Meet Emily, Founder of Essential Organizing in Seattle, WA
Hi, I'm Emily. I love my job because I help people create beautiful and functional homes, filled with what matters to them. I work with clients all over the Seattle area and Eastside, primarily with busy families and retirees who don’t know where to start or just don’t have the time to organize and decorate on their own.
Home organizing has made me happy since I was a child when I used to organize friends’ homes without asking (I ask now). In my former career as a marketing and communications professional, I regularly took a vacation day on my birthday to maximize my closet organization system. Now every day is like my birthday!
I trained at the Institute for Professional Organizers, am a national and local member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, and have experience in the 5S organization method of lean manufacturing. I approach this work from a positive perspective, not negative. Whether we’re organizing your closet, kitchen, office, or to-do list, there’s nothing “wrong” with you or how you organize now. Instead, we’ll talk about what’s important to you and build from there.
I also offer practical and affordable interior decorating services. My philosophy is that a beautiful home is an organized home. While many clients come to me for just decorating, I often suggest opportunities to organize first. This ensures your space is functional and allows us to make smarter, more impactful decorating choices together. I'm not competing with high-end, luxury interior decorators; I'm your trusted partner for making stylish, personal improvements to your home, one throw pillow at a time.
I live with my husband, Wendell, and our son in Northeast Seattle. I know what it's like to rush from one thing to the next and not always get to spend the time making your home what you'd like it to be. Together, we can transform your space and make sure it supports your life.
Meet Wendell Santos — Photo Organizer
Hi, I'm Wendell. After several decades in tech, I decided to create my own path — one that combined two things I've always loved: organizing information so it makes sense and is actionable (I have a master's degree in information management) and photography.
I joined Essential Organizing to bring the same practical, non-judgmental approach to one of the most overlooked organizing projects in most people's homes: their photos. One of my first projects was organizing Emily's photo collection. She had 140,000 digital photos — which, for someone who professionally helps people let go of things they don't need, is a lot of photos — and 30 years of physical photo albums.
I'm a member of The Photo Managers, the professional association for photo organizing specialists, and I work with both physical and digital collections — from shoeboxes of inherited prints to tens of thousands of digital files scattered across multiple devices.
I enjoy figuring out the best and most practical solution for every photo collection that allows you to most enjoy and access the memories they bring.