Louise has been working with my wife for over the past several months in different areas of our home to sort through, prioritize, discard, recycle, repurpose, and reorganize with a purpose. It’s like giving a room a long overdue liposuction treatment.

Last week Louise came and we tackled our kitchen walk-in pantry, where a several year accumulation of “stuff” had put such a stranglehold on the area that you could hardly walk in and turn around. Although an archeologist would have loved the treasure of the densely packed kitchen hardware and packaged / canned foods, we didn’t. It had become difficult to remember what was really there, and all too often we would re-purchase things because we couldn’t remember where the item was, or just forget about it.

Louise started by setting up 2 tables, and then pulled EVERYTHING out of the constipated pantry, and we started the sorting process. We ended up with piles for each of our kids, donations, garbage, recycle, reidentify. Then we placed categories of goods and appliances into appropriate clear plastic bins, each clearly identified by a big readable tag. Then she placed the tubs on the shelves in a systematic manner where the most frequently used ones were the easiest to reach.

Now, it is a joy to go into the pantry knowing that everything is known, and in the right place. What used to be an instant rush of stress entering the pantry is now a soothing calm. It sounds weird, but sometimes I go in there just because it feels so good to look around and see everything so organized.

The final touch Louise does is that she removes the donation items from the house and takes them to where they are destined.

Louise is pleasant to be around, never criticizes, gasps, faints, or makes you feel inadequate. Her sense of humor really helps make the job go easy. And she is a hard worker, always keeping the process moving and not getting bogged down.

TopShelf is really top shelf. I give her my highest marks.