Now that we are in November and just weeks away from Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!!), I’ve started jotting down to-dos in preparation for our out-of-town guests. Doing things like stocking up on the basics, creating a storage plan and making your guest room homey will make your company feel more comfortable during their stay.

I don’t think it’s too early to talk about your plan on how to keep the faux spider webs, plastic pumpkins, and creepy decorations contained until next October. If there is one thing I know from organizing countless basements, garages, and storage closets it’s that a good box and a descriptive label will not only save you money in the long run, but keep you from unnecessarily adding to your collection of holiday-inspired decor. Here are 3 super simple tips that I promise will save you money and make decorating and un-decorating frustration-free.

With both business and personal new beginnings, life has brought such wonderful things that I am beyond grateful for and couldn’t have predicted, like new clients, projects, opportunities, relationships, the feeling of security, routine, and more. I have come to find that making time for both work and play, focusing on not making more clutter and writing EVERYTHING down has helped me get through the rollercoaster of life.

Over the years I have worked with some amazing interior designers on client projects and one of our most recent collaborations was on a family home featured in the cover story of The Washington Post Magazine Fall Home and Design issue. Our focus in this house was to make sure that everything was categorized, organized, and easy to see and access so that no time was wasted spent running around looking for what they needed, wanted, or thought they should have but couldn’t locate.

It was time for a change and something major: a rebranding of Rachel and Company. I had an idea of what I liked and what I wanted, and realized it wasn’t as easy as going blonde! That’s when I met Marcela, a branding expert and designer for one of my favorite brands (Framebridge), and she offered to redesign my logo and create a new look and feel for Rachel and Company. Take a look.

I am a neat freak, but I am not organized.” Since cleaning and organizing often go hand in hand, many people lump them together, when they are truly different.Once you get organized, it is a lot easier to clean and manage your life. Trust me. There’s less to clean, and it’s easier to do because everything has a place. So, now that you’re spring cleaning (and hopefully organizing!), here are 3 quick, easy tips to get started on spring organizing.

You walk into a store for organizing products, or type in “color coded folders,” or “best storage containers” online, and your entire world turns upside down. So many choices. So many customer reviews. It’s madness. Even I can feel overwhelmed and get distracted if I don’t filter through all the gorgeous new containers to get to the ones I know will work well for my clients, their spaces, their aesthetics and their budget. Here is how I navigate purchasing organizational products without getting overwhelmed.

Happy 2016! This post will be longer than usual, but we have a lot of catching up to do! Then, let’s get organized! The end of 2015 was both exciting and overwhelming. My assistant of five and a half years left, even more clients came to us with big projects — from closet design to professional organizing to corporate events to organized moves (some out of state!) — and we decided to merge Rachel and Company and Organized in a Box, all under the umbrella of Rachel and Company. 

Our last organized gift guide is for the men in our lives. . They would never admit it, but guys have just as much stuff (dare I even say sometimes more!) than us gals, so they need help organizing, too! Whether it’s in the garage, car, closet or while traveling, there are lots of great organizing gifts to help the gentlemen get all of their belongings in order.

We have put together a gift guide for kids: all the organizing gifts that they would want and actually use. Gifts are expected this time of year, especially by kids, so why not pick a gift from our gift guide for kids that they will help with clutter..not cause it!