Someone told me my titles were not punny enough. How’s that? 🙂
The other month, I helped a friend pack her entire home before she moved out. I thought I would share before and after pictures of her pantry, which is where we started! Here is a testimonial from her, and project below.
“Last month I was overwhelmed with the impossible task of packing up my entire life in the space of a month with the goal of getting rid of approx. 80% and fitting the remaining into a tiny 15 sqft storage locker. As a neurodivergent person I struggle with getting started on big tasks, and I am very particular about how I approach tasks, however Fran completely understood this without confusion or judgement. Fran broke things down into smaller tasks and started alongside me which made all the difference in getting momentum going, and productivity to snowball. I especially recommend Fran if you are neurodivergent, she knows how to work with my brain and not against it. She’s incredibly patient, offers consistent positive reinforcement and opts for encouragement instead of putting on pressure (which would cause me to freeze). She asked my friends to be gentle with me, acknowledging how difficult the project would be for me, and she offered emotional support and regular check-ins. Fran goes above and beyond for her clients, even finding potential buyers for some of my items - a particularly memorable example was when she found a buyer for my entire makeup collection in literally 30 seconds. She also encouraged me to reach out to friends and family for support, and practical help which turned out to be a real game changer as asking for help is something I’ve always struggled with, but really need during times like this. The project was entirely successful, I moved out on time, with the storage locker filled exactly to requirement. I couldn’t have done this without help and I haven’t hesitated to recommend Fran to several friends already - particularly my neurodiverse friends. Thanks again for everything 🥰”
E., 29 years old, South London
Restoring pantry order
This pantry had slowly become a bit of a free-for-all. Sure, there were snacks and pots… but there were also documents, duvets, old batteries, cables, a mystery box, and more.
My friend asked for help turning it back into a proper pantry, just food and kitchen essentials.

The pantry when we started – Side A

The pantry when we started – Side B
A pantry, not a storage cupboard of everything
We started by going shelf by shelf and sorting everything into categories: keep in the pantry, store elsewhere, recycle, dispose of, or sell/donate. Duvet? Off to the bedroom. Paperwork? To be scanned and the rest be filed in the office. Mystery items? Identified and rehomed.
We then returned only the pantry-appropriate items: food, drink, kitchen supplies, and some IT things that needed to be kept handy. We grouped them by type, allocating a shelf to pots and pans, one to cables and overflow IT equipment. and so forth.
We used a few baskets and boxes to help define categories, making it easier to find what’s needed quickly.
Pantry duty, restored!
Now the pantry is back doing what pantries do: storing food in an organised, easy-to-access way. No more fishing through forgotten clutter to find the snacks.
Just neatly stored, logically grouped pantry items, and a friend who can finally find their packet of crisps without a 10-minute search.

The pantry after we finished – Side A

The pantry after we finished – Side A