From Professional Home Organizer to Closet Designer at The Container Store: Meet Bethany
“But I love organizing on the side, I love helping friends and family. I love being at the Container Store.
So I tell everybody, go for it—like try and if it’s your dream, absolutely do it and start from the beginning and lay the groundwork.
But honestly, if you give it a try, you’re not failing i you decide to find a different way to do this. ”
I'm thrilled to introduce you to our interview with one of our Inspired Organizer® members, Bethany, who is living out her "Disney job" dream of being a closet designer at The Container Store!
She is telling us all about her journey from professional organizer entrepreneur to choosing a different path to use her excellent organizing skills.
This interview originally aired as an episode of the Pro Organizer Studio Podcast. If you would like to listen, You can CLICK HERE or find us on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you love to listen to podcasts!
Bethany is telling us all about how to connect with the awesome closet designers at The Container Store for their professional (and free!) help!
Melissa Klug: We have a special guest with us today—this is someone who is in our Inspired Organizer group and I found out that she works at The Container Store, and I'm like, oh my gosh. You have to come talk to us about the amazing Container Store! So Bethany, welcome.
Bethany Clayton: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Melissa Klug: Can you give us, before we start talking about everyone's favorite store, at least, well, I mean, I should say there are a lot of people that listen to this podcast that aren't in the US and so we're very sorry that we won't be able to talk about some of the stores near you, but can you tell us a little bit about your organizing journey and all that good stuff?
Bethany Clayton: Yeah, so, as soon as I graduated college, which was 11 years ago, I was 22. I went to school in Indiana. I moved right out to North Carolina and everyone was asking me, what do you want to do now that you graduated with a business degree, a Spanish degree, like all this stuff.
And like—I want to clean houses. I had written a proposal in a social entrepreneurship group for a horizontal structure cleaning business where it helped people that needed the income and treat them fairly and help people gain professional experience for cleaning houses and then help them maybe source jobs or find jobs after that.
And so I don't know, I started doing it, so entrepreneurship, as soon as I was 22, I was just—I was doing entrepreneurship in Raleigh Durham for a little while, and I got very used to Container Store out there because it slowly started turning into organizing for people. Which, I am the messiest most organized person you'll meet. Like I, you know, growing up bedroom covered, it was just horrible. Completely disorganized.
Melissa: Same.
Bethany: But then I, yeah, but then I loved when everything was in its place and like before and after photos. So my whole Instagram was before and after photos. So I started organizing for people, not just cleaning. And I played around with that for a while.
But being self-employed, I was so young. I didn't have a financial buffer. I had never worked. I'd never built a savings to fall back on. It was very high pressure. So I ended up moving back home, which is the Chicago suburbs. That's where I live now. And that's where I grew up.
And it's so funny, Facebook now keeps popping up these memories of 2015 and me being like, “I have a new life dream—work at The Container Store.” And I thought I would work downtown and then I'd like commute on the Metro and do this whole thing and work at The Container Store.
It was literally my Disney World job. Like I was like, oh, what if I could work there? And after a while I got a part-time job there. I was a seasonal hire for their holiday shop that they do in December. So I got a part-time job there. I crushed my group interview. It was like, how would you use this organizing product? I was like, “oh my gosh, let me tell you. I gotcha.” This multicolored organizing labeler…like, it was awesome and I loved it.
So they kept me on after seasonal and I was there for, a year and a half and I became a designer after the first six months. And designing, I was just on cloud nine designing spaces.
And then I got an opportunity to relocate my business to the town I went to school in Indiana, and they would pay my student loans. So I decided to go back to cleaning and organizing and I became a professional organizer, and then I joined Inspired Organizer, probably like 2017, I wanna say.
That was like the first time I used Zoom, was me and Jen on Zoom and everything, like doing her group classes and everything. And I hit the ground running again. I'd saved up some money, I'd bought a house. I was gonna do all stuff. And so on and off, I tried organizing for eight years and we can talk about why, but with my brain, decluttering for people was never my strong suit. I just wanted to have these perfect spaces, right?
Like I could design the spatially behind me is my Elfa system. Like I want everything in its perfect place, but real life decluttering, 30 years of possessions and all this stuff, every time I was just, we talked about highly sensitive people and I was such an empath that I would leave those sessions just exhausted. And I only had a few higher end clients and I struggled with the money mindset and I tried for a long time, I tried to make it work and I joined all these groups and—
I don't want to say I failed. I made the choice. You know what, I gave it a good long try. And being a hundred percent self-employed was just, it just didn't work for me. And so then I moved back and I started, at Container Store for part-time again.
And then I got this opportunity almost a year ago. They approached me with a full-time position at the Container Store as a design and sales specialist, and it was making my Disney World job come true. And now it is my career and it is my one and only position. So I've done it all.
Melissa Klug: You said a few things I there that I think are really important, which is, you know, you really worked hard and you realized this isn't for me, and that's okay too. It isn't for everybody, you know, not everybody wants to own a business and not everyone wants to be self-employed.
And the the cool thing about this industry, I think is there are so many different paths you can take if you realize, hey, you know what? Owning a business isn't for me, but I still love organizing. I want to go work for someone else's team, or, I love organizing so much, but my strength is helping people pick organizing supplies, which is what you're doing, or designing spaces like you can take those skills and say, there are a lot of paths I can take with that.
I think it's cool.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. And it's totally played into my career. I mean, my experience and everything, everyone, even at the Container Store, I am the nerdiest one about organizing. Yeah, the systems, the methods, I mean, every time, oh, have you read this book? Like I've read that book three times.
Melissa Klug: Right? Yes. I've, I can practically write it.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. It, it, it still played into my career and it is so funny. A shout out to Audra on the group. She was my accountability partner seven years ago, and she's got this team and she is killing it. And in all honesty, she worked every step in Inspired Organizer®. She did.
She started from the beginning. I didn't lay the groundwork and she is killing it. And I see all these people that I've known for six, seven years now in the group. And they have these teams and they're bringing, and I love it.
I just learned it wasn't for me. But I do, I love organizing on the side, I love helping friends and family. I love being at the Container Store. So I tell everybody, go for it—like try and if it's your dream, absolutely do it and start from the beginning and lay the groundwork. But honestly, if you give it a try, you're not failing.
If you decide to find a different way to do this.
Melissa Klug: Absolutely not. So at the start of my business, I never in 80 billion years considered working for myself. I was like, absolutely not. I want the safety of someone else's company.
And when I got this idea, I was like, oof, this may be like a terrible mismatch with me and my skills and everything else, but,I'm gonna give it a year and see what happens. And I found out that I love it. I really don't ever wanna work for someone ever again. That's me. But some people discover oh, this wasn't what I wanted after all.
But the fact is you tried it, you said, and you committed to it, and then you said, oops, I actually found out this isn't what I want, but here is the path I can take. And I love that.
Bethany Clayton: I did everything backwards where like most people, you know, in their twenties and thirties, they're laying the groundwork, getting a career, starting a relationship, maybe starting a family, all this stuff. And then they hit thirties, forties, like, oh, I wanna go out on my own.
Yeah. I was like, no, I don't want a job. So I went opposite. I had no relationship, no career, no nothing for all my twenties, and then I hit 30. I was like, you know what? Give me a nine to five. It's just so funny how it came out and now I'm in a stable relationship and yeah, I, I'm glad I don't regret anything that I did.
Everything worked out, you know, just as it should, and I'm glad I put myself out there. Some of the jobs I did, I loved some of the connections I made with other organizers and clients I loved. But I just, there was so much about the way my brain works that it was just, yeah.
Absolutely give it a try. But yeah, don't be afraid to try something different.
Melissa Klug: I just think too, there are parts of my career life that I'm like, wow, I never would've envisioned that. And that was a winding path and I'm glad that that happened. You can take that winding path and follow it and go like, Hey, this, I'm gonna turn left.
And I didn't know that I was gonna turn left, but here we are. Well, okay. So tell us a little bit about what you actually do. So you're designing spaces. Tell us a little bit more about that process and like how that works with your brain and all that good stuff.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah, I've been a designer, like I said, on and off for a few years now, and it is amazing. We have three systems that we design. Behind me is Elfa. That's probably what most people know, everybody. I mean, if you have a container store near you and if you're on Pinterest, you probably know Elfa.
Invented in the seventies, we’ve been manufacturing it since the nineties, carrying it exclusively since 2000 like it is. I didn't know.
Melissa Klug: Let's back up to that. I did not know that Elfa was from the seventies.
Bethany Clayton: It's a Swedish company and maybe I'm being wrong. I swear it's like 1978, like when we were founded.
Container Store took over nineties. We have some employees that have been with us for 28 years since our location in Schaumburg opened. And I have heard the history from them and I read the foundation book when it came out. There's one, from our founder and original CEO of about The Container Store, but it's fascinating. So then Container Store officially took over and is the manufacturer of Elfa. So you're not gonna find another stores. Definitely other stores learned a top track system with brackets that come down and then stick them out, and you can find that anywhere, but it's usually, you know, rubbery, bendy, type of,
Melissa Klug: yeah, it's not as good.
Bethany Clayton: It's just not, it's not as good.
So our whole house is Elfa. My primary closet, our garage, I mean everywhere. And when I did his primary closet when we bought this house, he wanted to go with graphite. We have platinum, white, and graphite, and he's like, white looks like everything else you have. And I, I could agree with that. I could understand. We went with graphite and floor to ceiling, eight inches down from the ceiling, all the way down to the floor shelves, hanging everything we need.
And I'm like, you better appreciate you’re dating a closet designer. Because he has too many clothes and and he's a convert. Like we, we just did the garage in graphite and he could not wait to Elfa the garage. Like, yeah. He sees the difference, he understands, and the main thing that you do with Elfa that you don't get at the, you know, like hardware stores is, we are trained designers with the computer system. We cut everything on site. We know exactly what to do. We have our own own installers that will cut at your home and do everything.
So I had tried when I was a professional organizer, oh, budget, I would try, Home Depot and no one there knows what the system is or how it works or how to cut the shelves and you don't have an expert. And that's what we say we're the specialist for the experts. That's what we do.
So all day long, people come in, I can't make this pantry work. This thing drives me crazy. I have an attic, I have a slanted ceiling. These things that they've struggled with for years, and we're like, we do this all day long. Hand it over to us. We promise.
I had a woman the other day that was just so overwhelmed. She was just so stuck and I was like, that's why we're here. Tell us what's going on. Tell us your space and tell us what you need it for. We will make the vision clear for you, we will help this make sense. We'll show you your designs, we'll show you your 3D rendering and then the relaxation.
That's what I, that's what I loved about being an organizer is the, the solution. Yeah. So that's Elfa, they're most versatile. If you put it up, you can move it all day long.
We have tons of people coming in expecting like tons of pregnant people coming in. And they're all excited and nervous and nesting and they're like, yeah, because you know, clothes only need to be 30 inches of space, they’re tiny and you can fit three rows of baby clothes.
And I'm like, yeah, but they're gonna grow. And then it'll become a teenager's closet and it'll become a guest closet when you sell the house. And you'll have this thing for 30 years. We move the bars around, we change 'em hanging, we add drawers. So Elfa is just Elfa's Elfa, I mean, it’s. I love it. It's awesome.
Melissa Klug: I have a client who likes to do a lot of their own kind of tinkering. Yeah. I did an Elfa closet for her recently. I left it how she and I had designed it together and then by the end of the night she's like, I made some changes.
And she had changed basically all the shelving, like she had changed almost everything, but she changed it to a way that worked more sensibly for what she decided she wanted to put in there. She changed her mind about what she wanted to put in there, so she just moved the shelves around. It was, it's awesome.
I like cannot say enough good things about it.
Bethany Clayton: It’s super fun. My station behind me, my craft station, I have changed the drawer several times. I've moved it around. I just have a closet on those stairs where all my extra Elfa pieces are that I exchange out for different things. So, yeah. Yeah, it's, it's awesome.
And then we have Avera, which is newer in the last, five or six years. If you see Avera, you know, it's Avera, it's, it's kinda floating drawers. It's more sleek. I, I've been using the term, sometimes we say minimalist boutique. It's just, it's very streamlined.
When you put it in some of the finishes, it, it almost looks mid-century modern. Our media centers and our bar areas, like if you wanna do like a retro hosting dry bar, It looks straight out like Mad Men. It's gorgeous, like it is so cool. And then what I always tell people is it's a push to open feature and if you turn that off and you add hardware, it instantly looks like cabinetry. Like it looks like a built-in system. So we love Avera.
And then the new one I and don't know how much people have been able to work with, this is Preston and we have one in the store that we call the Beyonce closet. Like it's nice, it's gorgeous, it's built in cabinetry, lighting, glass shelves, glass cabinets. We now have islands with glass tops. But trust me, if you have one of those clients that wants bells and whistles and the whole thing.
People are like, they look at this display and they get intimidated, like, but I don't want this and I don't want, yeah, that's the point. We're gonna build you a closet. We're gonna build this exactly for you.
So with Avera and Preston, you really want to work with one of our in-home designers. It's a complimentary service. Come out to the house, they measure, they design, they get you a design either, either right away, depending on which system it is, or a day or two, they'll get you a design back. Generally that's how it works in our area.
So each store has at least one or two in-home designers, which is a slightly different position, and they will really clear the weeds in that situation. You want to lean on the professionals in that. Elfa, we can work with you very easily to come up with a solution. Preston is lean heavily on your in-home designer. So yeah, we, you come in, you give us your dimensions, we make sense of it all, and we know exactly what you're using it for, and we help clarify everything for you.
Melissa Klug: One of the reasons that I wanted to talk to you about this is because a lot of times, you know, we have a, an Inspired Organizer group where people can ask questions and get coaching every day. And there are a lot of people that come in and they're like, oh, my client has asked me to design a closet.
Melissa Klug: I've never done that before. I'm intimidated. Where should I go? What should I do? I feel like this is a commercial. We are not getting paid for this. And I, you, I know you get paid when you go to work, but we're just happy to be talking about this because this is a resource I think a lot of organizers don't necessarily know exists is that you can go to the store and for $0, it is a complimentary service.
Like you said, you will have an expert help you help that client with their closet. Yeah, you look like a hero. You bring them this great closet design, they get what they want. And the nice thing too is it does not matter what your client's budget is. The one thing I will tell you about when you were talking about some of the hardware store, you know, like a Home Depot closet or whatever.
You can get an Elfa closet. If you have a budget conscious client, you can get a very affordable Elfa closet. They might add some bells and whistles later. It does not have to be a $20,000 closet. It can be a $300 closet and they can get something really, really good. But have one of those designers help you if you're newer to this process, and it's a great service that they offer.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah, really. And it's, we get designers and organizers all the time coming in and they're working for their clients and so they have proposals. We'll email it straight to you, straight to them. An organizer will come in and they're like, “Hey, send this to my client.” And we email it directly to them for them to review and sign off on.
And we do that all the time. And yeah, as far as like, we can do a bare bones, let's get two rods for hanging, one for long, two for double. That's it. I would say air is your least expensive thing, right? Like if you're just paying for a rod and 40 inches of hanging space. We are doing that for a very low budget now, for resale, for further down the line, for whatever, add drawers, add rods, add all stuff.
So it is, it's, if you want, if you want bones on the wall, you just wanna put up a structure that you know is strong and safe and versatile. We'll start with the bare minimum and then know that you can grow with time.
I worked with a client to redo her closet, I mean, she had this whole space—long hang is what we call for, you know, dresses and coats and about five and a half feet versus the double hang, which is, shirts and pants. Then run more l double hang. I reworked her entire thing and it took a minute and I reworked her entire thing. In the end, she bought 1 23 inch rod and had a new closet. Like it was, we reconfigured the whole thing. Yeah, it it's, it's gonna change with you.
It's gonna move with you, it's gonna do whatever you, so yes, we, we do work with any style and any budget.
Melissa Klug: I just reconfigured my own closet because I love doing this too. And same thing, I only had to add a couple of pieces and I got a completely different closet. That's the gift not only in your own house, but for clients too.
And I love exactly what you said, is if you want a bare bones system, you can do a bare bone system and then the client can add onto it. As they go, or you can come back and do it in phases or you can go the whole way, and do a very, very fancy, very high end, very luxury closet. You can do a little bit of everything, which I think is awesome.
And I really want to encourage people that you shouldn't be intimidated to walk into the store and ask for help from one of those design experts.
Bethany Clayton: We're your safe place to come in and be like, okay, I'm a little stumped.
My client has asked for this cause we'll tell you about turntables and we'll tell you about guiding shoe. Right. That's why we're there. All of us are considered experts and specialists. That's what we're there for. Yeah. And we're encouraged to be very knowledgeable about these things.
So it's your safe space to be like, okay I need help. If you're intimidated by I, you know, sometimes people, they want doors and hanging and gliding shoes, and they have a five foot closet.
We will help you prioritize that, get the closest vision and communicate—well, we only did 18 inches here because you have a wing wall. I mean, all of that. That's we, this is the language we speak.
And I definitely want to encourage people something we do, and I don't know if you guys know this sometimes whatever group you want in the area—we’ll open up at 8:00 AM. You guys will come in, we'll do a whole presentation of our three lines of closets, talk to you about our favorite products. Talk about this, and then you get shopping time in the store before we open. We'll have a couple people there working. So talk to your local store and be like, what do we need to do to make this happen?
Melissa Klug: If you haven't done it, sign up for the Insider program. It is legit. It is a great program. I, and I hate, I'm the kind of person that I'm like, you know when you have to go to every single store now and like enter your phone number and do all this stuff. I hate that stuff.
At the Container Store, it is such a great program. The other thing it does too, which helps this person who is not very good at, ironically, I'm not very organized about some of my financial stuff. If I have to go back and find receipts and things like that, it aggregates all of them. You have them all in your system, like it is a really great program, but you get, first of all, discounts.
And then secondly, what you are saying I think is important is —make a relationship, like just reach out to the local store manager, be like, hi, I'm an organizer. I'd like to get on your list for events like our store does a lot of events with organizers. Get on their list, get to know them. It's an awesome networking thing.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. Especially our full-time designers. We see the number come through the phone, we pick up like, Hey, it's Katie. I'm like, Hey Katie, what we working today? Build that relationship. We love it. Like we know our organizers, like we, we know the people that are gonna come to the store and especially, you know, the high end clients, we can tell we're doing all the home edit bins for the pantry we're doing.
But you don't have to be high end work with us. Just establish that relationship and then we can help you. And obviously we love that you guys are gonna be shopping with us. Again, I'm not being paid to be here today. Like it really is. We love working with our organizers and we love having, oh my gosh, I love my regulars.
Like, it's like, all right, what's wrong today? Oh, the pantry, I tried this and I'm finally gonna Elfa. And I'm like, yay. We just, we get excited about helping people. That's, yeah. We're, we're. Creative thinkers and problem solvers. That's what we do.
Melissa Klug: So, I mean, obviously I can't speak for every store, but I can tell you the only location I have near me it's always the same employees, like you guys have the same long-term employees. People really know what they're talking about. And this is one case where I'm not a person that likes to walk into a store and ask someone for help.
I do at a Container Store because like you said, you are super well trained, you are super knowledgeable.
And it really, I think sometimes to some people, especially if you're a newer organizer, the store might feel a little overwhelming and then you can just go like, I need someone to help me out with X, Y, Z.
And then you start to get that experience of what's in every aisle. Not just closets, but all the different aisles. Ok.
Bethany Clayton: No, absolutely it is. It's. We know every type of shoe rack, and we can tell you for the most part, I mean, we have, we always joke, we have over 14,000 SKUs, so it's like, okay, we might not remember if that one's platinum or white, we have the knowledge and that's what we do.
Those of us that work there, we do it because we'd love it. Like it's just everyone. That's what me and my manager had our interview.
I would not be able to do sales for anything else. I mean, completely serious. The idea of sales makes me uncomfortable and I couldn't sell my own services as self-employed because I, I was so self-conscious. But selling these spaces and selling these products could not be more natural for me because I use it.
I love it. I know it helps people. I, I know what organization can do. Even if it's as simple as, putting a lazy Susan in the corner of your pantry, please put your boil vinegar on. Lazy Susans, right? As simple as, and people like, but it's round, I can’t access it. I mean, just those moments make me happy.
Ah, I know they're gonna go home and their oil and vinegar will be the best it's ever been. Like. Yeah.
Melissa Klug: Well, and I think for this, but that's, that's the gift of the fact that you did professional organizing and you saw all the different houses and you were able to say like, oh, I know exactly what from product standpoint.
I will say personally, so I tend to be more on the decluttering side. I'm not the kind of organizer that will come in with, you know, a thousand dollars worth of containers on the first day.
But the thing that I find really, really important is first of all, every client's different. Everybody wants something different. And for the clients that even, you know, they don't wanna be super product heavy, the right product in the right space makes a tremendous difference. And the place where you are going to have the highest likelihood of finding that weird thing.
Yeah. That you really need for that one weird space is a hundred percent gonna be the Container Store. It's not to say that you have to come in into every job with, boatloads of product, but it is about having the right product at the right time and the right space.
Bethany Clayton: Some people are there to redo everything and they're shopping with three cart loads and, and that's awesome. You know, have fun with that. Yeah. If you're coming in because this thing is driving you crazy. Yeah. This spice bottle is too big and you can't, I mean that's, that's what we do.
Melissa Klug: I'll also say, I think one of the most slept on areas in the Container Store is the Garage Organization area.
Seriously, if you were doing a garage, I would say check out some of the garage solutions because the thing I see a lot in garages is people don't really think about using the walls.
There are so many solutions to make the walls again, for all budgets from low budget to unlimited budget, there are awesome garage solutions for people.
Bethany Clayton: I don't know if you have pictures in your show notes, but I, my garage is like, so my craft room's my happy place. Like this is, I do Circuit. I mean I do a lot of stuff.
My garage, I, I'm a tinkerer and painting furniture and doing woodworking and our camping supplies and all this stuff. And yeah, I I would love to share a photo because I am, I put mine on Pinterest, like I, I'm sorry, but I'm so proud of it and I just did it like a month ago and I've made all my coworkers look at it.
But yeah, I mean, it, it's a Elfa, it's our Titan line, it's our Ceiling rack. Ceiling rack is huge. Putting up your utility tracks, getting the rake stuff up, getting our toy organizers, our golf rack. I just, I helped a client, he did a mix of Elfa and Gladiator, which is our awesome garage product.
Yes. And then the golf bag organizer. so I designed it for him and I designed those products that are non Elfa, non closet things because I'm, I'm a sales specialist as well. We work everywhere.
Like you get stuck, you call us, we help out. Yeah, my garage is one of my favorite departments.
Melissa Klug: Well, one of the things that I encourage people who take our organizing course, which is called Organizing Essentials, I encourage people just to go, and I understand not everybody has a Container Store near them, but find your nearest container store unless it is like four hours away.
And even if it's four hours away, take a road trip. But I really encourage people to just wander. Every aisle and just spend the time there, be a little bit of a nerd, look at every single thing. It will actually give you ideas and then when you're on a, you're in a house three weeks later you're like, oh, I saw that thing in the store.
It just really gives you ideas of how you could better organize with your clients. And really just wandering every single aisle, like even aisles that I don't do that much with. Like jewelry is a good example. I just don't tend to have clients that have a lot of the need for the jewelry organizers.
But I still use those jewelry organizers in other places, in people's houses, wander every aisle and just take a look and educate yourself about what's available.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. I love when we, we get those customers. They're, and they're looking when I, I personally did not have nuch of a budget, but I wanted to organize and I treated it like a museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. Yeah. I would just, I would walk around, just absorbing the ideas. And it is, I would find that one thing. I have stuff that I still have to this day. Fridge side organizers, magnets, keep pens at, things that I've had for 10 years.
It was just getting those ideas of, oh my gosh, I could use this here and treat it like a, like a museum and yeah, definitely soak it all in.
Melissa Klug: I have a question because one of the things that I tell people sometimes is about their organizing careers, that there is also in the same way of your journey is never gonna be, linear.
Would you encourage people who are really into this, to do some of the seasonal stuff at, to apply for seasonal work at, or part-time work at The Container Store?
Bethany Clayton: Yes. I'm not familiar with everything about.
Running an organizing business while, while working there. Yeah. You want a break? Or If you want, I, you can definitely ask your store. Just be honest. Be like, hey, I, I'm a subcontractor for this organizer. Or I run this organizing business. And just see what that relationship would be like. But if you just want a minute, you want season or you want whatever, I mean, absolutely—look into it.
It is, it is all creative thinking and problem solving. You'll find different areas to plug into if your brain is detail oriented, I could not do this. We have people that are in the stock room and every time we order one of those closets, and it has 150 components. There are people who so room prepping those 150 components.
And it's so funny, the people that work in our so room, they're beasts and they're the backbone of the business and they're amazing. And I'm always like, you guys, I can't work back here. There's no people back here. They're like, we don't wanna like this, we don't want people back here. Yeah. They're like, they're like, this is exactly where I need to be. And then, and then you get people like me that just need to interact with people. I need to solve their problems, I need to do this, I need to walk around.
And then we have people that are front on the register and as a register, you're still a host. You're still solving problems for people. You're directing them where they need to be. You're just chatting with them about why they're there. They are visiting from Iowa or Indiana or whatever, and you are having these great conversations and just getting to know people and I mean, it's an outlet and it is something where being an organizer and coming in is so invaluable to The Container Store.
Just again, you've seen, you’ve seen the tangled jewelry, you've seen the too many kids toys you've seen, whatever. And you can be that, that focus for that customer be like, oh, you know what I, oh, the getting back to school time. I'm familiar with that. Let me help you get your mudroom ready. And yeah, I mean, designing guys, it is, I call it my Disney World job because it's literally—
and this is where, this is why I was not the best organizer. Like I said, the decluttering and the emotions and stuff was just, it was too much for me, and it’s —pretty essential for, for being an organizer. But what I do is I drop this beautiful design with these propped clothes and I send you a home, and I'll get a picture when it's installed and I ask for after photos.
And sometimes it's gorgeous and color coordinated and sometimes it's not. But if all that I know is I gave you the structure that you needed to be organized. Yeah. It's if you love the dream. Pantry, the dream closet. It is so much fun.
Melissa Klug: One of the things that I think is absolutely critical is knowing yourself well enough to know, can I take some of this on? So you know about yourself and you say, Hey, I still wanna help people get organized, it's really important. This is a way that you could do that in a different way.
And you found something that, I mean, calling something your Disney World job is pretty great by the way. Not a lot of people get that in their life. So I think that's great.
But. It's just a reminder too, if you are someone, and it may not be working at The Container Store, but it may be if you are someone that has those highs and lows, it might just be, you know what? I want to be a subcontractor. You know? I wanna always consider that, yeah, I want to be a subcontractor because I don't wanna take on all of the things, you can find a lot of different parts of what really lights your fire and.
Being honest about that with yourself, I think is crazy important.
Bethany Clayton: I feel very fortunate for how it all played out and the fact that this is a career is just, to me, like I'm still pretty, pretty amazed by that.
Melissa Klug: I know we've talked about it a little bit, but what would be some of the tips you would give to organizers about, really getting to know your local store or getting to know the services that you have available?
Bethany Clayton: Absolutely. I would say just when you come in or call any part-time associate specialist would be happy to work with you, but you might wanna find out the regular people, the people that are more regularly, more consistent hours just to build that relationship with. And then there will usually be someone in the store that they do get those side projects of putting together the 8:00 AM meetings and they do put these things together and just, I mean, absolutely just ask like, Hey, I'm an organizer in the area.
Especially if you don't feel like you know those of us that are in these national groups or international groups, we don't have always the local situation. We don't have the support system that we want, so just say I'm an organizer, maybe I'm just getting started, or I've been in the business for five years and I'd like to plug in with other organizers and do what's best for my clients and get more knowledge.
We will add you to that list we'll absolutely try to get you on that list. We'll try to put together. Events for you or just tell you? Come in and have a conversation with us about, I tend to have the luxury client that wants the bedroom switched over to a built-in cabinetry situation in the primary closet. Or I have a client that has a $500 budget to do two spaces and, you know, on and on and on. We will work with you and we'll get an idea of your clientele. And it is, it's just relationships. Like I said, we, we love having regulars. It just is something that, maybe it's again, because I never had it in my career.
I was always part-time or on call or whatever, and I was always jealous when people would have these relationships with people. But I had someone come in and I'd only known over the phone. She came in in person. I was like, oh, I'm Bethany. Like I'm the person you've been talking. Yeah. At the same time, two more people came in.
They're like, Hey, Bethany. I was like, oh my God! It’s like, Cheers around here, like we're happy to have that relationship. We're all excited about this type of stuff, and it's a great way for you to meet local people and we can, we can hone in on, on what you need.
And then the trade program. Look into the trade program not only Yeah, look as insider, Organized Insiders, track your receipts.
But trade program promo
Melissa Klug: thank you, are awesome. I should have been very clear that I met the trade program. Like get into the trade program. All you have to do is have, some of your business information and you can apply. My experience was, it was very easy, but getting that trade discount, it helps so much.
It makes such a big, big difference.
Bethany Clayton: And they've improved it. They've improved it. Which is awesome. While it was just your clients like one coupon a year or whatever that and now it's the trade program is awesome. Look into being one of our ambassadors. If you're huge on social media and you're always sharing those photos, put our hashtag and they will, you'll get, you know, you see those reels on Instagram—Container Store and they're featuring someone or an iDesign product with this designer. Use those hashtags and you can promote each other.
Melissa Klug: The thing that is really important, and I talk about this a lot is, as an organizer, you are a resource manager.
Part of your job is to corral and to know, this person can help me with this and this person can help me with this, and this person can help my client with that. And I think making Container Store, if you have one in your local area, making it a part of your resource library is really, really great.
Bethany Clayton: And to be able to use that when you're doing consults and initiating and just calls and whatever, and be like, well, I have a relationship with the local container store, so I'm familiar with all of their products and how we can design those for you. It adds a different level of, of knowledge and resource.
Melissa Klug: Well, where do you see your career going? Do you have, what did, do you have like a where, where, where do you see your life going?
Bethany Clayton: I really, I always say, I'm like, I, I dunno. I'm good. Right? I dunno, management. Maybe one day I'll be ready for management. But yeah, I like my level of taking care of my clients.
It is, it's a project management job on top of being creative thinking and problem solving. So I'm in a sweet spot. I'm very happy.
I always say the one job, if anyone's listening, I want to be a buyer for the containers, right? I mean, it's, it, that's the dream. I mean, following trends and trying to figure out which products to pair with and design, so many of our labels now are our own label, you know? We went, we, I, I love our new Everything Organizer bins that are, it was like we had iDesign and then Home Edit has iDesign, and then we did the Container Store everyday bench, and it's perfectly square, and it's, and they're just like, ugh.
They're just perfect. And so, anyway, that's. That's the dream. Being the person with the pulse on the trend, because that's, I mean, that's what I do anyway. I can't not be on Pinterest and Instagram like I keep my business Instagram just for inspiration.
So, hi. If anyone's listening, Sourcing!
Melissa Klug: This is really funny because, going back to, you have to know yourself. What you just described would be like, my stress nightmare. I would be so stressed out trying to figure out, like, I always hated in my old business jobs, I hated strategy.
I hated, looking out five years. I hated look like, it just, it stressed me out. That's the only way I can describe it. So when you talk about like, oh, figuring out trends, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Can't do it.
Bethany Clayton: People will be amazed. I mean, spatially, I can tell if it's nine inches or 10 and a half, like, yeah, that's hilarious.
Like I, I look at the top shelf and I'm like, okay, how far is this from the ceiling? And I look at a rough face. I'm like, ok, that's between like 72 and 75 inches. And, and then I figure out your space and, and people are like, how do you do that? And spatial reasoning is my jam. It is. I, it makes sense to me.
My brain can do it. Yeah. And I can't do, you know, math counting like that. Like I said, being in the stockroom drives me crazy. And like if I ever had to like plan a wedding or be, you know, a director of a place, you know, everyone's schedules and when this needs to be here and, you know, I have friends that do all this stuff.
Project managing, event management, like time and people resources. Nope. You, you really do. And, and I think I had that time to learn because I, I tried everything for so long. I tried so many different things. I did learn creative thinking. Yep. Problem solving and spatial reasoning are absolutely are my strength.
And I found this sweet little spot where, yeah, I get to do that.
Melissa Klug: I love it. I love it. Yeah. So what we've learned today is listen to yourself, listen to what your brain is telling you, and then find the path that works for you. I love it.
Bethany Clayton: Absolutely. Absolutely. And you're not a failure if you change. Really trying hard and learning about yourself and learning to go in a different direction does not mean you fail.
Melissa Klug: I would also say that this is a lesson for people too who are sitting here going like, I dream of starting an organizing business. And I'm in a nine to five that I hate. And I really wanna give this a try. There are ways that you can make all of these life changes in a way that doesn't blow up your entire life, or you can blow up your entire life and be like, I'm going all in.
Bethany Clayton: absolutely. It's. I, I, I went from the free schedule, do everything, run on my own, pinpointed what that was good and what was bad for me.
And then I, I made all these different moves. But that's what I'm saying is if, if you are in the opposite where you've always worked, you've always focused on family, you've always done these things, maybe it is like, but I realize I'm really good when I do this. I thrive in this situation. And if that points away to being your own boss and organizing for people, take that as your sign to do it. To try it.
Melissa Klug: We've all got a lot of paths that we can go down, so I think that we're very lucky. I think we're living in a good age of we can make our own adventure and I love it. Is there anything that I have not touched on that you would like to, is there anything I missed?
Bethany Clayton: The reason we're doing this podcast, do you remember why we're doing this podcast? We were in the group, an inspired organizer and someone, I, for anyone who's squeamish about things with legs and things, that stuff Oh, the, the spider. That's right. It just, it's hilarious.
We were training a new manager the other day, and I, I, I told them, I was talking about this and I was like, yeah, me and my general manager are cracking up. Yeah. And he's brand new to the company. We're like, oh yeah, get people, spider people and snake people. Like, just get ready.
Melissa Klug: Thank you for reminding me because I did, I did forget that. So for anybody, I found, I was doing a search for something for a client and I always look at reviews and one of the first reviews is like, this is not what this is for, but it's great. And it was someone who's like, this is a great tarantula cage.
And the person literally said if you are looking for something for a medium ground dwelling tarantula, this is a great product for you. And I'm like, what is happening? And you're like, well, I work at the Container Store and we get a lot of pet people in the store.
And I'm like, tell me more.
Bethany Clayton: So, yeah, no, it's hilarious. And that's why I learned ants don't see red. So red boxes we have are the perfect way to view a natural like habitat of an ant without bothering them. Those boxes, people will take them and there's not a little holes and holes in 'em, but those ones, the reason people love those is they already have holes in them.
Yeah. And, and it's so funny. People are either, I dunno. People are kind of apologetic. They're like, you have no idea what I'm using it for. And I'm like, I mean, is it snakes and, yeah. Right. Yeah. Right.
Melissa Klug: You're like, oh, trust me. I do know what it's for.
Bethany Clayton: Like it, I mean, it's, it's amazing. I mean, the last guy was roly polies.
Like, I, I'm not joking, it's just, it's just all the time and. Yeah, sometimes they put their own holes in it. Sometimes it's because those shoe boxes have vent in them for air circulations so that the shoes don't smell bad. But they're perfect air holes for things that crawl and slitter. So, so it's just part of it.
Melissa Klug: It’s so funny. Little did you know when you started working at the Container Store that you had also become an expert on rodents and slither animals and animals that a lot of people would consider very scary.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. They, they load up their carts. I mean, we are, and it has to be on their forum. Stuff like it has to be part of what they learn if they go the Container Store.
Yeah, that's just it. It's something that comes with the job.
Melissa Klug: I completely love it. Thank you for reminding me because I actually, you're, I had completely forgotten how it all happened.
So thank you for reminding me because that was truly hilarious. So that's a, it just made me realize, like I should probably read, like just if in my free time I should probably scroll through container store comment or the like reviews. Yeah. And be like, what else am I missing that's hilarious. That I can put on my social media.
Bethany Clayton: Yeah. That's definitely one of our more interesting, interesting things that happened.
Melissa Klug: Well, thank you so much for all this information. This is like super, super, super good information. And remember, just please reach out to your local store and if you don't have a container store near you, totally fine.
There are tons of things online that you can do to interact with the store, like so many great things. So just like do some research on how you can get involved. Absolutely.
Bethany Clayton: And use if, if you're in another country, just use our Instagram, our Pinterest to get ideas for what could work for you.
Yeah. So I, I know I, I know a lot of Canadian organizers and stuff, and they're very upset and it is, but you can always pull the inspiration and, and there's always gonna be something you can, figure out.
Melissa Klug: Well, thank you so much for your time today. It was so nice to talk to you.
Bethany Clayton: It was super fun.
Thanks so much. And yeah, people can reach out to me and then yeah, I'm at the Schaumburg store. Yeah, I don't know if, if you guys have, if anyone's in the area, definitely let me know. We have. We have five stores in the area, including a Chicago showroom that shows all of our products. So that's super fun.
But yeah, I mean, if you guys have any questions, we would love to work with whoever is in the area or has any questions around the.
Melissa Klug: love it. Well, the next time I'm in the suburbs, the next time I'm in Illinois, I'm gonna drop by and say hi and see you in person.
Bethany Clayton: Yay. That'd be amazing.