Unknown: Hi, I'm Paige Killian, and I'm passionate about helping
busy moms of littles organize and style their life in three
simple steps. Living this mom life is incredible, and
sometimes completely overwhelming. is stressing about
overstuffed drawers never ending mail piles, a mountain of Legos
and our kids artwork really what God intended. No way. Getting
organized has been a game changer for me, and also my
clients. But it has to be simple, or it just won't get
done. So let's simplify the process and clear the clutter to
see the blessings God has for us. I know your time is
valuable. So thanks for joining me each week for a healthy dose
of organization and a whole lot of motivation. Hello, hello.
Welcome back to the moms organization motivation Podcast.
I'm so excited to be joined today by a wonderful, I'm gonna
say friend, you guys, here's the truth. We just met but we hit it
off instantly. Gotta love some zoom. And I want to share a
little bit about her really, really quickly. But first I want
to say hi Camille, thanks for the how are you? I'm so good.
And I really so appreciate you being here because we were
talking about how this crazy California weather has just been
making a lot of us feel under the weather. So I told her it
was cold, but I'm pushing through. She says she's a tiny
cold. She looks and sounds fabulous to me. But I told her
that if she needs to take sips of hot tea and you know have a
cough attack, then that's okay. That's what great editors are
for as well. So, but we all feel for you Camille, I hope you feel
better very soon. Thank you again for being here. Let me
tell the people, the amazing listeners today who I know we're
going to totally resonate with the things that you're doing in
your business. Let me tell them a little bit about you. So
Camille finden is an author podcast host and CEO of kitchen
remodel Rockstar and host of the ugly kitchen challenge over her
35 year span as a carpenter, she has helped over 10,000 women
create their kitchen design dreams and have to tell you
about this podcast I just heard she has a few podcasts. On the
kitchen sink podcast, Camille shares inspiring stories around
kitchen design, planning and how to bring back the heart of the
home for regular families that are left out of the expensive HG
TV experience. I have to say, I kind of want to go there first,
because I am a lover of HGTV. And I really have this 5050
feeling when I watch it because I get super inspired. And then
also I feel like dang, if I don't have a gajillion dollars,
I don't know if I could do that. So can we start there? How do
you feel about those people who were like, I really want to do
this to my kitchen, but I don't know if I can afford it. And I
see all these great things on TV. How do I do that? Yeah. So I
mean, I love a great, you know, before and after on an HGTV show
as well. Of course, they're inspirational. But my I guess my
my, you know, against the industry position is that
unfortunately, most of my clients are using those as their
kind of starting point, they watch those shows, they hear the
prices, and they think, Oh, I can do that. And unfortunately,
it's so much of it is really misleading. Like a lot of the
kitchens that you're looking at are 200,000 300,000 $400,000.
And they're they're saying it cost $50,000 $60,000 It's just
very, there's a lot of deceit that goes on in the industry.
And I know a lot of people that work at those shows, and all the
materials are donated, the appliances are donated. So when
they're sharing those numbers, they're often extremely well,
they're just not, they're not real at all. So a woman will
come to me with a picture on Instagram or something she
snapped off of Chris loves Julia. And I'm like, Honey, that
kitchen is $600,000 I can just tell right now, what the
cabinets are, are like 250 and you have $40,000 So then it just
leads to this big, you know, like, loss of, they're just
really disappointed that the things they want are like so
like, really, really expensive. So that's my thing against HGTV.
Well, you know, I I wondered about that. It's interesting to
hear you really spell it out. And I hope that if people are
listening today, and that wasn't something they knew before that
that almost brings them comfort, because if they do get into it
and feel like what is going on? Why is this happening to me? It
doesn't happen like that on TV that you're comforted because
this is actually real life. Yeah. And so what I do in my
like in my program, the first thing I do is look at their
picture and give them an actual assessment of what that actually
is. And then we say okay, what's your budget? 50 60,000 25,000
Whatever, and I go, Okay, here's what we're going to how we're
going to use that to make it look like that.
but you're not going to have a college $15,000 oven, you're not
going to have an $8,000 hood. You're not gonna, you know,
like, we're gonna make it look like that picture. But it's not,
you don't have the budget for the actual items. Okay, so why
don't you try to figure out how to do that. I love Did you hear
me say I feel like it's like a kitchen do like you see all
these influencers hop on and say, oh for this, you know the
designer here's, you know that very similar vibe without
breaking the bank and I am all for a budget, especially as a
professional organizer. When I go into I was sharing with you I
typically am talking with busy moms of littles, and they need
some relief immediately from wherever it is. We were kind of
joking. We wish you guys could have heard we joked that we
needed a podcast episode for the podcast episode, because we were
talking about all the behind the scenes stuff about, you know, in
our business isn't just the reality of we want to help our
clients, but we also have this very realistic conversation with
them going in and seeing what is it that we could do right now
that's going to add style or value to your home? That is not
going to have you regretting hiring me? Because I don't want
to go down that path and feel like oh my gosh, it's a
gajillion dollars later. And I'm still not quite where I wanted
to be. You talk about that first photo that you look at? Is that
a good place to start? If there's something that you
really want? Do you think it's a good idea to look at places to
get that inspiration? First? Is that where we start? Well, so my
process, I think, I think you mentioned that I always say
never pick your colors first. And so that references is kind
of like this basically don't think about the outside. First
is my is what's different about me, as a cabinet maker for all
this years, like I used to do that I used to pick all the
colors used to pick all the outside stuff. And then I
realized that watching my clients do that over and over
again, and actually didn't solve any of the functionality
problems. So I kind of over a period of years developed this
process called vfio, which is designed from the inside out. So
we actually start with the problem solving, we look at the
existing space, we look at the actual real problems, we list
them, we look at all of your stuff, we do an assessment to
see how much volume of stuff you have how you use it. And then we
create a cabinet plan for the functionality first, then we go
and pick colors, then we go and look at the inspiration for the
outside parts. So what I do is really from like the inside out.
So as far as like, yes, you can get some inspirational pictures,
I generally limit most of my ladies to 10. Because in 10, I
can encapture you can show me what the overall basic look is
you're looking for color texture, mot how modern it is or
not more than that, honestly, it just becomes more difficult for
you to make a decision. So I don't generally have them keep
looking for pictures. I generally have them go to like
the first 10 they're drawn to, and then explain what they like
out of it. And I can generally piece it together from there.
That makes not better in this industry. Oh, say that, again, I
stepped on always find more stuff that you love. And you'll
get it'll just continue to make you dissatisfied with the
choices you've already made. Yes, okay. Hotline moment more
is not better. It's so drivers talked about less is more. And I
really like this concept of designing from the inside out.
And you and I both know, especially again, as a
professional organizer, and working with busy moms of
littles, you need to make sure what's happening behind those
cabinets is working for. So I really, really like this concept
of designing from the inside out, I often will talk to my
clients about the outcomes they want to see. Because if your
kitchen for example, same thing, if I'm helping them work on
their closet space, or their kids play room, even these
things need to be working with this style of the people who are
living in it. If you are not a person who absolutely loves to
cook and needs to have a whole bunch of shelves and needs to
have space for every spice known to man and all that kind of
stuff. You don't need to focus so much on all of those things.
But if that is important to you, like I would imagine you come
across a lot of people who really do you enjoy cooking, and
they don't want to be in their kitchen. They want to be cooking
in somebody else's kitchen, because theirs isn't functional.
So you definitely start with the function over the form. Yes,
yeah, that's the first thing we start with because that's the
thing you use every day. It's not the colors beautiful. I
mean, I have a white kitchen, you have a white kitchen. I love
it. Every time I walk in, I look at her. I'm like girl, I love
you. You're so cute. You make me so happy. But the reality is
what actually makes me happy because I cook every day is that
all of my stuff is exactly where I needed to be in the right
shape. It's accessible, it's visible. It makes it
effortlessly and fun for me to cook every day. And that is the
function that's not the color of the front of the door front or
the handle. Well a large handle helps but that's the part that
makes it feel luxurious is how
Functional it is how easy it is to do the thing you want to do
whether you're a baker, whether you like making huge stews and
pots, whether you are, you know, love your airfryer like whatever
that thing is that you do, however to make that work for
you is what makes the kitchen feel luxurious. Yes. I love
that. And you're right, a good a good handle that contributes to
functionality, right? We didn't do that most people do too small
of handles on their kitchens. Oh, okay. You know what, let's
move into this section of give us give us your tips tell us
things we should consider and things we should maybe stay away
from. That's just not necessary. Oh, that's a fun one. Okay, I'll
talk about my two biggest pet peeves first. Okay, which are
lazy Susans Lazy Susans do not work. They've never worked.
They've never worked for 50 years. If you have a lazy Susan,
and you're using it, it's just because the rest of the kitchen
is not designed well, it should be the absolute last space you
ever think to do. I usually say like the corner just holds up
the countertop. That's its whole purpose. If you're using your
lazy Susan, it means you're not using other parts of the kitchen
well. And then the other thing would be what's another one, um,
spices and your upper cabinets. That's another big pet peeve of
mine. We make spice inserts that were really easily and inside of
a drawer that you could see the labels. Spice pull outs don't
work very well. Same reason you can't see the labels. They're
down low. And pull outs behind doors are my biggest pet peeves
because they don't work again, because a drawer does a better
job of that. So that's all I don't like. I have to say my
mind just blew wide open. Because I have a love affair
with Lazy Susans. First of all, I feel like they get a bad rap.
Because I've never met a lazy susan in my life. All the
Susan's I know, are the opposite of lazy. So I figured that's not
nice. I do love. So I do a lot of organizations for pantries.
And it's really funny that you just said that about a corner
holds up a house because that is especially in a corner and a
pantry. One of my go twos because I feel like things can
get lost. And so I so just imagined in my mind that you
would talk about and even in my kitchen, which I can't take any
credit for the design. But there are two areas where there are
really deep cabinets. And I have a couple of them that have been
built to where you can pull the appliance around to the front to
get to it. And it's very helpful for me. So could you please
explain as my mind has been blown, explain why you are not a
fan of the lazy season like to be able to get to an appliance
easier, because they're still low and dark, and they have a
very narrow opening. And those pull outs are incredibly
expensive. And they typically don't work if yours has been
working. That's great, but also means you're probably not using
it very much. But they get out of square, they fall off. They
just they're just like one of those sorts of fancy things that
designers sell to people that look they do look great in
theory, like it should work, but they just don't work overtime if
you cook a lot versus and the other reason is that if you have
a lazy Susan, the way the cabinets built, you have to pull
back the cabinets on both sides to actually have room to have
that opening. Versus if you had your cabinets go all the way to
the corner, you would have more space with the cabinets left and
right. And those are truly the full depth, height and front to
back. Where's the Lazy Susan no matter how how how much you
think you're using it. There's a ton of wasted space inside of
there. And it's down, it's dark, you're on your knees, you're
pulling it out carefully, you're banging the back of the door,
you're banging the sides of the cabinets, like they're just like
a poor solution to actually finding a place for that
appliance in a better spot. And I'd have to actually like a
schematic like a drawing, you'd be like, Okay, now I understand.
So you've made it work, but you're also very careful, neat
person, you're a professional organizer. Most women are rough
on their kitchens, they yank stuff out, they lean on stuff
their kids step on those things. I can't tell you how many times
I've ripped those things out within like two months. Okay,
everything you just said makes complete sense to me and I will
have a big kitchen where you have space to do that. A lot of
people if you don't, you cannot give up those two corner
cabinets.
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So if you've been enjoying this podcast episode, I have a
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making it a best seller and now back to the show.
There so so right I do not cook a ton with those appliances
because they are download. There is so much weight
Did space that's down in those cabinets. And I also feel like
you're doing that dance of like, you know, that awkward cabinet
corner cabinet where you pop open and you have to be really
gentle. And you're like squeezing your booty cheeks
together as you're lifting it out, because you're down low and
you're trying not to do you are so you've worked, you've made it
work for you. You've adjusted your body for it, but that's not
what I call functionality. Okay, so here, so this is huge. So
this is why we have a professional kitchen, put her
together, that's your new official title for me on the
show. And this is because what I do as a professional organizer
is I go in and I make the existing space work. So I will
make those awkward corners and things work to the best of our
ability. You're so right. But here's what you have just now
taught me and you're so totally right is that that wouldn't even
be there to begin with. If you were really truly utilizing the
other space in your kitchen better. So okay, then what do
you like? What do you do to those corners? And what like, if
you do rip that out? What do you do if people are like, okay,
great. Well, I have that. And maybe it's not working the best
though, what do I do to it, and then also tell us the things
that you absolutely think we should have in our kitchen?
Well, so I have basically seven types of things that should be
in every major kitchen modern kitchen. And the biggest
solution to that is the correct size drawers, like actual drawer
boxes, drawers, and the right hinges and the right slides. The
sizing, I kind of created my own sizing that I over many years of
because I'm making the cabinets, I can change the height of the
drawer fronts and the drawer boxes. So I came up with like
the optimal mix of heights that maximizes every drawer base. And
so most kitchens need six as a minimum, but nine was optimal
nine of these drawers. And you can fit pretty much 90% of your
whole kitchen. If you have nine drawer bases, six to nine, that
are the correct sizes with a real Blum Soft Closing hinges
that hold 100 slides. So under 50 pounds, you can put things in
there that you would normally never put in there. crockpots
air fryers, vitamin X's stacks of dinner plates, like all kinds
of things. And because they're soft closing, they hold all the
weight so they become like the workhorse of the kitchen. So
you're never on your knees ever again. So that's like one of the
biggest transformations is that. But it's not just any drawers,
it's like the right kind of drawers will transform a
kitchen. Then you have that spice inserts, you take all your
spices out of your upper cabinets, so they're used for
the what they're supposed to be used for. And you have to see
their labels, so you need them on their backs not standing
upright, a day use pantry, which is like my version of a of a
modern pantry. That's not the same as a walk in pantry, which
is different than maybe what you would organize by separate stuff
that the family uses on a day to day basis chips, snacks, to the
high frequency thing. So I created my own style of day use
pantry. And that can fit within like an 18 to 20 to 24 inch
width wide, but it's full height. What's another favorite,
a simple cookie sheet cabinet with dividers in it so your
cookie sheets are not flat, they take a very skinny amount. Let's
see, what's another one, I'm putting custom putting dividers
into shallow top drawers. So you have like your utensils you use
a lot separated from the stuff you don't use very often. So
most people's utensil drawers have like the barbecue thing
from outside and 14 spatulas and 15 knives and they only use one
knife, right? Like we all use the same two to three things
over and over and over again. So my process is separating out the
stuff you rarely used organizing in a different location and
having the things you use close to you accessible because that's
what you're washing every day, like multiple times. So and then
I kind of do some fun stuff with like Tupperware for kids, right?
So like, again, anybody with littles has multiple versions of
like 1000 sippy cups, and 1000 miniature bowls with the little
silverware. And so those things tend to be mixed in with
everybody else's stuff. So I kind of separate that and put in
dividers that hold just that stuff. And that tends to really
help like moms with littles because it's tough work can be
like a real struggle. Oh, can it both things. One of the first
things that I do when I go into a kitchen that feels overly
cluttered is we talk about how many of these things are you
actually using. So I really again, it goes back to that
functionality. Because here's the deal. This is the heart of
the home, whether you are a major chef and you've been
trained at a culinary school, or you are just trying to prep
snacks and lunches for your kids. It needs to be functional.
So I think immediately before you even have all the pretty
stuff on the outside, it sounds like you're feeling the same
way. Let's put some things in behind the scenes that are
actually going to make this function for the faint
Only because you automatically just congregate there, there's
something special about breaking bread together. So whether it's
your family and my kids love to do their homework on the
countertop in the kitchen, as I'm yet at them, having
conversations with them moving about the kitchen, because we
all got to eat, even if I tapped into a local resource at the
grocery, and they did the hard work for me, or you know, a
place down the street that we got food from, I am still
assembling it in the kitchen and plating it. And all of those
things really, really need to work well together. And it
brings the family together, if you've got a decluttered space,
that does not make you crazy, and it is functioning properly.
So I really appreciate you really spelling these things out
about what you can focus on in the kitchen. So our time is
running short, which makes me want to cry, because I have so
many more questions. But
please do please do automatic invite. But could you please
just share all your platforms so we can follow up with you? I did
talk about the kitchen sink podcast, I would love that
title. Tell us more not only the podcast where we can find you
and I'll make sure I put your links in the show notes. But
where else might we take a look at some of the work that you've
done? Yeah, so so they can go to kitchen remodel Rockstar, and
that's where women can sign up to work with us and help us
design your kitchen. There's a free class on there, you can go
through that and kind of learn a little bit about my process and
how that works. You can go to dream underscore kitchen
underscore coach, that's our Instagram account. And the
podcast is the kitchen sink podcast. And we're the ones with
the little yellow lemon. That's how you'll know it's our logo.
There's actually quite a few Kitchen Sink podcasts. I'm the
only one that talks about kitchen design.
But you'll know the little yellow lemon. And yeah, we'd
love to be we have a whole group of private group of women in a
Facebook group where we help them design their kitchens all
over the country. And we help them put cabinets together and
install cabinets and do a lot of DIY, like we're really pro women
feeling empowered, and really kind of taking back the kitchen
space instead of it just being like a male dominated industry.
So yeah, we'd love anybody to reach out, we'd love to help. I
love these options. I know I'm going to be going down the
rabbit hole, I am so excited to have met you today. And I really
appreciate you, you know, blowing my mind multiple times.
This is really exciting.
I have to say as many kitchens as I have reorganized and redone
I think I have a fresh new take on things and especially the
renovation part of it as well. And just having that reality
based sense of what's happening on TV and what we can actually
do in our own home. But it sounds like you know, ladies,
don't be discouraged if you're listening to this and think,
Okay, well, she just said it's gonna be a gajillion dollars, if
I want a kitchen that works for me. No, that is not what I want
you to take away, I want you to take away the fact that you can
go to Camille and you can say, here's what I want, I'm not
going to give you a billion pictures and have you know,
paralysis by analysis. I'm going to focus in on things that are
really important for me, and I'm going to trust that she is going
to lead me in the right direction to truly get this
functional kitchen that I love. And of course, the beautiful
part will come along with that as well and save a lot of money.
That's kind of our big thing is to help help you save a lot of
money. That's a big focus of what we do. Absolutely. Because
we need to spend our money on lots of important things,
raising a family. As we all know, there are certainly things
that come up that are unexpected. And also just the
expected stuff is really stinking expensive. So to be
able to save a little money in our kitchen but still have one
that is working well for us and is truly the heart of the home I
think is all the reasons that we need to go check out everything
that you're offering. Thank you for sharing your services. Thank
you for sharing your wisdom. I have been forever changed today.
Camille, truly.
Thank you so much. Thank you all so much for listening. And I
will talk to you next week for some more organization
motivation, and probably some other conversations about
kitchens these days. Now I know I'm fired up about new stuff to
talk about. I look forward to having you back on Sunday to
talk to us a little bit more. Camille, I hope you have a great
rest of your week and feel better soon. I will thank you so
much. And this was really fun. Yay. All right. Thanks so much.
You guys. Have a great day and I'll talk to you next week. Bye
bye.
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