About Janice

Janice Eckstein spent 30 years running the operations of an alarm company. She brings the same habits to a kitchen or a garage: a plan, a schedule, and nothing left in a pile.

Janice

Upland, California.

Background

I've always kept an organized house. When my kids were young I was working full time, volunteering, and looking after my parents as they got older, and the house had to run well for any of that to hold.

For 15 years I worked in the garment industry. Then for 30 years I was the chief operating officer of an alarm company, which means I ran the day-to-day: schedules, people, trucks, customers, problems. An alarm company only works if people trust who you send into their homes. I took that seriously for three decades.

I retired a couple of years ago. Most of my time goes to my husband and our three grandchildren. I also like being useful, and I like a job with a finish line; organizing homes is both. My first projects were my son's office and closets, then a friend's kitchen after her move.

I cook every day, which is why kitchens are the room I care about most.

How I work

I'm direct. If I think something should go, I say so once, and then it's your decision. I work quickly and I finish what I start. I've seen every kind of clutter, and I don't comment on it. I clean up after myself; there are no sorting piles when I leave.

Smaller ways to start

  • A system for the mail, not the whole desk.
  • A shopping list with links, and nothing else.
  • An in-home walkthrough where I say what I'd do, and you do it yourself. If you book afterward, the fee is credited to your first session.
  • Help deciding what to keep from a parent's house, at whatever pace that needs.
  • Basic labels in Spanish as well as English.
  • A session as a gift for someone else.

The practical points

  • Insured.
  • It's always me. I don't send anyone else.
  • A confidentiality agreement, signed before the first session, on request.
  • A background check on request, at your expense.
  • No photographs of your home without written permission, and never faces or addresses.
  • No commissions from any store or brand. Product is bought at cost plus 20 percent, with receipts.

Off the clock

Off the clock, I cook. I volunteer at an assisted living home, which I also did as a child and in college, and I garden: more than 20 kinds of herbs and a few hundred succulents, front yard and back.

Garden

Herbs in the front yard, succulents in the back.

Tell me about your space

I read every form myself and reply within one business day.

Tell Janice about your spaceThe first step is a free 20-minute call.