Relocations are one of my favorite organizing services that we provide at Kuzak’s Closet. I love a fresh start and the opportunity to work with a blank slate and have a home set up the efficiently within two to three days. With the spring and summer move-ins starting to schedule and clients inquiring about how we can help on the daily, I wanted to share more information about our service and some photos from two recent relocations projects that we tackled in Menlo Park.
Just the thought of moving house has most people reaching for the Advil and friends clucking sympathetically. And who hasn’t good-humoredly referred to “those boxes in the garage we never unpacked?”
Instead of planned pain, how about visualizing the ease of having the entire new home set up in a matter of days, boxes banished, and kitchen drawers perfectly organized?
Moving house can be incredibly stressful, requiring hours of time organizing and packing, physical exertion and anxiety, along with overseeing the actual move. While some moving companies offer packing and unpacking service, that doesn’t help with the actual re-location of possibly thousands of items in a new space. Moving is also a wonderful opportunity to purge unwanted items and create a new, well-organized, and beautiful space.
After years of helping clients relocate—whether downsizing, upsizing (!), or making family changes–I love helping make a new house feel like home immediately. Before the move date, I schedule a meeting with a client to assess the move and make a plan. If I am not going to be managing the project I will bring the professional organizer from my team with me to the meeting. Depending on the situation and timing, we may schedule purging and packing sessions for a few weeks ahead of the move to make sure nothing that isn’t wanted or needed is dragged along to the new home.
For those who might think hiring an organizer and relocation specialist is a luxury, the economics of moving actually makes it a wise investment. For example, my gal pal Alicia just moved from Texas to the Bay Area. She works for GE and as part of her relocation package they included 10 hours with a professional organizer because they know it will save them money when it comes to paying for the moving services. Very smart GE, very smart!
Making all the decisions about what to take can be overwhelming, and along with the actual packing, moving is a very physical and time-consuming task. Getting rid of all the things that aren’t wanted—from furniture to toxic products that require special handling-–is another. And, at the end of a day of frayed nerves from the move, deciding where everything goes can set up fireworks in the family dynamic and take months to finalize (remember those boxes in the garage?).
During a pre-move session, if a client is very busy we might have them make de-cluttering decisions for 15-30 minutes while we manage sorting, organizing, and packing up of donations on my own. Special items, including jewelry and important documents, can also be appropriately set aside and labeled for the move. This is yet another worry taken off the client’s mind.
We love work with All Reasons Moving Company because we know they are consummate professionals. It is still important to have someone directing the flow of furniture and boxes for the movers. On moving day Kuzak’s Closet is on the scene to direct the movers and to begin unpacking at the new house. We always unpack the kitchen at the new home first, with the moving day goal of a perfectly organized kitchen and pantry. The kitchen is the heart of the home, and it is important to strategize storage and get the layout right the first time.
I visualize my clients waking up in their new home and enjoying that first cup of coffee, so that coffee preparation station is essential. Once the coffee pot is positioned I figure out where to store the coffee, filters, and the cups. You want to make sure it is close to a water source and the dishwasher. For the first evening, I’m always sure to set up an entertainment center with cocktail supplies as well!
Having the kitchen ready for food is important. We will create a layout in the pantry that they can easily fill in when they stock up on groceries. We create areas for paper products, small appliances, and other basics. In this new environment, the drawer and zone labels we usually use for organizing become even more helpful.
After moving day we will usually come back for two more long sessions to tackle the closets, the laundry room, and the family room. Depending on the size of the project we can usually speed through quickly—especially with the pre-packing and curating that were done in the previous location. The home-owner would likely feel overwhelmed and exhausted by all the decision-making, opening one box at a time. We are able to quickly open multiple boxes, sort and place, then primp, very quickly.
With our organizing expertise we can make decisions that work for the long run—like storing all cleaning supplies at eye level in the laundry room. We are in dozens of homes each week so we have a great perspective regarding design and functionality for our busy Silicon Valley clients. I personally love organizing closets (no surprise considering my business name) and have my “rules” about keeping like items together, facing the same direction, and by color.
The client is moved, organized, and sipping cocktails and coffee without breaking a sweat or wasting valuable time trying to figure out where things went and should go. Most importantly, the new house is already home.
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