Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Trantanella. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emily, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I had just finished my first season as a landscaper in NYC. That’s a seasonal job, so I had to find something to do during the winter. I applied for restaurant work and took on a part-time nanny gig, but it wasn’t quite enough to get by. One night, I asked my friend Anna to hang out– she said yes, but that she had to clean her room and sort through her clothes, so I was welcome to come over and keep her company. “I’ll help,” I replied. “I actually love doing that.”
Well, Anna is a creative coach in addition to being my friend, and after a few evenings of sorting through her belongings, she said, “people should pay you to do this.” What started as an informal hangout had turned into several weeks of sorting through all of her belongings, reorganizing her room, and taking LOTS of donations to Goodwill. I placed an ad in the email-based community The Listings Project, and just like that, I had a business. I had a hunch that it would work because so many of us in NYC live in small apartments, we have too much stuff, and because as an acting school grad, I can build a rapport with just about anybody. I know people need this service, I thought, and I bet I can help them actually enjoy it. Not only that, I was aware of how emotional decluttering can get, and I knew I could meet my clients with kindness and empathy throughout.
Now, I go to my clients’ homes, get a tour, and we get to work sorting through items, decluttering, getting rid of garbage, donating, and reorganizing. It took a friend with that creative-coach eye to help me see that I could turn a love for decluttering into a job that I enjoy every day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a personal organizer and declutterer based in Brooklyn, New York. I accept clients in NYC, the Hudson Valley, and Massachusetts. I also offer interior design services on a case by case basis. No project is too small or too large– I’ve worked in a 10×5 foot Brooklyn bedroom and a 10×30 foot crammed-to-the-brim storage unit.
I work together with my clients in their homes, and we talk about each and every item together, but I get a lot done fast. I can focus on the details and the big-picture– at the same time I’m individually wrapping fragile items in bubble wrap, I’m scheming about the best way to pack up the storage unit.
I am proud that my approach is rooted in kindness, practicality, sustainability, and fun. My core beliefs are: You can keep anything that’s important to you, as long as you have space for it– I’ll never judge anything that’s in your home. I won’t try to sell anybody a million plastic containers, and I donate or recycle as many castoffs as possible. And though this process can be emotional, I prioritize my client’s wellbeing and enjoyment throughout our work together.
I’m proud of every trash bag, every carload of donations, every day of momentum I’ve experienced with a client. I often hear “you have no idea– I could never have done this without you!” I take it to heart, and I also know we did it together.
PS: if you’ve made it this far and you’re interested in hiring me, our work begins with a free 15 minute consultation call, which you can book via my Calendly: https://calendly.com/emily-qdk.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was pursuing a theatre degree during the onset of the pandemic. I hoped I’d return in-person to finish my degree in fall 2020, but knew deep down that we were in for a long haul, and nothing would be normal for a while. Though I had loved theatre, it wasn’t a source of comfort or inspiration for me during the pandemic. Instead, I started working on a farm, and finished my degree remotely. I spent three years as a farmer in rural western Massachusetts, and it completely changed my worldview– I wouldn’t be able to be running my own business today without the skills I learned there. I learned how to think about the big picture, I learned how to manage the farm store (and turned a sizable profit for the farm during my time doing so), I learned how to take care of myself as a manual laborer. Theatre school had taught me how to listen and respond and to connect with other people, and my pivot into farming taught me how to connect with the tangible world and its many systems. It also taught me I can do anything. I was a germaphobe and a frequent fainter before my time as a farmer, and suddenly I was working long summer days outside covered in dirt. I’m so glad I learned that confidence in my own capability.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

One of my values is to be transparent about my financial situation, and that is how I was able to start this business. I lived paycheck to paycheck for my first year living in NYC, and refused to touch my savings unless absolutely necessary. My savings are partly money I’ve earned, but are mostly money from family, which was intended for grad school. After my landscaping job ended for the season, I unexpectedly received $3000 from my family. I considered that money to be a purchase of time for myself– about two months to get by on part-time babysitting (because $3000 doesn’t go too far in NYC!) and consider what I wanted to do next. Within a few weeks, I knew I wanted to start my organizing and decluttering business. I had virtually no overhead, since I sell a service. I kept things local and cheap: I told all my friends about my business, I bought a $39 ad on The Listings Project, and $40 for a box of business cards. After a few months, I hired my brother to code me a website for $300. I brought my personal kitchen trash bags to use with my first client! I remember buying my first box of $20 contractor bags, which felt like such a win. I’m saving up and scheming, taking it bit by bit– do I need a fancier website? Professional photos? A van with a personalized decal? Oh, that would be fun, but if I can get by without these things, I will. Overall: I didn’t need a ton of money to buy the literal things that go into my business, I work hard, and I’m thrifty, but I have a tremendous privilege in a financial safety net (my savings) that I did not, for the most part, personally earn.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emilytrantanellahome.com
• Instagram: @emilytrantanellahome
• Linkedin: Emily Trantanella
• Other: I share creative writing at https://beginnewsletter.substack.com.
  You can email me at emily [at] emilytrantanellahome [dot] com, or sign up for a consult at https://calendly.com/emily-qdk.

Image Credits

Zack Dictakis, Julian Shapiro-Barnum, Anna Yukevich, Lisa Jaeggi