FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #79 Inside Tidy Transformations: Local Organizing With Heart
Overwhelm has a way of hiding in plain sight—piled on the dining table, stacked by the stairs, tucked into closets we try not to open. Organizer and entrepreneur Aimey Giacinto joins us to share how Tidy Transformations helps families, teachers, and everyday neighbors turn the page on clutter and reclaim spaces that actually support their lives. Her story begins at a crossroads: a broken job promise, two kids, and a mortgage due—then a small organizing project that unlocked purpose, demand, and a business built on service.
We unpack the emotional side of decluttering and why judgment-free guidance matters more than picture-perfect bins. Aimey brings a mindset-coach approach to tough decisions, using simple questions that honor attachment, reduce decision fatigue, and build momentum without forcing a purge. Clients often revisit a room twice, finding that the second pass is where clarity clicks and the load truly lightens. Along the way, we talk real-world wins—from six-hour baby-clothes systems that save new parents’ sanity to classroom resets that give teachers back time and focus.
Impact extends beyond the home. Tidy Transformations channels donations to local partners, including Head Start for backpacks and kids’ coats and Provisions for hygiene and food support, turning personal progress into community care. And with the holidays on the horizon, Aimey’s team offers a sanity-saving decor service: set out your decorations, share your style, and come home to the glow—then have it all packed away when the season ends. If you’ve ever wondered whether professional organizing is only for celebrities, consider this your nudge: it’s practical, accessible, and designed to fit your budget and pace.
Ready to feel your living room breathe again? Listen now, share with a friend who needs a boost, and subscribe for more local stories and insights. If this conversation helped, leave a review—it helps more neighbors find the show.
Aimey Giacinto
Tidy Transformations
tidytransformations2023@gmail.com
+1 540-420-2936
Fredericksburg, VA, United States, Virginia
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I'm excited to introduce you to my guest today. We have Aimey Giacinto joining us, and she is with Tidy Transformations. Aimey, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to dive in and learn all about you and your business. So let's start there. Share with us a little bit about Tidy Transformations.
Speaker 2:So Tidy Transformations is a decluttering and organizing business. We come to your home and we work with people from people that are hoarders to hey, I have all this stuff and I'm not really sure how to make it look pretty in my house. So we um help a wider range of people. Our services include like hourly just going to your home and helping you for a couple hours, to hey, I'll come into your home, I'll take measurements, I'll give you ideas of things to buy, you'll purchase those, we can put those together for you, and then we organize everything and make your space look beautiful. So we do a little bit of everything in between.
Speaker:Such a needed service. And I haven't heard of any other business uh in the Fredericksburg area doing this. So uh congratulations. I I'm I'm interested to learn your backstory and your journey. Tell me how you got into this.
Speaker 2:So um I kind of fell into it, so to speak. Um I was married, I was a stay-at-home mom. We ended up splitting up, and the only thing I had done while I was with my ex-husband was work at a dental office. And I had been an entrepreneur before that, but I have two kids now, so I'm like, okay, what am I gonna do? So I was working at a dental office, and it really wasn't working for us because my ex-husband he travels a lot, and you have to be there, even if the kids are sick, and I didn't have anybody to help me with the kids. So I was looking for other things, I found a job and I was gonna be working from home doing dental claims. And the day that I was my last day at the dental office, after I got off, I looked at my phone and I had a message from the lady and she said, I'm so sorry. The company that I was hiring you for to help with, they backed out of the contract and I have no work for you. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? How am I gonna pay my mortgage? How am I gonna feed my kids? So um, my best friend owns a cleaning company in southern Virginia, and that's where my family lives. So when my kids would go to their dad's house for the weekend, they would go from Thursday night till Monday morning. I would go down to Rocky Mount and I would work as long as I could, as many hours as I could. And I was like, okay, we got to make this work somehow. Um and one time I went down and my mom said, Hey, there's a lady at church that she's become a little bit of a hoarder. Her husband had passed away, and she just kind of let the house go. And she needed help going through her things and like deciding what to keep and try to organize things. And I'm like, okay. And I went and I did it, and I'm like, this does not even seem like work to me. Like, I can't believe somebody was willing to pay me to just like sort through their stuff. And um so I came home and I put it out on Facebook on some mom groups, and I'm like, hey, does anybody need my help? I started getting people messaging me and I'm like, okay. And then as as that kind of grew, I found Thumbtack. And when I found Thumbtack, my business exploded. And I now have two employees, and I come we come out either one person or you can come out with two people, me and an assistant to the jobs, and it just everything has just kind of fallen into place.
Speaker:Wow, that's amazing. That's amazing to go from you know, kind of kind of in a in a tough spot to now uh having a successful business with employees. So that's amazing. Congratulations on your success.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it it has been a very humbling experience, but it's always also been very good because um in what I do, we're able to give back to the community too. And when I first started my business, um my son had went had gone to Head Start. So he was in the Head Start program. And it would it was very helpful for me. Like my daughter was in school, he was in the in Head Start, so it was very helpful. And now being in this business, we're able to give back. We have partnerships with provisions. Um, I'm working with Head Start when we get because we get donations from our clients, you know, people are decluttering, so they're donating their things. So what we do is when we get the donations, we bring them back, we kind of separate them and allocate them to different things, like all the book bags and small coats and jackets. We save those for Head Start so that we can donate them to them at the beginning of the school year and like around Christmas time so they can have those. We donate things to provisions. They have a um, I'm not sure if you're familiar with them, but they have like a hygiene closet and they can even take in food so that they can give out donations of food and hygiene products to to the people of the community. So I'm very, very helpful, um, thankful for them and glad that we're partnering with them. But there's also other little organizations that we're working with of, hey, what do you guys need? Okay, when we get these things, we're gonna provide them for you. Um, we just donated like a half a trunk load of school supplies like um binder clips, staplers, uh notepads, labels, things like that to the to Smith Station elementary. And it like I'm so thankful that we're able to do that. Wow, that's amazing. How rewarding it is. It the whole job is rewarding because first of all, I don't feel like I'm working, I feel like I'm hanging out with friends because when you're working with somebody that tight quarters, yeah, you begin to they they share things with you, you're able to share things with them, and you it's immediate gratification because by the end of the day, you see, oh, look, this is what I did. Okay, I did something, I accomplished something today. And then to be able to like then come home and help people in the community that might not have been able to be helped, that that's very rewarding as well.
Speaker:Yeah, I could see that. I mean, you are spending quality time with someone going through personal items, and I imagine there's a lot of stories being shared when you are, you know, kind of digging through things and find things, but there's probably a lot of healing in that too, because physical clutter can sometimes lead to anxiety and and you know, mind clutter and and all of that. So you're also helping people, helping people's lives as well. So what a cool business you've got here.
Speaker 2:It's so funny you say that because I was just at a client's house earlier and I just finished it not too long ago. And after we finished, we were working on her living room, and I was like, It's so I can breathe so much better in here. And she goes, Me too. She's like, I feel so much lighter now. And I'm like, I hugged her and I was like, My job has been done then. Like that makes me happy that you feel lighter being in your living room now. So yeah, I love it.
Speaker:I love that. What are some myths or misconceptions that you hear about your business?
Speaker 2:I haven't really heard a lot, but I heard this one the other day, and a lady said she asked me what I did, and I said, I'm an organizer, I go into people's homes and organize. And she goes, People do that, and I was like, What do you mean? She goes, Well, I've heard of like the Kardashians doing it or people on celebrities on TV having people come in and organize, but I didn't know that normal people do this. And I'm like, actually, yeah, like I've worked with all kinds of people. I've even worked with teachers and helped them organize their classrooms. I mean, like I've worked with all kinds of people. So yeah, everybody, everybody could benefit from this service if you have any kind of clutter or you just don't. Some people just don't know where to put their stuff. They're like, it maybe it looks nice, but they're like, I just have all this stuff and I don't I don't know what to do with it.
Speaker:So yeah, I'm really glad you shared that because that's interesting. Because if that person had that perspective, I'm sure there are others too, who maybe thought this was just a luxury thing and that they probably think, oh, that's that's a luxury, not something that I can afford, or but it's it's probably quite accessible, you know, for for everybody, right? I mean, if it's you have to you need to have your house cleaned, you need to have your house organized. I mean, it's just kind of in the list of home care, right? Right.
Speaker 2:And we work with people on many different levels. I have some clients that I see once a month, I have some clients that I see once a week, and then I have some clients that are like, come to my house, I want you to spend the whole week here and just get knock it all out. So depending on what your budget is and and where you're at, we can make it work for you, definitely. Nice.
Speaker:I needed you when my kids were babies.
Speaker 2:You know, it was so funny you say that because not too long ago I was at someone's house and she has two small children and she plans to have another one. So she wanted to keep everything and she had a room full of clothes, and she's like, Can you please organize these? And I spent six hours organizing baby clothes, but now she has them all in bins, they are all marked zero to three months, three to six months, like all everything is all labeled out. So now when her eight-month-old gets into 12-month clothes, she knows exactly where to go. If she has another baby, she knows exactly where to go to find them, and everything is accessible for her now.
Speaker:So that's nice. That is such a gift for a new mom. Yes, she give out gift certificates to new moms because that is a gift. I love it. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 2:I think the biggest thing is that, like I said, like we we work with anybody, no matter where you're at with that. Um, and I I have clients that this the whole process of decluttering your home, a lot of people are very emotional about people coming into their homes because they think, oh, my home's so horrible. Like if I had a dollar for every time I went into someone's house and they were like, I don't let company come to my house because I don't want them to see my house this way. And I'm like, it's not even really that bad. Like, but there are people that that that just they don't feel comfortable in their space, so they don't let other people in. So we are able to come in. Um, we are very compassionate and meet you where you're at, you know. Um, sometimes I've I've the lady that I was working with today, she was like, I feel like we need to go back through some of the things that we've gone through already and um and like go through because I think I can get rid of stuff. And I think that that happens. A lot of people, when they do bring someone in, they think, oh my gosh, they're gonna make me get rid of all of my stuff. And that's like a high anxiety for people, but that's not what it is. You're paying me. So I'm only gonna get rid of whatever you want me to get rid of. I'm gonna ask you prompting questions that might prompt you to get rid of something, or at least think about how often you're using it, if it's even something that you really need. Um, but as far as that goes, I'm not gonna make you get rid of all of your stuff. And because of that, sometimes we have to go through a room once or twice, or twice at least two times, because somebody will go through their room like, oh, I don't want to get rid of anything. And then they realize, oh, I still have so much stuff left over. Can we go back through this and I'll I'll get rid of more stuff? And then they get go through it the second time and they're like, okay, that was so much better. Yeah. So it is a process. Um, we meet you where you're at, and yeah.
Speaker:I'm glad you shared that because I imagine there are a lot of people who would love to hire you, but they might be nervous that they might be judged, you know. So I'm glad that you shared that, that you're um you're compassionate and you're a safe space for, you know, you're you're just there to help.
Speaker 2:I used to be a mindset coach. So like that kind of comes into play too. Like I'm able to ask the prompting questions from that and let them come up with their own decisions on what they want to get rid of and what they want to keep and how we want to organize different things and things like that, because ultimately I'm coming into your space. I'm trying to make you feel more comfortable, right? So, whatever's gonna make you feel more comfortable is what we're gonna do. And that's awesome.
Speaker:Yeah, that's awesome. You are a gift to people who are needing this type of service. I mean, that's amazing that you shared that you were a mindset coach. That's really cool. I love that. Awesome. So I understand that you have a promotion that you'd like to share with the audience. Tell us all about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so last year, um around the holidays as it got closer, I had a couple of clients reach out to me and have me come and decorate their Christmas trees and things like that. So this year I am offering holiday decor. So what we would do is you could either show us pictures of what your home looks like when it's decorated, or you can let us have a free-for-all. But you would set out the decorations that you want us to do, and we can do them while you are at work, or we can come and help you do them so that that way when you come home, all your holiday decorations are done, and that's one thing checked off your list. Oh my gosh. And then we can come back and pack it all up for you, too.
Speaker:Even better. I love putting it all up, but taking it all down. Ugh.
Speaker 2:I know, right?
Speaker:I love that. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker:So if the listeners want to connect with you, want to learn more from you, where can they find you?
Speaker 2:So um, I do have a Facebook page. It's Tidy Transformations on Facebook, and I do have a website as well, and it's tidytransformationsva.com.
Speaker:Amazing. Aimey, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing tidy transformations with us. Thank you for having me. Welcome.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.