`At first I was excited,” said Holly Tlutsky, “then I realized that all of America is going to see our messy kitchen.”
Holly and her family recently finished taping an episode of “Mission: Organization” for HGTV. The series transforms disorderly rooms from daunting to organized. Host Gail O’Neill explains the redesign while a professional organizer de-clutters and revamps the space.
Holly Tlutsky, of Downers Grove, wrote to the show’s Web site and sent pictures of her family and their chaotic kitchen before being interviewed by one of the producers and chosen for a makeover.
The episode is scheduled to run in July, she said.
Guided by professional organizer Tracey Hall, Holly and her husband, Tim, removed their belongings from the problem area. They spoke about their experience in an interview last week.
After living in their house for six years, the Tlutskys accumulated a lot of needless paraphernalia. “Realizing how much clutter we had was eye-opening,” Tim said.
“It was easy to part with,” she said.
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Hall instructed them to divide and discard. “We had to put everything into four piles: keep, toss, move to another room or donate,” Tim said. Not only did they want to eradicate the unnecessary, he said, but the also “wanted a kitchen that was better organized and would run more efficiently.”
In addition to sorting their stuff, the couple had to paint and pay for part of the remodeling. Local builders contributed labor, materials and new appliances.
“They added cabinets and lighting, reconfigured the [layout], got rid of the island and made a dinette area,” Tim said.
The Tlutskys also had to clear out their kids, 6-year-old Tyler and 3-year-old Dylan, until the project was finished. “They were troopers,” Tim said. In return, the boys got a cubby area to store their toys and crafts.
“Now I don’t have to go digging for things for them,” Holly said. And, “I feel confident that I can apply what we learned to other rooms [in the house].”
“It’s almost like being in a new home,” Tim said. “We kind of got our lives back.”
Of the results, Holly said, “I love my new kitchen. It functions as great as it looks.”
On the final day of filming, Holly made cheese ravioli and Italian beef sandwiches for the crew. “I couldn’t wait to get cooking,” she said.
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Carmel Carrillo is assistant editor of Real Estate. You may contact her at [email protected], or write to her at baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.