"Listen in for some inspiration (and motivation) from a true organizational expert, Sabrina Gardner of Salt by Sabrina" - Alice Lane Home

I sat down with the incredibly talented Jessica Bennet and Suzanne Hall to discuss the power of organization and how to enhance your interior arrangements. Jess and Suz are the women behind Alice Lane, a luxury interior design company that has been featured in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, House Beautiful and so many more. Their lovely team arrived at my home to record the podcast in my Salt office, bringing with them delicious Swig drinks and treats for everyone!

We settled in to discuss my absolute favorite topics; home organization, non-profits and design. 

Here are some of the key takeaways from the podcast:

• How to Begin Organizing Your Home
• Five Steps to Organization
• Peace in the Chaos - Why I started Salt by Sabrina
• Salt Tips & Tricks

You can listen to the podcast here: The Power of Organization with Sabrina | Enhance Your Interior Spaces

HOW TO START ORGANIZING YOUR HOME

“I always recommend starting in the kitchen. It is typically the most used space, but it can be the most frustrating. Within the kitchen, start small. Start with a single drawer. Pick the drawer that you need to function better. It really changes the way you feel about that drawer. It’s going to become a self-motivating process. It’s going to make you happy when you open it so you are going to want to roll that into the next drawer and the next cabinet and it’s not going to feel so overwhelming.”

FIVE STEPS TO ORGANIZATION

Once you pick a space to organize and a drawer to start with, how do you get it organized? I break down the organization process into five easy steps.

1. Assess the space. What do you use that room for?
2. Assign each drawer or cabinet a job (holding kitchen utensils, space for hair products).
3. Clean out the drawer or cabinet completely; start fresh, get rid of junk, keep what you need.
4. Install organizers made to fit your drawers and contents.
5. Organize the space.

Following these simple steps breaks organization down into achievable pieces. First, ask yourself how you use the space. Then, get more specific and ask what the purpose is for each drawer or cabinet? If your drawer is next to the stove, it may be ideal to have the job of holding your hot pads or spatulas. If your drawer is in the bathroom next to the sink, it can hold your brushes, facewash and toothpaste. After assessing the space and assigning a purpose or a job to each drawer or cabinet, you will want to completely empty it out. This way you can go through what you have, get rid of junk, and keep only the things that you use. 

The next step is to install an organizer or container that will help keep things neat and tidy inside the drawer or cabinet. It is best to pick an organizer that is made to utilize the space efficiently. The best organizers are those that are made to perfectly fit drawer and contain the contents found inside. The last piece is to put back your essential items into the newly cleaned space. The transformation will be so satisfying!

“It’s like when you decorate a space and how it changes, and it becomes beautiful and inviting. It’s the same thing with organization. When we organize a drawer, it becomes a joy to open. We’ve taken something frustrating and turned it into something magical.” – Sabrina

PEACE IN THE CHAOS

Suzanne and Jessica asked about how Salt by Sabrina began. In 2020, the pandemic shut down the world. I think we all felt the uncertainty of such an unprecedented situation. The chaos surrounding all of us was taking its toll. I was looking for something to bring peace into our home and found that organization was the answer. 

“All the things going on outside kind of went away and we had a place that we could retreat to. In that moment I feel like I saw how powerful organization really was. It was so much more than just a clean house; it was this emotional peace that we could feel in the middle of all the turmoil going on.”

The custom drawer organizer was the first product I designed at Salt. We talked about why this was such a game-changer. Drawer organizers have traditionally been a one size fits all approach and there were also no solutions available for a deep drawer organizer at all. I spent the next 18 months designing our custom drawer organizers that are perfectly fit to any size drawer deep or shallow.

“Thinking about the organizers in my own drawers that I have pieced together, there is a lot of negative (unused) space. It’s just rattling around in there.” – Jessica Bennett

How many of us have pieced together “organizers” to try and utilize our drawer space better? How much money have you spent on organizers that don’t fit and that aren’t really what you wanted? The Salt by Sabrina custom drawer organizers allow you to custom fit an organizer to your specific drawer in the exact layout you need.

“They are not your typical drawer organizers, they are designed and built specifically for you. It makes your brain happy to see a perfect drawer organizer that is your very own. You don’t have to go to an organization store and guess.” – Jessica Bennett

Organization is like design. Everything is personal. Trust your gut and find what works for you. There is no right or wrong answer. We all go through our days differently and so our homes need to function to meet those needs. If my kids do homework in the kitchen, it makes sense for me to have a kitchen drawer organizer that is filled with homework supplies, so those tools are easy to access and close at hand. Make your organizational systems work for you!

SALT TIPS AND TRICKS

1. If you can do it fast, do it now.
2. Use your space efficiently, creating more storage in the same amount of space.
3. There is no such thing as a junk drawer. 
4. Alway use clear containers. 
5. Try to keep an empty drawer or shelf in your home, allowing for the unexpected. 

“If you have a tape measure, that’s all you need.” – Jessica Bennett

The final piece in putting together the Salt brand was finding a way to integrate our passion for non-profits and specifically the foster care space. I wanted to have an impact right from the start. I partnered with America's Kids Belong (AKB), an organization dedicated to finding permanent homes for children in foster care. Salt donates $1 from every organizer sold to AKB, helping to find a place for everything and everyone. Everything we do takes on greater meaning as we support incredible organizations working to do good in the world.

Thank you to the entire Dear Alice team for allowing me to be part of your incredible podcast! Check out the Alice Lane Design team at www.alicelanehome.com and follow them @alicelanehome on Instagram.