In a day and time when people are living in a tizzy from the morning rush hour and from one activity to the next, running on less-than-ideal hours of sleep and busy to-do-list days, organization of the home seems to be an unattainable goal.
Clutter fills closets with clothes that “maybe I will wear one day” and attics stacked with boxes of unexplored and unreachable last season’s decorations. Old paper bills and junk mail peek out of desk drawers waiting to be filed or dropped into the trash bin. Streamlining and simplifying your home and workspace from clutter will leave you refreshed and rejuvenated.
Cassidy Turnage Majure, who has a knack for organizing and an eye for cleanliness, turned her talents into a business as a professional organizer. Chaos to Clean by Cassidy serves clients to transform the insurmountable mess of clutter to a haven for organization and simplicity. Cassidy, a Jackson, Mississippi native, graduated from Jackson Prep in 2013. She continued her education at the University of Mississippi, graduating in May 2017 with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership. While a sophomore at Ole Miss, she founded her organizing business. After graduation, Cassidy began working full time with her business, Chaos to Clean by Cassidy.
Jenny Cox, Writer and Content Creator of Jenny Writes, visited with Cassidy Turnage Majure, owner of Chaos to Clean by Cassidy, for valuable organizing advice and tips to create clutter free homes and workspaces. Cassidy, tell our readers about yourself – what brought you to your career as a professional organizer? How did you get started?
I've enjoyed organizing for as long as I can remember. When I was a child at spend-the night parties, I would practically force my friends to clean out and get rid of things like clothes and toys they no longer used. Parents loved it when I was over! When I was a sophomore at Ole Miss and home for my six week Christmas holiday, I decided to start my own business. It started out as a few closets here and there for family and friends; I never dreamed my business would grow the way it has. In August 2017, I began Chaos to Clean full-time. It's very clear there is a need for this service in the Jackson metro area and throughout our state. Being organized is something that is so good for everyone's peace of mind. It just makes life simpler.
What special services do you offer to clients?
We organize anything and everything! Closets, kitchen pantries, garages, attics, junk drawers, storage units, laundry rooms, playrooms, offices - and the list goes on and on!
We also help clients who are about to list their homes for sale by getting rid of things that make their house look cluttered; it not only shows better, but helps them avoid packing items they do not need or use and moving them from one house to the next!
Decluttering your home when you’re selling makes the spaces, closets, and cabinets, look so much bigger and allows prospective buyers to envision themselves in that house. In addition to decluttering and organizing, Chaos to Clean offers packing and unpacking services specializing in, but not limited to: kitchen items such as fine china, everyday dishes and serving pieces, closet and bathroom contents, knick knacks, and other fragile items around the home. As clients purge, we will facilitate the process of taking items to be donated, consigned, or trashed.
Do you have any tips or mottos that can serve as guidance for a client to determine what in their home falls into the category of keep, discard, or donate?
We have certain questions we ask clients to guide them on the decision-making process of what to keep, donate, or trash! Even I admit, it’s much easier for me to help clients with their things rather than doing my own. I think that’s why we have been so successful these past (almost) six years; it takes another set of eyes and perspective to come in and view your spaces from a different angle to determine what’s important and useful versus what isn’t.
Where do you find the biggest source of clutter inside homes? In kitchen drawers or cabinets? In attics?
That’s a tricky question because it totally depends on the client and their interests. If a client loves to cook, they may have too many pots and pans; if another client is a fashionista who loves clothes and shoes, that’s where they might have the most clutter!
With regards to women and men, what areas of the home do they need the most help in organizing?
Most often, I would say a kitchen or pantry. These are spaces that everyone in the household uses. I also suggest these areas, most specifically the pantry, to be where clients begin the organizing process if they have numerous projects they want to tackle around the home.
Pantries are good to start because there’s really no room for any sentimental attachments. It’s either expired or it’s not. More times than not, there’s a lot of expired items that we throw away. People just don’t take the time to go through and do that sort of thing; but once they see their pantry transformed and how great the purging felt, clients get on a roll and want to continue that throughout their house!
What advice would you give men on items that you see in abundance that fill garages, mudrooms, or attics?
We start by finding out what they use. For example, a garage may have six shovels; but if the family isn’t likely to do their own lawn, we would suggest maybe cutting back to two shovels. There’s always old paint or chemicals which we can safely dispose of for the client. Honestly, most clients don’t purge as much as we want them to or think they should; so Chaos to Clean does a great job in maximizing all available space and grouping all like items together. Then, when a client sees a container full of 10 cans of insect repellant, he knows they are stocked up and do not need to purchase anymore for a while.
For women, what creates the most clutter-filled closets, kitchens, and bathrooms?
It’s all about the clients, their lifestyles, and interests. Some of our customers (both men and women) have most clutter in their closets OR their bathrooms OR their kitchen or ALL the above! Many of the traditional household roles have changed; and we have husbands who do all the cooking and tend to accumulate duplicates of everything or keep old, stained Tupperware!
Then we’ve had wives who are super handy, but have 12 hammers. I’ve also found there’s not enough hours in the day. This is true for not only clients, but me as well. We are constantly buying, but rarely making the time to clean out and get rid of. Ideally, if you purchase something new, you should get rid of something at the same time but that rarely happens. It’s just life!
How would you organize a workspace for academic studies for students and at-home work for adults?
We did a lot of this during the pandemic shutdown. If a client were fortunate enough to have a playroom in their home, we tried to make the schooling area become a section in the playroom. Likewise for the adults, if there were a home office, we carved out a space for work from home. Not everyone had the same setup, so we used the dining room for work from home and the living room for homeschooling, as an example. This all worked fine because it was temporary. However, if this were someone’s full-time situation with adults working from home and children being homeschooled, then I would come in and formulate a long-term plan.
What advice would you give a client with the daunting task of where to begin with organizing?
If you're wanting to get inspired and get organized, I always recommend starting in the pantry! That is an area that's black and white when it comes to throwing away versus keeping. You start going through everything and there’s usually more expired than you thought. Once you start pitching expired items and seeing how awesome it feels to clean out, it motivates you to continue throughout your home!
What are your favorite tips for cleaning out and organizing closets? Attics/Garages?
For closets, "No Wire Hangers!" I love the slim, felt hangers the best; but all matching hangers makes the biggest difference. For attics and garages, we put everything in clear, plastic bins and label them very specifically. I always say, "keep like with like," which means if one bin is Christmas decorations then don't intermix Halloween decor in with that. Give every category its own space. For all organizing in general, my best tip is to group everything into categories. “Like with Like”, is probably my motto!
What do you like most about what you do?
I love the people we meet and form relationships with and, of course, the people I work with! I've met many incredible people and made a lot of great friends. I love the actual organizing part of my career of course; but most importantly, I love the people I meet and the joy they get from my work.
What do you see the most that seems to create the most clutter in homes? What advice do you have for a solution?
It really does vary from house to house, project to project. The best advice I can give to anyone is to donate, sell or trash what you no longer have a use for. It’s much easier said than done! This is one reason I believe the demand for our professional organizing services has been so great.
Do you have any favorite charities that you advise your clients to use to donate their unused clothes or home goods?
We usually take all the donations away for the client. We donate linens, blankets, and towels to either Cheshire Abbey (an animal rescue) or Shower Power (an organization that provides showers to the homeless). Clients will accumulate toiletries from hotel stays or trips to Target and we donate many toiletries to Shower Power as well.
After a successful day of purging there are usually LOTS of bags full that need to be donated so the fact we handle the drop offs, helps the client tremendously. We take things to Goodwill, Real McCoy Thrift Store & Boutique, Gateway, and other local charities. When a client is moving or has a large amount to donate, we arrange a pickup with Gateway – they are super reliable, friendly, and appreciative of the donations!
Those who have young children seem to have toys scattered throughout living areas of the home from children’s playtime. What is a simple way to organize those favorite and well-played toys for the kiddos?
In my opinion, when children have too many toys in front of them, it’s overstimulating! If the home has a playroom or wherever the designated area is for toys, I suggest putting the majority of toys in a closet in organized bins. If there’s no closet space or shelving, I love these cube organizer systems with fabric basket inserts to organize the toys in categories and give them their set “home”.
I encourage parents to only allow enough toys out that can fit in the designated basket(s). I recommend having toys in ONE area. I understand if you have babies that area may be the living room so you can keep an eye on them while they play, and you get things done. Wherever the "toy area" may be, keep it that way. Try to avoid letting toys spill into other rooms and overtake your house.
In a day and time when most photos are taken by telephone, people still love to peruse photo albums or children’s art project scrapbooks. What services do you offer to organize photos and artwork?
I love, love, love getting children's artwork turned into a photo book masterpiece. I have many clients who have bins upon bins of kid’s art and school mementos. Once you transform that artwork to a photo book, you will be amazed at how much space is reclaimed.
What are some of your favorite places to find baskets or containers for stylish and efficient organizing? Do you have any advice for certain types to purchase for children’s rooms, kitchens, closets?
I won’t give away all my tips and tricks, but we send clients direct links and quantities of what to order so the supplies are there for us upon arrival. If a client rather we order the material, we can. What we need for a project depends on the task at hand, the space available and the dimensions of said area.
What I do for one closet, I might not do for the next. This is where my expertise comes into play for deciding what needs to be where and what material we need to get it there! It really is what will work best in each space, maximizing every inch possible, and what system(s) will work best for the client.
How would you describe your style as an organizer?
My style would be simple and balanced. I like to use the same or similar products for organizing so that everything is balanced, easy on the eye and atheistically pleasing.
What do you like most about what you do?
The challenge that every project brings me. No two spaces are the same so after each consultation, I spend time figuring up what will be the best way to utilize the space.
How far in advance do you need for a client to schedule your services?
I’m typically booked out about two weeks for consultations, which is required before we begin the actual organizing process. After the consult, we can usually schedule organizing about two or three weeks after that. I come up with the plan and materials needed; then my team implements that plan!
What’s your goal with each of your clients?
That's something I ask the client before each job. I need to know their goals and what’s bothering them first; then my goal becomes to create a system that works for them and exceeds their expectations. I've been fortunate to work with, and for, the best of the best! My clients are so inspiring to me. They allow us to transform spaces completely from what they’re used to! I’m so thankful for their trust in my vision of just how great spaces can become. We make things more functional and organized which helps the entire household run smoother.
Do you have a motto or favorite quote that motivates you to help your clients with decluttering their favorite spaces at home or work?
I really don’t! We have certain questions we ask that guide the client, but the ideas just come to me.
Can you tell us how to reach you through social media?
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