Interview - The Undies Project

At House to Home we are big on donations. About half of our clients have a difficult time letting go of items, but knowing that it will go to someone in their community helps easy the transition. We spoke with Laura & Lucy at The Undies Project to learn about how we can all help those in need.

For the busy person, what is the best description of the Undies Project?

The Undies Project is a unique nonprofit that collects and distributes new underwear to men, women and children in need.

What is the origin story, how did it start?

The Undies Project was set up in November 2015 by Lucy Langley and Laura Delaflor to fulfill the basic need of new underwear among our low income neighbors.  Underwear is the most under donated, and most needed, item of clothing. Hygiene and physical comfort are only a part of this basic human need. New, clean underwear also provides dignity and self esteem.

How do people donate (drop off) and what type of donations are you looking for?

We receive donations of new men's, women’s  and children underwear of all sizes as well as new and gently used bras. Donations can be mailed to 10 Steep Hollow Lane, Cos Cob CT 06807 or can also be dropped off at the following permanent locations: Wesport: Soleil Toile (24 Post Rd. E), Greenwich: Inside the Armoire (45 E Putman Ave) or Stamford: Professional Physical Therapy (83 Harvard Ave.).

You suggest holding a donation party, what is that?

A donation party is a cool party with all your cool friends and instead of a hostess gift you ask your friends to bring a donation of a pack or packs of undies to give to those in need. After the party you can mail us your collection to 10 Steep Hollow Ln, Cos Cob CT, 06807, or let us know you have humongous collection and we will arrange for a quick pick up. Thank you in advance for holding a donation party! : )

Any interesting tales from the trenches since you deal with unmentionables?

Most of our stories are on the sad side, so I’m only going to share the most recent one of when someone came up to us and in a very low and ashamed voice said, “ Thank you so much for what you do, you can’t imagine what it is like to go to work with disintegrating underwear, your generosity helps me feel better about myself and with this I can do my work better”.

This basic human need that our low income and homeless neighbors have, has been overseen for so many years. It is time to start talking about it and taking action!

Interview - Artkive

Many of our clients have children at home and a common question we get asked is, what do I do with my kid's artwork? We turned to Jedd at Artkive for one possible solution.

For the busy parent, what is the easiest way to explain what Artkive is?

Artkive solves the problem of what to do with all the art and school work kids bring home. Parent feel bad throwing it away and it usually ends up stuffed in a box. With Artkive it’s easy to turn all those memories into beautiful keepsake books by using the Artkive app and doing it yourself or the Artkive Box service where we professionally photograph it all for you.

What is the Concierge/ARTKIVE BOX service?

For parents who don’t want to Artkive themselves, the Artkive Box is a great solution. We’ll ship you a box to fill with your art. Use the UPS shipping label we provide to send it all back to us and we’ll then professionally photograph, edit, tag, and load all the art to your account. One of our designers will create a book proof for your review and when you’re happy, the book will be printed and shipped to you.

What are products one can create from the saved artwork?

Artkive images can be turned into books, calendars, beach towels, aprons, mugs, puzzles and more.

My child doesn't just have flat paper art, but large sculptures and over-sized posters, how does that work?

If using the Artkive Box, depending on the size of the art, you can either carefully wrap and ship it to us, or you can take pictures of the art and load them directly into your Artkive account to be combined with the art you send us.  You can also just email us pictures you’ve taken and we’ll take care of the rest.

Does someone at Artkive inspect the photos to identify the next Picasso?

Millions of pieces of art are loaded into Artkive so we’re not looking through them for the masterpieces, but you never know which young artist will turn into the next Picasso, Rembrandt or Basquiat.  Imagine if Picasso’s mom had been able to use Artkive to store his childhood art!

I assume Artkive is a play on the word Archive, does anyone offer other thoughts on the subject?

Nope - people do seem to like the name as it tells you exactly who we are and what the company does.

Interview - Sweeten

We spend a lot of time in people's homes and during the process of getting them organized the topic of other home projects come up. We spoke with Randi at Sweeten to learn more about major home renovations. 

How would you explain Sweeten to a busy homeowner?

We are a free service for major renovations, connecting renovators to the best vetted general contractors (GCs) AND staying involved until the project is done. Since the phrase "busy homeowner" was used, I'll also add we're a one-stop source for multiple estimates from excellent GCs.

Why is it called Sweeten?

Founder & CEO Jean Brownhill named the company Sweeten after "home, sweet home." She's a trained architect from Connecticut who made it her mission to help people "sweeten" their homes after a challenging renovation of her own. Sweeten launched in NYC in 2011; it was named "Best Contractor Locator" by New York magazine in 2012, and projects came pouring in. We expanded into Westchester and Fairfield counties in Spring 2017, and have a great base of GCs in those markets.

What are your project requirements, can I find a handyman?

We do transformative renovations that involve a general contractor--our minimum is $20k and jobs range into the millions. Our average project is in the low six figures. 

How do you select the contractors for your service?

From the start, the founders screened 15,000+ general contractors to find professionals who met their standards, and we still put GCs through a rigorous process to work with Sweeten. Up-to-date licenses and insurance, quality and guarantee of work, personal conversations with past clients and the caliber of their customer service skills all factor in. GCs are growing their businesses with us; they want to keep that deal flow going, so they are very responsive and accountable to Sweeten. (Vetting info: https://sweeten.com/vetted-general-contractors)

How do you help a client during a renovation project?

We're as involved as you'd like us to be. When you post a project on Sweeten.com, our matchmakers connect you to 3-5 GCs based on location, budget, scope and timeline. We can recommend architects if needed, too. You'll check profile pages for the suggested GCs (including reviews from past clients) and choose which to meet with. From that point, we can  help you evaluate the estimates, answer any questions and will check in at key points in the process. We stay in touch with the GC as well. In the off chance things go off-track, we'll step in. We also offer constant inspiration in the form of "before & afters" and education through detailed cost guides on our blog.

What types of people can use Sweeten?

Homeowners or business owners. We attract a lot of clients from finance (we think it's because of the efficiency of our process), technology and creative fields looking to create a space they love. Renovation is a big investment, and we are a wingman to make sure things go smoothly.

I know it is hard to choose, but what are some of the coolest projects you have worked on?

That's an impossible question to answer! The real-life reno stories are all so interesting, and our posts are often written by the homeowners themselves. We've seen an outbuilding become a "Diva Den," a computer coder use elaborate data to find his dream home (with a factored-in renovation), and lots of projects sparked by a baby on the way. Many architects and designers are using Sweeten for their personal homes (which we consider a compliment): http://blog.sweeten.com/before-after/entire-homes/color-and-charm-in-a-designers-tudor-townhouse/. Two recent stories that come to mind are a Westchester renovation which created a modern, open kitchen in a stucco residence: http://blog.sweeten.com/before-after/kitchens/1920s-westchester-home-gets-a-modern-makeover/, and a "before & after" of a hallway-alcove-turned-bathroom of a country house in this week's newsletter that garnered more than 5,600 likes on Instagram within a few days.

Interview - Connecticut Cookie Company

A recurring theme at House to Home Organizing is a desire to move away from stuff and towards experiences. One can hardly think of a more enjoyable experience than eating a warm cookie. We spoke with Andrea of the Connecticut Cookie Company to learn more these local sweet treats.

What is your background, how did you get started?

Well, I've been designing in the fashion industry for over twenty years.  Baking was my "therapy" when I designed for Abercrombie a.k.a. "Aberzombie" when I was there a while ago.  Growing up (in Cincinnati, Ohio), my mom baked a lot using the vanilla extract from my grandma's hometown in Indiana. I was more interested in decorating cookies rather than baking when I was a kid. 

Cookies are in the title, what kinds and do you have non-cookie items?

Sure! First off, the foundation of the business is our pure vanilla extract. A 75+ year old recipe.  We also have: cake pops, edible cookie dough, coffee, tea, espresso, cupcakes, GIANT chocolate chip cookies, cakes and our signature "Quick fix brittle" (almond toffee britlle with Belgian Dark Chocolate Sea salt with graham cracker). Also, around Thanksgiving we have pies. Everything is made from scratch using our CT Cookie vanilla extract. 

You are based in Fairfield, where can people buy your cookies?

Our cookie shop is location at 2385 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield. We're across the street from Trader Joe's and next to Lenox Jewelers. Two miles off the Merritt Parkway; five miles off 95. Our cookies can also be ordered on our web site:  CTCOCO.com.  You can see what we're up to on instagram.

Does anyone ever ask about custom orders?

Oh yes, we do A LOT of custom cookie orders for showers, weddings, graduations, corporate - you name it! We've done custom cakes and cupcakes for a few catering events. I would say the best custom order we've had to date was (sad story) one of our customers was dying from cancer. She loved our oatmeal raisin cookies (she even said they were to die for! ha.) she planned her funeral gathering around our cookies and had cookies and milk in her memory. Which we all thought was amazing! 

What do you suggest for someone with special dietary restrictions?

We do bake gluten free cookies, cake pops, brownies and edible dough.  Our facility does contain nuts.

I'm sure people are jealous that you get to work with cookies all day, what is it really like?

Ha, people do say that. We work nonstop and when customers come into the shop saying "it smells so great in here!" that makes it all worthwhile. 

What are some of your most popular items?

Chocolate chip cookies, our pure vanilla extract, edible cookie dough, quick fix brittle, cake pops and sugar cookies.