Ease Up

Do you hate paper? Is the tax season stressing you out? We have a team who LOVES sorting documents so that everything you need is easily accessible. Find out how we can help! Book Now + Save

I just need to make space in my basement for some furniture being delivered, they said. Don’t you love when the client says I just need. This was, by far, one of the most physically challenging projects we’ve tackled. Smaller spaces do not always equal easier/quicker projects. Often it is entirely on the contrary because our beloved collector clients are crafty ones, who always seem to find room in those small spaces for more stuff. For those who know, you know. For tho...se who think this was just a little shifting of this, and a little shifting of that...here is what this project entailed (and ps - the budget was two people, one day). First of all, the theme was Let’s first clear a path to.... There was NO ROOM to move. Normally we would start emptying the contents of the room into other areas of the home, but that option was not available. 1. Collecting, sorting, housing all the odds and sods lying about (ie not in a bag, box, or container). That took two people one hour. 2. A quick peek through all boxes, bags, and containers to identify general contents, and whether the vessel needed replacing. There was a lot of consolidation happening during this phase and transferring items to more efficient storage vessels. This took our team of two four hours. 3. Heavy lifting and shifting to clear a path to the closet, emptying the closet of its contents and then re-stuffing it with all bags of clothes and linens. This took 30 minutes. 4. Shifting and moving everything again to clear a path to be able to consolidate two tables, two trunks, and storage containers to one wall. This took just under an hour, including loading boxes below and above the tables, and stacking all the boxes you see along the busy wall. 5. Performed a clean sweep...which basically meant taking stock of what was left, breaking down boxes that were no longer usable, removing all garbage and recycling bags from the room. Even organizers can get overwhelmed in a space - especially after being in the same small space for an extended period of time. We find that these clean sweeps are a productive mechanism to allow us to regroup, regain our perspective and get to that finish line. See more

PART TWO - THE AFTER What we did (outside of the standard sort, edit, contain): #1: We changed the configuration of the room to improve the aesthetic and flow. We kept the bed flush with the window but switched the head/feet direction and pushed the head to the other wall. Originally the head was under the elephant (as a point of reference), now it’s under the small, sealed window and the feet are by the elephant. We relocated the tall dresser to the foot of the bed, so t...hat it wasn’t in your immediate line of sight upon entering the room. We gave the laundry drying rack and hamper a permanent, unobtrusive and functional home at the foot of the bed. We moved the trunk out from the corner and displayed it along the wall, and - game changer - we moved the low bookcase OUT (more on that next week). #2: In dealing with the contents on top of and inside the trunk we were able to repurpose it not only as a decorative piece with surface area to sit on, stack on, etc., but we were also able to convert it into functional and accessible storage. Yes, we forgot to take a picture of the inside. Lol. #3: The client did an excellent job of releasing: 4 donation bags, 4 recycling bags, and 1 bag of garbage, which freed up space. #4: We Marie-Kondo-ed the sh*t out of the dresser drawers, and repurposed the top two small drawers - one for a medium size eyecare category, not shown, and one as a jewellery drawer, as shown). #5: We made better use of the closet. Originally the top shelf was being used for linen and towels. We binned those and relocated them outside the bedroom. There is a portable A/C unit that had been taking up all of the space, so we removed some of its parts (hoses, and attachments), binned and stored them elsewhere, and repositioned the A/C in a much more compact fashion. #5: We told the milk crate that if it insisted on staying, it was going to have to make itself useful, so it now houses two bulky exercise items vertically. The proudest part of this transformation for us is the amount of floor space that you can now see, in the middle of the room. The client was over the moon - her words. See more

PART 1 - THE BEFORE Client obstacles: #1: Referred to herself as a hoarder (usually hoarders - or enthusiastic collectors, as we like to call them - do not self-identify ). #2: Felt that a purge was in order but did not know where or how to start. #3: A trunk full of items she hadn’t seen in a long time and was afraid to confront. Our obstacles: #1: A very small space with a lot going on, including several big pieces (laundry drying rack, tall dresser, low bookcase, nights...tand, laundry hamper, massive storage trunk, small wooden stool, stability ball chair, bed, closet, milk crate). #2: An angled wall, inside and outside of the closet (created a loss of about 15 hangers worth of hanging space inside the closet). #3: Many, many, many categories with small amounts of items in them (extends the sorting process and makes containment a bit tricky if you are trying to keep like with like and not wanting tiny vessels versus bins). #4: A few extra-large categories, such as skin care. Extra-large categories are normal and not always an obstacle in and of themselves, however, in a small space.... And, finally, #5...WITH NO JUDGMENT...a slow editer. The client was decisive, but also nostalgic and personable and friendly and kind and detailed. See more

PAPER! Who loves it? Who runs from it? What do you do with it? One of our organizers LOVES these projects. She would probably say they are life (aka - they are amazing, in teenager-speak). We love her for that because it’s not really our favourite part of what we do. This project was broken down into seven key steps: Step 1. Given that this was part of a full home declutter, the first step was to collect all paper from around the home into one centralized location. Hence th...e cadaver-size Ziploc bag. Step 2. Knowing a little bit about the Client’s life helped us to identify - in advance - what the major categories would be. The paper was meticulously sorted - one sometimes-crumpled piece at a time, into macro categories. For example, in this instance...legal, insurance, medical, banking, retail receipts...to name a few. Step 3. First round of editing. We had the client come in and identify entire categories that could easily be reviewed and then purged/recycled. For example...take-out menus, pharmacy labels, old magazines, empty envelopes, etc. Step 4. The micro-sort. We then broke the major categories into smaller categories. For example...medical got broken out into hospital records (car accident victim/survivor ) and non-accident medical, and then further divided by area of specialization (optometry, podiatry, neurology). Step 5. Final edit with the client, where decisions were made not only about what to keep but also about how the information would need to be accessed in the future, if at all. Step 6. Micro-Micro-Sorting. Lol. This is where we took the final categories and arranged the documents either alphabetically or chronologically. Step 7. CONTAINMENT...finally! Yay. All of the documents the Client identified as needing to be able to access regularly were filed in an accordion file that she was already using for paper, that we obviously forgot to photograph , sitting within arms-reach of her desk. The rest was stored in a make-shift filing cabinet which consists of labelled Ziploc bags acting as file folders and a plastic stackable storage bin as the cabinet. The client was thrilled. Relieved. Grateful. Guess how long this took? See more

Not all clients, or projects, are created equal. Often we are asked to help create a pathway to better organization for people who have their own vision or plan, but who are stuck. This basement project was a good example. We were tasked with sorting the accumulated items (many from the post-reno upstairs) into categories to facilitate more efficient editing by the client. Midway through this one-day, two-person project, the client came downstairs to take a peek and exclaimed excitedly: I see categories!. We are told she is working through tiny piles, slowly but surely. Slowly still = progress! Congratulations to this superstar! (The first two pictures are the befores and the last three are the afters.)

This was such a fun project! There was a lot happening. Over the years, this room had become a storage facility for home decor, paperwork galore, and crafting projects in various stages of completion. Little effort was placed on transforming the room because of a long-standing plan for a home renovation. So the first layer of our mandate was to sort, edit, and pack away unused items so that post-renovation put-away would be seamless. The second layer was striking that oh-so-f...amiliar balance only a professional organizer would understand...between pleasing the homeowner (who is the enthusiastic collector) and meeting the expressed needs of the family member gifting the service but not living in the space. Based on client feedback, and our own sense of accomplishment, we were able to not only achieve that balance but also give the client an unexpected and inviting sitting area in the room, to maximize the aesthetic and function pre-reno. See more

One of our regular (and lovely) clients had us in to tighten up all of the closets in her newly renovated home.

This was a teensy, tiny basement apartment project. There were no luxuries. No time. No matching storage bins. No budget. No infrastructure. Just heart and soul. The client lost her brother last week after a valiant battle with cancer. While she grieves, and until she is able to find a forever home, we wanted to give her place a little pick-me-up. To breathe some fresh new life into it. To reduce her anxiety by reducing the clutter she had become so accustomed to living in. Next up: her roommate’s space on the other side of the wall. Too bad her roommate is her teenage, sentimental (read: keeps everything from birth to present day) daughter who has, so far, forbidden us entry. Oh well...one can hope.

And on that farm there was a , E, I, E, I, OMG! Stressful times call for serious comic relief I have so many questions... Who? Why? When? How? Where?... Organizing keeps us curious and playful and laughing and loving, our entire way through the work day. #itsnotworkifyouloveit

We have a delightful feline supervisor on one of our jobs today. She's making sure we cat-apult our clients to a life with greater ease . #catsofinstagram #torontoorganizer #gtaorganizers #professionalorganizer #thebestinorganizing #itcanbeeasier #easeup #theorganizingexperts #welovewhatwedo #meowstagram #meowdeling #clutterfree #disorganizednomore #wellness #beingorganized #exhale #callus #

Oh, the treasures we find!

We got to work in make-up heaven recently!

Yesterday our badass leadership team had our first amazing group interview. It was #allrhegoodness Now let me introduce you to this gem of a human... He is one of the unsung and unseen leaders of Ease Up. The existence of Ease Up began when he said to his wife: "If you can't get a teaching job, maybe you should try this organizing thing that everyone tells you that you are great at".... He is a planner and a protector with a fierce brain. I cannot tell you how much I have needed him to plan for me and protect me as we unknowingliy embarked on this journey. For other entrepreneurial spirits who don't have the dream partner, I am sorry for the pain you might feel in your own limitation, in lacking the support you so desperately need and deserve to have. That is very hard.

On the job today doing a post-reno put-away! Loving the design brilliance of our client who had the forward thinking to have doors open on both sides of her island.

A micro pod cast by our CEO Lindsay Whisen. Take less than 2 minutes to learn a central guiding principle our experts follow!

Cant purchase your favourite household cleaners these days? Fear not! There are wonderful homemade options that you can whip up with items you likely already have on-hand (or with items you can likely still purchase at the grocery store or online). Bonus! These natural recipes are safe for folks with fragrance sensitivities. ... So, Im a big fan of lemon scents when Im cleaning - especially in my kitchen. Thats why Ive gathered these super quick and easy options to help keep your home clean and smelling fresh, using lemon as the foundation of each. Lets do it! 1. Peel 5-8 lemons and let the peels soak in vinegar for a few days. Strain the peels out, and voila! Ready to go all-purpose cleaner. 2. Another all-purpose cleaner option is to pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into a spray bottle. Add in 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon castile soap, and 20 or so drops of lemon essential oil. Shake and spray! 3. Freshen up a stinky kitchen drain by using baking soda, coarse salt and vinegar to clean out the grime deep down inside. Pour 1/2 cup of b. soda & 1/2 cup coarse salt down, followed by 1 cup of vinegar. Cover it so the bubbles stay in the drain where you want them. Rinse with boiling water and then put a few drops of lemon essential oil down to finish it off with a lovely fresh scent. 4. Use the baking soda cleanse above, just reduce the vinegar to 1/2 a cup, and add 1/2 a cup lemon juice. Vinegar and lemon juice are both acidic, so either get the job done (lemon is just more costly). This alternative delivers that delightful lemon fragrance without the need for an essential oil finisher. 5. Steam clean your microwave. Halve a lemon, squeeze its juice into a bowl with 1/2 a cup of water in it. Add the lemon halves in, and microwave for 3 minutes. Then let stand for another 5 to let that steam work! Wipe clean Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! See more

To celebrate the launch of our virtual service were offering an exciting promo! The first 3 people who fill out our new contact form will get a FREE 45 minute session with one of our Ease Experts. Follow the link belwo, and reap the benefits of virtual organizing support in no time. http://virtualsupport.easeup.ca ... #virtualorganizing #professionalorganizer See more

Ease Up - The Organizing Experts now offer Virtual Services! Visit our new website to find out more about: - Home Organization Coaching - Home Reconfiguration... - Family Schedule Planning http://virtualsupport.easeup.ca

This Cityline segment showcases our team's work in a client's kitchen Thanks Megan Day from Rooted & Vibrant for being courageous enough to show your Before and After's to a wide audience! This kitchen took 12 hours of organizing power, but with our team we got that done in a day, easy peasy. It would have taken Megan more than 24 hours of HER free time to do this herself and the end result would not have been as great. Fabulous teammates featured are Katelyn Steven, Mel J RT and Sandra Muzzin.

I want to CHANGE my answer for this segment! Sorry I didn't get it right on-air Cityline Here it is ...GENDER ROLES HAVE CHANGED! Organizing is historically (and continues to be) women's work (that is undervalued and invisible). But decades ago we started spending more time on education and professional pursuits. WOMEN CANNOT BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE, BECOMING EXPERTS IN TWO DIFFERENT REALMS. This is the real BIG underlying issue. Women are nearly equal parts of the work ...force and yet the expectation is that we are still naturally excellent at managing a household with no additional time or training given to us. Over the years women have actually lost the time to devote to developing the skill of organizing, not to mention the time to actually do the organizing work. And to make self-organizing even more unlikely, the number of THINGS coming into our homes have skyrocketed. Nearly every female client we've served feels unwarranted SHAME and EMBARRASSMENT for not being able to do it herself. This. needs. to. end. Pardon me, I need to go put my blood in the freezer because it is BOILING. Tracy Moore, maybe we need to have a little chat on-air about this. Women don't need another book on how to do it themselves - they are doing too much already. Women don't need another organizing hack - that's a band-aid solution. They need the permission, the empowerment and the financial support to hire experts. drop.

Our favourite part of this segment is how your own self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, flexibility and adaptability need to be flexed when making decluttering decisions. Our second favourite thing is that we showcased lovely organizing products from our friends Dymon Storage. They are a Canadian company that I am pleased to be working alongside. I urge you to pop into their store the next time you make a trip to Ikea in Etobicoke - they are right across the street! You'll be ...impressed. Did you have a favorite take-away? Cityline

How to get the most out of your holiday photos Head on over to the @cityline page today and check out their post featuring our @lindsaywhisen Lindsay is sharing a lovely idea about how to make your holidays more sentimental and of course... MORE ORGANIZED! ... #citylineexpert #easeupmethod #theorganizingexperts #photoorganization See more

We wish you warmth, love and peace this holiday season and all year long. Happy Holidays from your friends at Ease Up - The Organizing Experts

Can I ask you a money question? Awkward right? Stay with me.... How much money do you think youve spent repurchasing items youve lost track of? ... How much have you spent on library late fees because you couldnt find the books you borrowed? How much shelving and storage products have you bought to house all of your items? How much have you spent buying a bigger home, or maintaining a storage unit to store all of your items? I think many folks might be cringing if they start doing it the math, which is not my intention, I promise you. What I do want is for you to consider the financial impact disorganization has in your life so that you can make informed decisions about how you want to move forward. Being organized and choosing to hold on to fewer items saves you a lot of money. Even investing in enlisting professional organizing support pays for itself in the long run. For example, you will reduce unnecessary spending on items you forgot you had, and/or on eating out because your kitchen has become too stressful to cook in. And most significantly, by being organized you save money by be able to live more comfortably in your current home. This is something many of our clients want to achieve, and they feel so relieved at the end of their service knowing that they dont have to upsize their home and living expenses. Getting and staying organized isnt just about achieving mental and practical ease. The financial benefits are such a meaningful reason to embrace the process. To your greatest ease See more

We had the pleasure of transforming a lovely clients closet recently. After a major declutter, we focused on grouping garments together by type: short sleeves, blouses, sweaters, skirts, pants, etc. Then we took our clients heels out of boxes and displayed them front and centre, and repurposed her own bins to store clutches and shoes/slippers. ... The most satisfying part of this day was switching out all the mixed bins to be matching red (the blues guys were relocated to work hard in other closets). Our client didnt prioritize matching hangers for this project, so we happily used what she had. She was thrilled with both the end result and the reduced inventory cost. Win-win!

Our @lindsaywhisen will be the Featured Member Spotlight Speaker at The Mompreneurs Power Luncheon this Friday, September 27th at the Wundeba Restaurant in Burlington! The Mompreneurs Power Luncheon is packed with intentional learning and focused connecting, in order to help you propel forward with POWER. This event includes:... - organized networking - a high impact presentation from our industry expert - a featured member spotlight with inspirational/educational focus - small group masterminding - a delicious working luncheon Hope to see you there! Details and tickets can be found over at @themompreneurtm #lunchandlearn #mompreneurs #mompreneurlife #sheo

Check out todays episode of @cityline (and our stories!) for your daily dose of laughter and learning with a fantastic group of experts - including our own @lindsaywhisen Cheers to the #cityline team for putting such a fun one together @ Cityline Studio

To be organized is to be at rest. Thanks Liz Katherine for tagging us!

Life demands so much of us: we work, we study, we take care of children and elders and pets, we volunteer, we nurture friendships, we make meals and maintain our homes.... And on top of all these things, we also cope with stress and stigma due to our varying experiences of discrimination based on constructs of race, gender, ability, religion, economic status, body size, identity and orientation. We can do anything, but we cant do everything, friends. ... You are not a failure for needing a break, for outsourcing a task to a professional, for prioritizing your mental health, for asking a member of your community to support you. Shame and self-judgement are toxic; they steal our joy and our peace. We are human beings who are not meant to walk through the world in isolation - carrying the weight of it on our own. Reach out, ask for the help you need, and accept it when its offered. You are not a failure for needing help. #sundayselfcare #easeupmethod #itcanbeeasier See more

Prepare to be amazed....

Life happens, and we know that asking for help is a sign of strength. When we see your space, we see the potential in your future, not an opportunity to judge you.

This is me trying to seduce The Container Store to come north of the border, because WE STILL DONT HAVE ONE IN CANADA Come and get it, @containerstore. Well show you a good time

A pretend podcast! Listen to me read a thought provoking article... that I wrote.

One of our big "why"s.

Be realistic about your spatial means. Are you storing items as though you live in a much larger home? You may not have the luxury of keeping the same volume of items as The Jones can. If youre serious about achieving greater ease in your space, it is important - and empowering! - to get really clear about your priorities. ... Approach each and every item in the space your organizing and ask: is this item worth the space it takes up? Is it worth the maintenance it requires? Can I do with less? Do I truly have the space to store this item and still feel the way I want to feel here? Get clear about what matters, and youre well on your way to greater ease. #easeupmethod #theorganizingexperts #itcanbeeasier

Minimalism doesnt have to mean a barren landscape. Minimalism is embracing the philosophy that less stuff = more life, time, money, space, sanity - and choosing wisely. Its choosing not to own and store items unless you love them and use them regularly. Its about releasing items from your past that no longer serve you, or items saved for uncertain future that weigh you down in the present. ... Minimalism is not about depriving yourself, but about truly choosing yourself in the ways that really matter.

An organized space means efficient maneuvering in life.

We love to label. We love, we love to label. #tbt to 2015 when Lindsay's little was, well...

Happy Father's Day to all the people out there that fill the title and honour the role. Our Lindsay says something pretty lovely about her Dad, Ron White.

False Leveling Up is found in buying products that will 'solve' your problems. True Leveling Up is found when you are vulnerable and brave, when you ask for help and hire trusted experts to solve your problems.