Nbc 5 Chicago's Tips of The Trade - Pooja gugnani, organizing with you

[music intro] >> GUGNANI: Hi, I'm Pooja Gugnani, professional organizer in Chicago. With life getting increasingly busy, your home is often the first place where disorganization can manifest. Today I'm here with one of my clients, and my goal is to help her tackle some of the cluttered areas of her space, and give her some great ideas, which I hope you can use in your own home. So, let's get to work! [music] >> CLIENT: Hi, my name is Gauri. My husband and I moved to this townhouse about a year and a half ago. When we moved here, our daughter was due in two months, So, we quickly unpacked things to wherever they would go at the time. And now that it's a year and a half later, I'm expecting my second child, so there really hasn't been time to get to the organizing that's necessary. [music] >> GUGNANI: Hey! >> CLIENT: Hi Pooja! >> BOTH: Nice to see you. >> CLIENT: Ready to get to work? >> GUGNANI: Yup! >> CLIENT: OK, let's go! [music] >> CLIENT: Well, this is where Nicki plays. So, she needs to be able to play with her toys but then she needs to be able to easily put them away. [music] >> CLIENT: So, our home office is a state of some real disorganization. Usually I just clear it all off to the side when I need to and work. [music] >> GUGNANI: I really want to begin with Gauri's home office. There's a lot of clutter on the surface. Always start with surfaces first, because this gives you more room to work with. [music] >> GUGNANI: As I'm sorting through these papers, I'm noticing that there are just a lot of papers that need immediate attention, so I'm going to create a 'take-action' area for them. [music] >> GUGNANI: We're all finished with the home office. We've categorized all of the papers that were on the surface of this desk into one of three categories. We also created a filing system for Gauri. If you don't have a filing cabinet that's okay, you can file your papers into binders and then place them on the bookshelf. [music] >> GUGNANI: I wanted to save the family room for last. This is the area where the most clashing of ideas occurs. For this project I recommended sorting toys by the type of toy. Stuffed toys, books, electronic toys, and Legos. Toy bins don't have to be an eyesore. These wicker baskets also match the decor of the space. Putting a picture of the type of toy in front of each basket is a great way to train your child at an early age on where to put things away when done playing with it. [music] >> CLIENT: Pooja did a really good job organizing the various spaces in our home that needed de-cluttering. I'm most excited about the home office. Now it's clean and organized, and I can work properly from there when I need to. [music] >> GUGNANI: So remember: when you're organizing your own space keep it simple and functional, because when you lose clutter, you gain control. [music outro]