So many of you enjoyed reading about my experience hiring a professional organizer that I thought I’d update you with a new blog post about what it was like working with a professional organizer!
As you know, I desperately needed an expert to help me organize all my props and products. A stronger organization system would help me keep track of what I use for shoots and find stuff more quickly when I needed it.
Working with Nikki from NEAT Method Pittsburgh has been a blast, and I’m already loving how she’s transformed my workspace so far! Let’s look at the magic she’s worked on the LISH Creative studio, shall we?
Hello, storage bins and containers
What do you do when you have a giant, weird collection of props for photo shoots? How the heck do you keep them organized? Since I’m running my own biz at the same time, I needed storage options for all my office supplies, too.
The solution? Bins, bins, and more bins!
To keep track of all my smaller items that can easily get lost in cabinets and drawers, they used small containers from The Container Store and rectangle labels to separate and store everything.
Washi tape, stationery, pins and paper clips, scissors, Post-It notes: they tossed all of these into small white bins with handles, and used a chalk marker to label each bin! Now, I can easily grab the supplies I need in my studio cabinets. No more digging through drawers or random containers to find something.
A place for everything
In my last blog post, you saw the big pegboard Nikki designed and my dad built, plus some wooden wall shelves to store things like paint cans and larger props. Nikki also designed some fantastic custom shelves to hold and display all my seamless paper.
But I had lots of space on the shelves next to and under my rainbow of seamless paper! How could I store stuff in those spaces and make it look good?
The answer, of course, is more storage bins 😂 Bins that fit in the space I had, and a designated place for each category of things!
Large, clear bins with chalk labels made it easy to see where my stuff was in a hurry. Bigger items like folders, stickers and labels, paper goods, and notebooks fit perfectly in these bins, which I kept in the bottom section of my shelves.
See some of the bins up close in this Reel!
View this post on Instagram
You might also notice I used a couple of clear, stackable canisters and bins with lids to store other stuff in my cabinets. Those were great for medium-sized items that didn’t fit in my small or large bins.
And of course, my big beautiful blue beauty… my new prop food fridge!
View this post on Instagram
This is a game-changer for me, because it means I can keep my prop food out of the household fridge — and maybe not even have to leave my studio for snacks. #winwin
Thinking about working with a professional organizer?
Reorganizing my studio space has been a blast. My biggest takeaway is: Trust the process! A professional organizer can see holes and solutions that you can’t. Also, be prepared for additional purchases, especially if you’re organizing a workspace you spend a lot of time in. There may be containers, bins, fridges, rugs, and more that you’ll want to buy to make it feel usable and comfortable. Of course, this isn’t the final reveal… so stay tuned for my professional organization project recap!
