Before and After: Barbara Reich Transforms a NYC Apartment on WPIX

Organizer extraordinaire, Barbara Reich, recently came to the rescue of a busy single mom who sent out a decluttering SOS for her cramped one-bedroom apartment in New York City.

Lisa Meshalum shared the small space with her triplet boys and decided it was time for some serious spring cleaning. After seeing the chaos, Barbara’s goal was to free up more space and make the apartment feel like home for Lisa and her three boys rather than a crowded storage unit.

Before Barbara worked her magic, Lisa was dealing with a living room (that also doubled as her bedroom) with storage boxes piled up to the ceiling and no personal space of her own:

Lisa’s kitchen was also in desperate need of an overhaul, with crowded countertops and more storage boxes taking up valuable space in the room:

In the closet, Lisa struggled with keeping her shoes contained with enough space to organize her clothes efficiently:

After some serious decluttering, Barbara was able to completely transform Lisa’s space. In the living room, Barbara removed the storage bins to free up valuable space and added an organizers to give Lisa more privacy:

ClosetMaid SuiteSymphony and Fabric Bins

With Barbara’s help in the kitchen, much-needed countertop space was cleared off by utilizing cabinet storage space. For better kitchen organization, Barbara suggests thinking about what makes sense in your space, such as keeping plates close to the sink and grouping similar items together.

In Lisa’s closet, shoes were neatly organized with cube organizers, and her closet space was doubled with a Closet Maximizer, which will save this busy mom precious time in the mornings by being able to find what she needs quickly.

ClosetMaid 25 Shoe Cube Organizer and Closet Maximizer

For a little extra organization help, Barbara also added a 6-Shelf Hutch Bookcase in Lisa’s entryway to display cherished memories and keepsakes.

ClosetMaid 6-Shelf Hutch Bookcase

With the help of Barbara’s transformation and Lisa’s commitment to declutter, the apartment now finally feels like home for Lisa and her three boys.

To see more of the transformation, check out the WPIX segment here and learn more about Barbara’s work as a professional organizer here.

For more organization and lifestyle tips, visit ClosetMaid.com, and check out all of our other channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Houzz and Flickr.