coriander in pho

A couple of days ago, I had a professional organizer helped me tackling down my kids’ room. I asked the kids, though! And they agreed to have someone checking and “fixing” their rooms; hence, Ms. Iffah and her team from IZ Organizing helping me with the process.

Right off the bat, I found some interesting behavior from my kids. When Iffah asked them about their room and their preferences, both Wira and Rey were hesitant in answering. Not from anxiety or nervousness, but from uncertainty. A lot of “well, this situation has been working for me for a long time, so I don’t know how to improve this”-answers and “I don’t know what I like and dislike about this room.” I, however, kinda expected such answers, though! They are still children (whether they like it or not!), and most of the decision making processes made by me or Ari. In this case, they didn’t know better and had no certain level of expectations. I told Iffah and Joyce (Joyce is Iffah’s partner in the team) that I hope the kids would have a set of expectations and standards as a start after having their rooms tackled by a professional.

Anyone with teens in their home would say that these rooms were “okay-ish” and the floor is still visible to the human’s eyes. That said, I honestly felt that this could be better. Also, Rey’s bed was on the verge of collapsing with two or three boards already falling apart.

Iffah and Joyce had a couple of site visits to get to know the kids better, which, I really appreciate. Preteens and teens have a certain degree of privacy and autonomy, and I want to respect my kids’. I also told Wira and Rey that while I, as their mom, would love to see clean and tidy rooms, I also wanted them to feel comfortable in their own room with uninterrupted flow. After the site visits, Iffah and Joyce then went to work. Between the dates of site visit and the actual organizing day, Iffah kept me updated on her progress and her choices of storage options, be it a Shopee purchase, Muji, or IKEA’s. The organizing day itself took two days with each day for each room. I am pleased to say that the kids loved the result, and even moreso me!

Since Rey’s bed was beyond help, we decided to get her a new one, and this time, a loft bed so she can have more space for study and play.

Due to the kids’ privacy, I’m not showing close-up pictures of how their belongings got organized. However, you can check Iffah’s portfolio on her Instagram account here.

Even after we concluded the organizing service, I admit that I learned a lot from Iffah and Joyce. I particularly love how they put such a heavy emphasis on movement flow, “everything has its place”, and priorities: “For things that rarely used, it’s okay to put them quite far from our reach. Make sure there is a place for everything that we have.” I then applied the same method in my kitchen, and this time, armed with my trusty label maker, hahah.

I think it’s fair to say that for most housewives, especially the middle-aged ones like me, storage boxes AND glass jars are considered as a collection at this point. That said, I rearranged my boxes depending on the usage frequency. Those I frequently use for food and ingredients storage are located within reach, while the ones that I rarely use are located a bit further and higher.

For some glass/ceramic containers, I put them on a lower section due to safety.

We also have quite an amount of water bottles and beverage containers, and it was a nightmare to see. I am glad to say that it’s now more pleasing to look at.

If you are interested in labeling some areas or storage spaces in your home, please note that you are NOT required to purchase a label maker. Honestly, a marking/painter tape and a Sharpie marker would do. Also, quite contrary with what people thought, labeling the areas actually helps in reducing confusion and clutter. At least now I know where to find things and where should I put them back, hahah!