“Get Organized With The Home Edit” Cleverly Customizes Design Patterns To Meet Client Needs
This home organization show goes much deeper than chic containers and Instagram-worthy color-coding.
Organization Meets Design
I am drawn to “Get Organized With The Home Edit” because I love transformation. The closets, garages, kitchens, pantries, and playrooms start in a state of disorder (not unlike certain areas in my own home…). The “before” is a space that is difficult, if not impossible, to use. Understandably, the homeowners’ initial emotional state ranges from embarrassment to frustration to complete overwhelm.
This is where The Home Edit’s organizational wizards Clea and Joanna come in. Where others see mess, they see opportunity. When stepping into an untidy space, their minds kick into gear, charting a path from chaos to order. In fact, they have defined an entire design process dedicated to home organization:
Edit: Donate, throw out, or re-locate items that aren’t serving a purpose in the space
Categorize: Sort items into categories that make sense to you and your lifestyle
Contain: Organize the items into containers or other storage items
Maintain: Keep up with the new organization system, make changes as needed!
On the show, Clea and Joanna take care of the first three steps, with a focus on making it easy for the client to carry out step number four. The “after” shots of the newly organized spaces are jaw-dropping and jealousy-inducing. In addition to the striking visual appeal, these spaces are functional. Clients can locate and access what they need, and they have a set structure for putting things away.
While I became enamored with the organization transformations, I was also enthralled with the design principles that are at the heart of the show. In a way, Clea and Joanna are designing the UX and UI of a home. Like any good designer, they start this process with exploration and empathy.
Before Clea and Joanna start hatching an organizational scheme, they invest time to learn about the client and the space. They come from a place of curiosity and compassion — they don’t judge their clients! They ask questions to understand the problems and discover what goals they should reach for.
While The Home Edit is a brand with recognizable design patterns, Clea and Joanna never impose a solution that contradicts the client’s needs. Instead, they merge the insights about the client with their own design patterns. The result is a space that is lovingly tailored to the client.
Photograph by Anastasia Shuraeve via Pexels.
Clea and Joanna have a broad collection of design patterns they pull from when organizing. Here are 6 times when they adjusted a design pattern to fit a client’s unique context:
1. Color-coding for an avid sports fan
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Color-code hanging clothes and arrange them in rainbow order. This makes it easy to locate clothes and easily put them back.
Client-Centered Customization: When going through the “Edit” phase, Clea noticed that a client had a surprising amount of vibrant blue tops, dresses, and sweaters. The client explained that it’s the color of a local sports team. She frequently wears blue to support the team. Instead of using the typical rainbow order, The Home Edit team pulled the blue clothes out and created an entire zone in the closet dedicated to them.
Result: The client will have an easier time locating blue items to wear on game days, and she can enjoy the prominent placement of clothes that hold special significance.
2. Canisters for an allergy-conscious parent
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Pour items like rice, pasta, cereal, crackers, and pretzels into clear canisters. They look stylish, keep food fresh, and allow you to keep tabs on how food much is left.
Client-Centered Customization: One client was a die-hard fan of The Home Edit. She knew about their love of clear canisters, and asked them not to get rid of nutrition labels. She often has family over, and everyone has different allergies, so she needs to review ingredients. For staples like rice, grains, and snacks, Clea and Joanna used clear canisters and taped the nutrition label to the back.
Result: The client has the benefit of clear canisters without losing track of nutrition labels.
3. Garage sale section for an unscheduled sale
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Ask clients to part with items that they don’t plan to use.
Client-Centered Customization: One client had a few large bags full of old items that she planned to sell in a garage sale. When Clea and Joanna pressed about when this garage sale would be, the client wasn’t sure, but expressed that she really wanted to do it. Instead of pressuring the client to get rid of these items as the sale seemed faraway and even unlikely, The Home Edit team created a storage zone dedicated to the garage sale stash. The items were moved from garbage bags to clear bins, and everything was sorted and neatly arranged.
Result: The client was not pressured to throw away items that she could use in the future. With the items in clear bins, she could keep track of her stock and easily transfer items from the bins to sale tables.
4. Portable organization for frequent medical appointments
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Use a filing system that is stored on a shelf.
Client-Centered Customization: The clients had a son who had to visit the doctor often. This meant they needed access to a lot of his medical paperwork consistently. Instead of the usual system of storing something on a shelf, Clea and Joanna figured out how to turn a backpack into a portable file system.
Result: The clients will be able to grab and store the medical papers that are most pertinent to their son. This saves time and stress during difficult situations.
5. Bag exchange zone for a purse enthusiast
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Create separate zones for bags, shoes, and accessories in a closet
Client-Centered Customization: Clea and Joanna noticed that a client had a significant number of purses. They asked her if she changed bags frequently and she sheepishly said yes. Clea and Joanna explained that this was no problem at all — they had an idea for making this a smooth process. They set up a station in the closet that would allow the client to stay organized when she switched purses. The station included containers for essentials like keys, money, wallets, hand sanitizer, chapstick, sunglasses and other items that would be transferred from bag to bag.
Result: The client can readily move items between purses without making a mess in the closet.
6. Keepsake shadow box for a sentimental memory
The Home Edit’s Design Pattern: Have clients donate clothes that no longer fit, so the closet features only items that are useful.
Client-Centered Customization: During the edit stage, a client held up an old skirt and explained that it didn’t fit. She bought the skirt in her thirties with the plan to wear it in Paris on her 40th birthday. She made tons of life changes during that decade, and she did ultimately achieve her Paris birthday dream. Clea and Joanna loved the story and realized how special the skirt was to her life journey. To honor that memory, they arranged the skirt in a shadow box and hung it above a dresser.
Result: Instead of being stuffed in a drawer or donated to someone else, the skirt was featured in a prominent place in the bedroom. The client could admire it whenever she wanted and reflect on the story it held.
Photograph by Karolina Grabowska via Pexels.
Final Thoughts
Design is empowerment. The clients were struggling not due to any personal failure — their spaces were not designed to their needs. With the help of some experts, they now have a system that is functional, maintainable, and suited to their lifestyle.
Details matter! The finishing touches that Clea and Joanna are known for are more than just pomp and circumstance. These small details create delight and help people feel seen.
Organization — for digital products and physical spaces — is hard work. The show is about 40 minutes long, so we only get a glimpse of a process that took hours or days. When something is being overhauled and changed, it takes so much planning, effort, and problem solving.