How To Put Everything In Its Place

Laura Le Blanc always loved decorating and organizing her space. But after her second child was born, she quickly found herself overwhelmed with all the things that had to be done. Constantly playing catch up with chores and drowning in expectations was throwing her off her game. So she took on organizing her home and life like she does most things in life, with a solid vision and unwavering commitment. Laura found her own results so profound that she decided to commit her career to help others find balance and happiness through organization. She founded The Organized and the rest is history. We chatted with Laura to learn more. —Vita Daily

Please tell us about The Organized, and do you offer services to families and businesses outside of your market? If not, give us a few tips and, do you plan to expand?

The Organized is a professional organizing and interior design company with the goal of creating organized, functional and beautiful spaces. Our approach recognizes that each family and home is different and we adapt our approach to suit the unique needs of each client to create spaces that not only look beautiful, but also support their lifestyle. While we are based in Ottawa, we regularly serve clients outside of our home city.

Tell us about what made you start your business. Give us the why.

I started The Organized after my second child was born. As someone who always cared how my home looked, I started feeling really overwhelmed with all the stuff that came with kids and the chaos that comes with being a mom. After doing a major overhaul of my new house, I knew that if I was struggling with this stuff, so were other people. I loved seeing the change that organizing created so much, that I knew it was how I was supposed to be helping others.

Now for the hard part; how do we get an organized start to the new year after coming out of the chaos of the holidays?

I always recommend starting the new year (and really any new project) with a vision board. It’s so important to be clear about what you want to create—whether that’s in your home or any other aspect of your life. So get clear on that vision, then make a plan on how you can achieve it. Using some of your time off, especially while kids are home, to do a family purge session is a great way to start. The truth is, you can’t out organize too much stuff so spend some time reflecting on the lifestyle you’re hoping to create this year and then declutter accordingly. Of course, if you can, getting the support of a team like we have at The Organized is always a huge help. At The Organized we offer a range of services from our signature organizing and design service, one-on-one organizing sessions, and even a group coaching option.

If you could give us your top three tips for having the most organized year yet, what would they be?

1. Get clear on your goals for your home, and other areas and make a plan on how you’ll reach them and when.
2. Get support from our team, or your favourite professional organizer, to make the decluttering and organizing process so much easier, and consider joining a program like The Organized Collective that will help you strategically work through your space while addressing those mindset blocks that prevent you from feeling like your best self.
3. Declutter, purge, whatever you want to call it, clear out all the clutter that’s keeping you in a state of chaos. Truly evaluate what you have in your home and ask yourself what purpose it’s serving there, and if it truly deserves the space it’s occupying.

Tell us: what is your fave room to have fun with? What is the one room people struggle with the most?

For me, it’s almost always closets. There is something about dressing in a well-organized closet that just sets the tone for your day. It’s also the space people tend to neglect the most. Most people put more effort into keeping the common areas of their home organized, but run out of steam when it comes to their bedrooms and closets because it’s easier to neglect what’s behind closed doors. Plus, builders’ basic closets just don’t cut it for most of us. A few simple installations can totally change the functionality of the space, curating a wardrobe that actually makes you feel good about yourself and ridding the space of the unused and unwanted is so important and then properly sorting and organizing the clothes you love is the icing on the cake. We did a month-long story series about closet organization on Instagram; check it out here.

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