Celebrating 28 years of saving you TIME and MONEY

Finding You Order, Peace of Mind & Beauty

As 2020 draws to a close, the Changing Places team reflects on the year that was. Gratitude is the first word that occurs to us. We’re grateful for our clients, partners, hard-working staff and our collective health.

We’re grateful for the very mission we serve: to create order, peace of mind and beauty. Throughout this difficult year, as we’re spending more time at home, it is so gratifying to help our clients make order out of clutter, simplify and beautify their homes.

In this issue, we offer solutions to some of the nagging items on your “home to-do list” and expert tips to create more space.

December 24, 2020

Finding You Order, Peace of Mind & Beauty

In this issue, we offer solutions to some of the nagging items on your “home to-do list” and expert tips to create more space.

September 1, 2020

Distance Learning & The Organized Home

Photo: New York Times

We at Changing Places have run out of adjectives to describe life in the “new COVID-19 era”–different, challenging and uncertain are a few. Adding a layer of stress to our lives here in Northern California? The wildfires that are still raging in several counties, threatening homes and life and sanity. Oh, and school just started for many of our kids.

We know this much is true: Your home should be your haven. It should be a place where you find refuge, calm, peace and comfort. The dynamic and stressful world outside should stay outside.

The Optimal Kid’s Workspace

For most American families, the new school year has begun remotely from home, aka “distance learning”. We’ve collected several great tips to optimize the calm and order in your home, while also creating a productive learning space for your kids.

This New York Times article provides awesome tips for setting up a great, productive remote learning space for your kids:

Carve out space for schoolwork based on your child’s age and learning style.
Consider a rolling cart for moving school supplies from room to room on the fly.
A label maker can transform any workspace into one that feels neat and organized.
Hang a large white board in your kids’ work area and, depending on their age, use it to help them chart their various meetings and tasks, or do so for your entire family.
Headphones are not so much an organizational tool as they are a sanity tool. If you’re trying to work while one kid watches Khan Academy and the other enjoys Sesame Street, you’ll be glad for a set of headphones.

Read more

August 7, 2020

Best of Marin, 11 years in a row!

Best of Marin, 11 years in a row!

We are thrilled and honored to announce
that we have been voted
Best Home Organizer
for the 11th year in a row.

Thank you for your support!

We could not do it without our fantastic industry partners and our amazing clients.

Sheltering in Place Remotely?

Let us get your home ready for market or get you moved into your new home while you are remote. During COVID 19, the Changing Places team has successfully worked with several clients virtually. We can simply jump-start your move, or manage the entire move and organizing process from start to finish! You will have peace of mind while comfortably advising from afar.

July 10, 2020

Summer is the new Spring!

Summer is the new Spring!

What used to be a bustling Spring "selling season" for home sellers has turned into a Summer one. The award-winning Changing Places team is already hard at work preparing our clients' home for sale. We're working virtually and on-site, using COVID safety protocols. We're expertly moving our clients forward and meeting "listing-ready" deadlines, too.

How can we help you get ready to list?

Our services include de-cluttering, staging, consignment, donation, finding the perfect mover, arranging cleaning services, furniture repair, digitizing memorabilia, and more!

May 1, 2020

Find Calm and Plan Your Move While Staying Home

April 28, 2020 by Margaret Fearey Walsh of Changing Places, Inc.

Changing Places founder & president Margaret Fearey Walsh and her award-winning team offer wise advice to help us survive and thrive while we stay at home.

Virtual Move Preparation Now While You’re Home

Right now, we crave family and community. Our Changing Places team is truly a family of men and women in business for 27 years–offering moving and relocation help all over the Bay Area. Our focus is downsizing, moving, organizing, and staging at our clients’ homes. Our mission is to create order, peace of mind, and beauty.

Amid the pandemic, Changing Places and movers are deemed essential services. Just last month, we were honored to help a family who lost a home in the Sonoma County fires move into their dream home in Healdsburg. We are essential and we are here for you.

During this time of sheltering in place, our team offers our relocation services to clients virtually to orchestrate and plan every aspect of the move process.

This newfound time at home is the perfect opportunity clear the clutter and find peace of mind in your household. We’re all spending more time cooking, cleaning and baking with our kids.

April 28, 2020

Kitchen Organizing Tips

Help your kitchen live up to its full potential with the right organization tricks. Our area-specific ideas will get your most essential room in the house organized—and rid yourself of “clutter anxiety” for good.

1) Sort:

Tips before you start to sort “Like with like” is the key. As you review items in your kitchen, edit out anything that is:

broken/chipped
outdated
stained/torn
duplicated too many times
starting to take up space instead of being useful

2) Do:

Shelf lining: This will help preserve the condition of your shelves and drawers from accidental spills and rubbing from metal and/or plastic. This is especially helpful whether you’re a new home owner or renting. Assess current lining; if you’re reusing, clean and reinstall. This is a good time to switch out shelf lining if you don’t love your current product. We recommend lining under sinks throughout home as well as any high “traffic” area (e.g. mudroom cubbies, pantry shelves, laundry room detergent shelves, etc.). No liner is needed for glass shelves.

March 31, 2020

The Changing Places Survival Guide to Sheltering in Place

THE CHANGING PLACES SURVIVAL GUIDE
TO SHELTERING-IN-PLACE

Now, more than ever, the Changing Places mission to create order, peace of mind, and beauty, rings true. These jarring times bring uncertainty, anxiety and disorder.

We feel passionately that offering the resources we cultivated over the last two weeks is a gift we can give you: our clients, partners and friends.

How are you and your loved ones doing? Send us a quick note to let us know what your new “normal” looks like.

We’re all in this together.

Breathe. Connect. Stay positive.

With gratitude,
Margaret Walsh, Katie Carr & The Changing Places Team

Changing Places is here for you:

TO CREATE ORDER

Order begins with clarity.

We’ve been amazed how many of us don’t fully understand what COVID-19 is. This enlightening video explains it calmly, clearly and scientifically.
Are you struggling to keep your kids engaged and homeschooling even when their schoolwork is done for the day? Khan Academy is an amazing resource, with its library of trusted, standards-aligned practice and. And even better: it's all free!
Have you found yourself clearing out your closet/garage/spare room? Read these tips on what to do with your extra stuff while you’re stuck at home.

March 24, 2020

Unpacking & Organizing Strategies for a Fresh Start in Your New Home

You’ve probably heard the thoroughly researched data that moving is one of the most stressful of life events, ahead of divorce or a break up. Finding the best moving company, coordinating packing, and then dealing with a dysfunctional home for weeks after moving day are huge contributors to this stress.

Fortunately we’re here to help get your home organized as fast as possible. If you’re looking for some practical, easy-to-understand tips for stress-free unpacking, take a look at this unpacking article from lifestyle website thespruce.com. Some highlights:

Get the essentials unpacked first, then take your time with the rest of the house.
Plan each room before you unpack too many boxes.
Anticipate future needs. Rather than putting off work—such as lining cabinet shelves or installing closet organizers—do it now, when it is most efficient.
Let each member of the family unpack their own bedroom, as applicable. This allows kids to participate in the event.

Are You Ready
To Get Organized?

Let’s get your project moving today

March 1, 2020

Spring Home Organizing Tips

Spring has sprung! Are you organized?

Start by studying how you and your family move about your house. Recognize how you utilize each room, and how often you’re there–this will help prioritize your organizing. We’re offering some basic and clever tips for overall home calm:

1. RESIST THE PILE HABIT
Most of us walk into our house with purses, groceries, keys, and more. An intuitive “drop zone” off your main entryway creates a home for essential items. It may include a key rack, an inbox for kids’ artwork or bills, or an attractive container for everyday items.
Bonus: Find space in your entryway for a custom–or makeshift–mudroom area.