Jessie Carrillo of Dallas has been on a quest to help residents declutter their homes and bring order to chaos through her organization company.
Carrillo founded A Charming Home after working hard to declutter her compact 1938 Oak Cliff bungalow for the birth of her first child in 2020. The preparations born out of necessity ended up igniting a passion for organizing.
She ended up developing a series of systems that she later put to the test when COVID-19 lockdowns struck.
“We were in it all day, every day,” Carrillo told D Magazine. “And so those systems that I had put in place — it really came to light whether they were successful or not.”
The business venture in 2021 was followed by a self-help book earlier this year — as well as a second child.
The mother of two had the experiential expertise to pair with what she referred to as her “eye for aesthetics” developed while working in the art field for institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art.
She also had first-hand knowledge of what an organized home can do for someone’s mental well-being.
“It was clear that, ‘wow, this can have a serious impact on people,’” she told D Magazine.
Since its inception, A Charming Home has served nearly 50 clients, with Carrillo being selective about the projects she undertakes.
Her bungalow played a significant role in shaping her business. As such, she explained how she prefers working on projects resembling her home — “the old, historic, quirky, tight-on-storage kind of houses that Oak Cliff is really known for,” according to D Magazine.
Embracing a “fewer, better” approach, Carrillo emphasized the need to pare down belongings and ensure that kept items are the absolute best version for their purpose. The ultimate objective? To cultivate meaningful relationships with the objects populating one’s home.
“I recognize that objects can hold great significance,” Carrillo writes on her website. “I am not here to throw away all your stuff, but rather to help you figure out what adds to your life and what is weighing you down.”
To this end, Carrillo stressed the importance of communication and good rapport in the service she provides her clients.
She asks plenty of questions and actively listens during the initial phone assessment and on-site consultation at the start of each project.
Through this thorough consultation process, Carrillo assesses the space, budget, and the client’s vision and then prepares an action plan and a cost estimate.
Carrillo’s consultations cost $100, while single sessions are $75 an hour. Her book A Charming Home: A Room-by-Room Guide for Creating a Stylish, Clutter-free Space offers a DIY option for $25.
Carrillo has several takeaways from her experience as a professional organizer.
For instance, a “one-size-fits-all” solution doesn’t exist, she explained to D Magazine. This is why sessions are tailored to the project’s scale, which might be limited to optimizing storage in a mudroom or might entail the decluttering of an entire home before a move.
Moreover, given the emotional and exhausting nature of decluttering, Carrillo limits her sessions to four-hour stints.
And yet it is for this reason that hiring an objective third party has its benefits.
“We don’t have strong feelings about your things,” Carrillo explained to D Magazine.
