The Untold Truth Of Get Organized With The Home Edit

If the year 2020 taught the world anything, it's the unexpected bliss that comes with staying home, even in the most unappealing of circumstances. But despite the many complications of 2020, the year still brought plenty of entertainment to the table, specifically in the form of Netflix originals. For instance, "Get Organized with The Home Edit" might sound like the most boring series ever given its subject matter, but it's actually proven to be super interesting.

Specifically, the series features friends and business partners, Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, who venture into the homes of both celebrities and regular people to organize their most cluttered spaces. It sounds dull, but when the dynamic duo reveal the finished product — whether it's a pantry, closet, or even a garage — your senses can't help but be both overwhelmed and calmed at the same time. 

The ladies of The Home Edit are truly magical, but the untold truth of the series is a lot more compelling, and even a little darker, than you might imagine.

When you watch "Get Organized with The Home Edit" on Netflix, the friendship between Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer is obvious. While friends working together could get complicated, Teplin and Shearer make it work. 

The pair founded their company, The Home Edit, in a pretty extraordinary way, as the decision to start an organizational company kind of happened overnight. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Teplin and Shearer explained how the company came about; it was totally happenstance, and it started with a blind lunch date. "We got up from that lunch as business partners without even asking each other," Shearer said. "We had just jumped in right away and we didn't have the normal lunch/brunch chitchat." Instead, Teplin and Shearer found themselves asking each other about their skills.

Obviously, it all worked out, but the fact that the two ladies started this massive company and landed a Netflix show all from a lunch date is pretty impressive.

There's no denying the fact that the Netflix original series, "Get Organized with The Home Edit," is seriously satisfying to watch. Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer are able to take a cluttered, messy, and disorganized space and turn it into a visually-pleasing, color-coordinated, Instagram-worthy organized masterpiece. Here's why The Home Edit ladies organize everything in rainbow order.

However, as inspiring as "Get Organized with The Home Edit" is to watch, you might want to think twice before you try to hire The Home Edit team because they aren't cheap. According to their website, the lowest rate for services from The Home Edit is $195 per hour, but that's only in certain locations. For larger cities such as Los Angeles or New York City, their rate goes up to $250 an hour. 

Additionally, Teplina and Shearer offer online virtual consultations, which cost around the same at $250 an hour; but you could get a deal if you want three hours of virtual services, which they charge $525 for. Who knew getting a pantry that looks straight off of Pinterest could be so expensive?

Though the founders of The Home Edit, Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, launched their business pretty quickly, that doesn't mean they weren't prepared to really get their name out there. In fact, Teplin and Shearer had a pretty smart way of getting celebrities interested in their organization services, and it helped launch their career across the country. Realistically, hiring a professional organizer doesn't seem all that appealing to average people, but when celebrities or Instagram models do it? You might just want to sign up.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creative geniuses behind "Get Organized with The Home Edit" revealed that they had a plan when it came to landing big clients. "We had offered some of my high profile friends doing a free project for them in exchange for them to post," Shearer said. "So we did Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, some high profile bloggers." 

Clearly, landing some big influencers and celebrities with a ton of followers was a great plan, as it eventually led to a Netflix series.

Reese Witherspoon – who's undergone a stunning transformation — is far more than just an actor. She's also a wife, mother, avid reader, and executive producer. Her company, Hello Sunshine, is known for bringing women-centered stories to the forefront — and it's also the company behind "Get Organized with The Home Edit," with Witherspoon executive producing the series, of course.

Clea Shearer explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that she and Joanna Teplin had been approached by Molly Sims to turn their organizational skills into a show; while they were in the midst of putting that together, another huge opportunity presented itself. "We get a DM from Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon's' company," she said. "I was like, 'How'd you hear about us?' They were like, 'Reese found you on Instagram. She thought you were funny.'" And the rest was history. 

Witherspoon signed on to executive produce the series shortly thereafter, and the duo became a total smash hit with viewers everywhere. Honestly, everything Witherspoon touches turns to gold, including The Home Edit.

Edit, categorize, and then contain are the three steps that The Home Edit team lives by on their Netflix series. And as cheap as those first two steps are, that last one can be a real doozy. As both The Home Edit's Instagram feed and Netflix series show, the most satisfying part of organizing a space like your pantry or closet is the end product. For Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, the "contain" part of their process loosely translates into "put stuff into containers that we sell."

With an exclusive collection at The Container Store, anyone can get the same containers and products shown on "Get Organized with The Home Edit." But, much like the services that the ladies of The Home Edit offer, their products aren't cheap. Sure, you could get the same cereal containers seen in the beautiful pantries they organize on the show, but they'll run you about $20, each. Want one of those adorable labels the ladies used to help Reese Witherspoon keep track of what belonged where? Those will cost you $3 each. 

Again, it's not cheap to organize The Home Edit way, but dang if it doesn't look good.

While the most satisfying part of watching "Get Organized with The Home Edit" is obviously the reveal at the end of each episode, there's also something very entertaining about watching Joanna Teplin, Clea Shearer, and their team rush to make their deadline. And as it turns out, that time crunch was super stressful for just about everyone on set.

Shearer told Entertainment Weekly that yes, "the time crunch is real," and it wasn't just an added effect. "We are given a very specific amount of time that we're allowed to even be in the person's home," she explained. Shearer added that it wasn't just The Home Edit organization team that was on a deadline, but the crew as well. Everyone had a very short time to film, meet the client and go over the expectations, and then get into the actual work. 

So, when you see Teplin and Shearer stressing out on the series about whether they'll actually get it done in time, that is very real. But, they always manage to pull it off.

Perhaps the biggest draw of the Netflix original, "Get Organized with The Home Edit," is when Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer step foot into the homes of celebrities in order to organize their most cluttered spaces. It gives hope to anyone watching at home that even the rich and famous are messy. And while the show does have a segment focused on average people, it's not the primary draw. What's more, it's also not where Teplin and Shearer seem the happiest; people have noticed the two prefer working with celebrities, and that's rubbed people the wrong way.

The Guardian specifically took a jab at Shearer and Teplin, noting that they seem to value their celebrity clients on the show more than their average, everyday clients. On Twitter, one user even wrote, "while I wasn't impressed with their organizational skills, I have to admit that their sucking-up-to-celebrity-client skills are on point."

True, Teplin and Shearer probably make a lot of money from their celebrity clients, but the fact that there was such a noticeable difference in their attitudes makes it a little hard to stomach.

It's pretty obvious that The Home Edit team really values containing things. After all, it's one of their three pillars of organization. But despite their love for all things storage, there's one organizing trend The Home Edit ladies can't stand: wire baskets.

While "Get Organized with The Home Edit" features a myriad of different container styles, Teplin and Shearer typically steer clear of wire baskets. In an interview with PureWow, Teplin explained why. "Things fall through the slots, and because there's no concealment — and there's the grid [from the wire] — everything tends to look cluttered in them," she said. Teplin added that wire baskets tend to cause damage on shelves, something they don't like to promote. 

Wire baskets might be fine for toys on the floor, or even pillows and blankets, but The Home Edit ladies don't suggest them.

With as many celebrity clients as The Home Edit ladies have, it must be hard for them to look back and remember specific details about each one. However, Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer do remember one of their most difficult celebrity clients, and it probably won't shock you — not because this celeb is necessarily messy, but because their closet was full of iconic and one-of-a-kind pieces.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shearer and Teplin explained that organizing Rachel Zoe's closet was like curating artifacts at a museum on "Get Organized with The Home Edit." "That is a challenge because it's like if you were at the Smithsonian and asked to get rid of a dinosaur bone," Teplin explained. "In that way, we're working on a different level, because it's very hard to get rid of these iconic pieces." 

Zoe is a fashion icon, so it wouldn't be right to throw anything out, really. Instead, the ladies had to really tune into their organizational and containing skills to make it work. But of course, they did. Whatever happened to Rachel Zoe, anyway?

When most people watch a show like "Get Organized with The Home Edit," they may feel some doubt. Many might assume that their own homes could never look as pristine and de-cluttered as the ones Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer reveal at the end of each segment. 

However, if you want to eventually turn your home into the rainbow, Instagram-worthy fever dream that is The Home Edit's aesthetic, then the duo suggests one room to start with. And no, it's not your pantry. "I think when it comes to a bathroom, it's supercritical," Shearer told Moms. "It's so important to have routines, and having all of your items just right there in front of you." 

Shearer went on to explain that for moms especially, having a "daily station" that's organized for kids (and put in a drawer in the bathroom) can help with things like brushing teeth or taking vitamins, and keep things tidy. Those two really do think of everything.

As visually pleasing as "Get Organized with The Home Edit" is to watch, the series has another thing going for it that you might not realize. In addition to the founders and stars of the series, Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, being female, most of the crew was as well. 

Obviously, Reese Witherspoon is all about female empowerment, and it seems as though the hiring process for the crew was pretty intentional about choosing the best of the best — and that meant women. "We have been so fortunate to work with this crew," Teplin explained in a behind-the-scenes video for the series. "It is largely female, and they are all such powerhouses in their own unique field." 

The duo went on to explain that the director of photography, executive producers, showrunner, field producers, and audio supervisor were all women. "Everyone is really amazing," Shearer gushed. "They prop us up and hold us up." Truly, talk about girl power.

While watching "Get Organized with The Home Edit," you may become jealous of The Home Edit founders Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, and their close proximity to Reese Witherspoon's Nashville home. But their decision to stay in a more southern location, despite having clients all over the world (and a substantial number of celebrity clients in Los Angeles) was a complex one.

Specifically, Teplin and Shearer feel that Nashville is their home, and it gives them something Los Angeles or New York City never could. "Growing up in L.A., I don't know that I would've had the confidence to try and create my own business in such a big, bustling place," Shearer told Garden & Gun in an interview. "Nashville gave us that confidence because it's such a welcoming environment." She added that everyone there has been supportive, and they've been able to get their footing. 

Truly, bigger cities can be intimidating, and while Nashville is still large, it's smaller and homier for The Home Edit team — and that's why they've stayed.

Clearly, the ladies of The Home Edit love to work with celebrities, but that doesn't mean each celebrity client is a walk in the park. On the other hand, there's one celebrity client who Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer almost wish they could hire.

In an interview with ABC10, the pair was asked who that person may be, and their answer was unsurprising: Khloé Kardashian. The reality television star and Instagram influencer is known for her obsessive organizational skills, but even she needed The Home Edit's help organizing her garage space. But, it wasn't all that hard. "She is so organized," Teplin said of Kardashian. "Literally, makes us almost look messy," Shearer chimed in. 

But that's not all, as the ladies from "Get Organized with The Home Edit" seriously respect Kardashian's skills. "She just lives her life in such an amazingly organized way, and could truly take our jobs any second," Teplin joked. Hey, if all else fails for Kardashian, a career in professional organization doesn't seem too far off for her.

While we were all busy bingeing "Get Organized with The Home Edit," the obsession with organizing happened to catch the attention of the Television Academy, too. In 2021, it was announced that the first season had officially been nominated for a Daytime Emmy. "We never could have imagined, we couldn't have dreamt, honestly, how much people resonated with the show," Clea Shearer later admitted during an interview with Manny the Movie Guy. "The success of the show was a shock."

The winner in the Outstanding Instructional and How-To Program category ended up going to a show called "This Old House," but the attention still caught both Shearer and Joanna Teplin completely off-guard. Prior to their nomination, the successful series had already been renewed for a second season on Netflix. "Organizing is so fun and so satisfying and so rewarding," Teplin said on the "Out of Bounds Podcast with Jaimie and Abby." "And then it's instantaneously rewarding. That's the thing. Nothing else in life is instantaneously rewarding!" Except for being nominated for an Emmy, perhaps!

As exciting as it was for Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin (and for all of us obsessed fans) to have their series renewed for a second season, working on a sequel to such a successful first season was a scary experience. "Even if you're a singer, musician, whatever it is, going into kind of your sophomore level of something is always a little nerve-wracking," Shearer admitted during an interview with Manny the Movie Guy.

Yet, these two had the perfect plan in mind to store away that fear. Instead of concentrating on outdoing themselves, the duo decided to give fans an even more up-close and personal view of their extremely organized lives this time around. Viewers now get a glimpse into what their homes look like, their precious family time, and even get to see brand new organizational projects unfold in Season 2. "We did a lot of creative studios-slash-offices this second season," Teplin told House Beautiful. "I think that's partially a result of the pandemic and the situation that we're all living amongst."

Out of all the famous faces we've gotten the chance to see (unorganized closets and all), there's still one celebrity that Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer would love to have on their show: Michelle Obama. "I will categorize all those jewel-toned sweaters all day long," Shearer gushed during an interview with Pay or Wait.

Some other celebrities that they can't wait to get their organizing hands on include some of the most powerful women in the world. Alongside Obama, Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey are also on their list. Yet, their organizing aspirations stretch way farther than just the states. "I really would love to do the Queen of England," Shearer added – especially with all of her hats. Unfortunately, "we've been told no," she noted. 

On the other hand, we'd be happy to accept any organizational help this duo is offering, so feel free to give us a call!