Straighten UP

Kasey regularly rescues me from despair. I found her through Berkeley Parents List last year, and finally bit the bullet and called for help with our very cluttered small house. She’s very pragmatic, hands-​on, and non-​judgmental. She has a good eye for making use of the space you have: I was dubious when she proposed pulling a bunch of junk out of our closets and putting in shelves – but she was right! It was like a miracle to have a place to store our child’s art supplies, games, and other odds and ends. I’ve had her for several visits, and plan to schedule more – bit by bit, we’re getting things more under control. As I say, she rescues me from despair.

In the process of de-​cluttering our home this fall, I found a certificate for a «one-​hour free consultation» with a professional organizer – Kasey Brenner. My husband had placed the winning bid on Kasey’s services over two years ago at our kids’ school auction and promptly lost the certificate in all our clutter! Back then, he’d wanted help with our disastrous, chaotic, backyard shed so I figured why not cash in the certificate now to accomplish the job? Thanks to Shira Gill, another professional organizer whom I’d been working with to de-​clutter the house, I had an excellent idea of how to get started – but a little extra help couldn’t hurt, right? So I called Kasey and she couldn’t have been nicer. The $ 30 gift certificate was two years old? No problem, she could meet me on Saturday. I’d already worked with someone else and almost certainly wouldn’t be able to offer her more (paid) work? Kasey understood. After a short telephone conversation, she agreed that I «knew the ropes» and that rather than give me advice on what to do, she’d show up ready to do the work with us. And that’s exactly what happened. I prepped the shed the night before, and Kasey was putting on her leather gloves as she came through our back gate. She showed us how we could hang stuff like camping gear, freeing up shelves for other items. After a few minutes of planning, she was up on a ladder pounding in the nails. Working together with my husband and me, she got our shed organized in one session. Kasey made a hard job easy!

I don’t even know where to start…
I’ve worked with Kasey again and again over the years. I’ve even given her time/​services as a gift to friends (who then rave about her work).
She’s helped me organize shelves, rooms, collections of CDs. Together we’ve rearranged furniture, hung art on the walls. She’s helped me move to a new home (twice), packing and unpacking. She’s turned our garage from a disorganized heap of rubble into clear, beautiful, organized, workable space. She’s spent time online researching storage solutions and helping order equipment. She’s helped me find a desk and set up my office — and then she helped move my office!
Of course, any competent organizer should be able to do this. But Kasey doesn’t waste a single minute of her time with you. The first time she came for a «consultation,» half of my problem was solved before she left an hour later.
She is a blur of good solutions and great attitude. Some organizers have a very hands-​off approach. They’ll tell you what needs to happen, but then you’re left having to do all the work. Kasey will work along side you, or if you’re too busy, she’ll get the job done for you. And if she can’t get it done, she’ll recommend a handyman or specialist who can.
She shows up ready to work, and she is always watching the clock, trying to give you the most for your time and money. Idle is NOT in her vocabulary! (And, as someone else mentioned, her rates are VERY reasonable.) Plus, she is so warm, funny, sensitive, and kind… Really, there is no better combination. Don’t bother interviewing anyone else for the job; just call Kasey.

I found Straighten Up through Angieslist. I am moving and needed to get some help packing — I wanted to make the move as stress free for my husband as possible as he has been under the weather and working crazy hours due to deadlines. I found plenty of of packers and home organizers via Unilocal to work with but I couldn’t afford them. Most organizers I found charges $ 45 to $ 75 an hour. Kasey offered me the best rate for packing, and she is pleasant, professional, and very efficient! I am so he packed up my kitchen in 4.5 hours. She charged me $ 25 per hour for the work and I consider it money very well spent. My husband is very stress free as a result of her assistance, and that makes me very very happy.
Her email address is
.