Hestia Homes transforms families’ well-being through the art of organization

Last month, I finally stashed the holiday décor for another year and surveyed my streamlined home. So fresh! So clean! But inside the stuffed closets, cupboards, drawers, and pantry lurked a bewildering array of items I rarely use, and even if I did, they’d be difficult to find. And how many candles does one really need? On the recommendation of a neighbor, I met with Bianca Helm, MBA, founder of North County-based Hestia Homes, to learn not only how to organize our house to be more functional, but to help us feel happier.

“I wanted a name that had a deeper meaning for my company than ‘being organized’ and that reflected the importance that great organization can have on a family,” Helm explains. “Hestia is actually the name of the ancient Greek goddess of the hearth, the family, and the home. To me, the meaning of ‘Hestia’ and the focus on the hearth — the heart of the home — perfectly represents what organization means to me and what I want to accomplish with my company. It is about great organization that is both beautiful and functional and the belief that a home is the heart of a family. Taking care of your home and the way you feel in it is also a way to take care of your family.” 

In fact, the company’s philosophy is “organization is a feeling,” developed over time as Helm noticed the positive impact her work had on families as she helped them declutter. “Great organization is more than creating systems and putting things in order,” she explains. “I have many stories I could share about how editing or getting organized has helped people, helped relationships, saved time, and improved mental health.” 

For example, client Mackenzie Foote felt “refreshed, lighter, productive, and creative” after hiring Hestia Homes for several projects including organizing her daughters’ playroom. “It was overwhelming to me, and my kids couldn’t find anything,” says Foote. “She sourced bins and containers that were in my price range and executed a perfect playroom for my girls. It’s still clean, thanks to her.” Helm also helped Foote clear out garage cabinets, including one filled with craft supplies that are now accessible to her daughters, and also organized the laundry room which was once a “catch all.” It now has labeled bins for cleaning products and even a drawer dedicated for masks. “I’m not overwhelmed doing laundry now,” Foote says. “I walk into a room and know where everything is. It completely takes a weight off your shoulders.” 

Jewelry designer Lisette Polny of Zofia Day enlisted Helm’s help to organize the kitchen, bathroom, and her daughter’s closet in her family’s new Encinitas home. “She can find pieces that create space you didn’t know you had and she implemented systems that worked well not only for me but my husband and child,” says Polny. In fact, her husband was so thrilled that he texted Helm, “I was just given the task to get a specific hairbrush for my daughter and my wife’s face cream. I would usually fumble around searching and cursing silently to myself, then give up. This evening I found both and pranced back like a happy puppy with a new toy. Thank you! Your organizing is awesome.” Polny sums up the experience this way: “It’s very personal, it’s very curated, and Bianca will become a part of your family.”

Helm also helped Carlsbad’s Anna Capovilla, a busy executive and mother of two, convert a makeshift home office into a tranquil, zen-like space that is also functional. “Work from home with the pandemic was a real challenge,” says Capovilla. “She transformed my study/home office into a beautiful, peaceful, and highly organized area. It was my sanctuary in all the chaos.” Capovilla notes the redo reduced the stress of working from home and also saved time that had been spent searching for things in a messy room.  “Time is one of the most precious things we have, so getting a little bit more time every day is a great gift,” Helm says. “I get to see how decluttering and organizing affects our feeling in a space, and allows us to reclaim our homes and our time. That is why I feel that what we do at Hestia Homes extends so much further than organization.” 

So how — and where — to begin? “An important part of the process is the editing step, which often overwhelms a lot of people, and they don’t know where to start,” says Helm. Her tips for letting go? “First, just because someone gave you something doesn’t mean it is your responsibility to look after it forever,” she says. “Second, take everything out of their boxes. It helps you see what you have and prevents buying duplicates. Third, start small! It can be overwhelming when thinking about an entire room, so set small goals to start. For example, just focus on one drawer instead of the whole room.”   

Measuring comes next. “One of the mistakes I often see people make is buying the cute bins before they have done the editing, categorizing, and measuring steps,” she says. Hestia Homes will do all that for you as well as source and buy products for your custom organization solutions. But it also provides guidance for those who want to do most of the work themselves.

The company offers a complimentary consultation, whether the project is a simple redo of a few drawers in the kitchen or a whole house. Other services include staging a home in preparation for a sale or photo shoot and move-in services after a home purchase that range from designing and planning storage spaces in closets and drawers to unpacking. Small jobs can take a day or two; a whole house can take weeks. The cost is $85 an hour for time spent in one’s home or office. (Mention this article, and Hestia Homes will offer Ranch & Coast readers ten percent off their first project.)

“Once you get bitten by the organizing bug, you want to do all the rooms in the house,” says Capovilla, who wants Helm to organize her two boys’ rooms this spring. “It saves so much time, creates space, and makes you love your home more.” 858.336.6404, hestiahomesco.com