to make it the most functional. Often the most cluttered spaces are the ones we use the least.”
Eckerle will be at the Sigma Builders home at Home-A-Rama 2024.
