How Gillian Economou of Sort It Out Helps DC Homes Work Better Day to Day
If you’ve ever felt like your home looks put together but still doesn’t feel easy to live in, you’re not alone.
Many homes in Washington, DC have their own quirks. Whether it’s a rowhome in Capitol Hill, an apartment in Dupont Circle, or a smaller space in Adams Morgan, layouts don’t always match how people live day to day.
Between tighter layouts, older homes, limited closet space, and rooms that need to serve more than one purpose, things can start to feel a little harder to manage. On paper, everything works. But in everyday life, it can feel like you’re constantly moving things around just to keep up.
That’s where Gillian Economou comes in.
As the owner of Sort It Out, Gillian works inside homes across DC with her team, helping clients create spaces that feel more manageable and easier to maintain. And one of the biggest things she’s noticed is that most people aren’t dealing with a lack of effort. It’s usually just that their space isn’t set up in a way that supports how they actually live.
When a Home Looks Good but Feels Hard to Keep Up With
It’s easy to assume clutter comes from not staying on top of things, but that’s not usually the full story.
A home can look clean at first glance. Counters are clear, things are put away, and everything feels in place. But once you start using the space throughout the day, small frustrations start to show up. You’re opening and closing cabinets to find what you need, shifting items around to make room, or setting things down “for now” because there isn’t an obvious place for them.
Those small moments add up. Over time, it can start to feel like you’re constantly resetting the same areas, even though you’re trying to keep things in order.
What She Sees in DC Homes
Working in homes across the city, Gillian sees a lot of the same patterns come up.
Sometimes it’s simply that there’s more in the space than it can comfortably hold. Other times, it’s that storage exists, but it’s not in the right place or doesn’t match how the space is actually used.
In many DC homes, especially older ones, storage wasn’t designed with modern life in mind. Closets can be small or oddly shaped, kitchens may not have enough functional cabinet space, and rooms often need to serve multiple purposes.
It’s not that anything is wrong. It just means the space needs a little more intention behind how it’s set up.
Making Small Changes That Actually Help
The goal isn’t to completely redo a home. Most of the time, it only needs some small adjustments.
That might look like adjusting where everyday items are stored so they’re easier to reach and put away. In many homes, that ends up being simple setups like open baskets or containers that make it easy to drop things in without overthinking it. It doesn’t have to be complicated to work. Or adding simple storage in the spots where things naturally collect, like near the front door or on a kitchen counter.
It can also mean stepping back and making sure the amount of stuff in the space actually fits. When things feel full all the time, even small edits can create more room for everything else to work better.
Another big thing is reducing how much is kept out in the open. Even when everything has a place, too much visible clutter can make a home feel overwhelming. Creating a balance between what’s accessible and what’s put away can change how the space feels almost immediately.
A Home That Works Feels Different
When a home is set up in a way that works for you, you notice it pretty quickly.
You’re not constantly moving things around or redoing the same spaces. Daily routines feel a little smoother, and keeping things in order takes less effort. In a city like Washington, DC, where space is often limited, and homes need to do a lot, that kind of ease makes a real difference.
It may not look dramatically different from the outside. But living in it feels easier. And for most people, that’s really the goal.
