Tara’s knack for transforming spaces began in childhood, moving frequently across the U.S. and Europe with her chemical engineer dad, stay at home mom and five sibilings. With each move, whether transitioning between large homes or cozy apartments, Tara was amazed by her mother’s ability to create organized and welcoming spaces in just a matter of days. Her mother’s mantra, “Pack one box and take only what you love,” instilled in Tara a profound appreciation for meaningful belongings and the art of decluttering. After earning a degree in history and fine arts from SMU, Tara’s journey led her from San Francisco to Boston and, finally, to New York, where she pursued a rewarding career in education. Known for her meticulously organized classrooms, Tara soon became the go-to person for helping colleagues revamp their spaces. With her three kids now in college, Tara is thrilled to focus on helping clients create welcoming, beautifully functional homes. In her downtime, she loves visiting her family around the globe with her husband and their spirited Labrador, Bear.
Sharon was born in the US and moved to France as a child, becoming fluent in French. After her formative years in Europe, her family settled in New Canaan, CT. Sharon attended Providence College and discovered her passion for marketing, leading to roles in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and the US.
After earning her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, Sharon and her husband, Tom, moved to New Canaan, CT where they raised their two children. She has organized her home, her children's rooms, dorms, and apartments. She has a unique talent for re-imagining spaces and witnessing the positive impact of these transformations. Even in her volunteer activities, Sharon brings her organizational skills to Planet New Canaan's Swap Shop, making it easy for customers to find what they need.
Professionally, Sharon has managed complex marketing campaigns and led projects requiring meticulous organization. From marketing plans to family vacations, there's not much that intimidates Sharon. Her diverse experiences and dedication make her a force in both her professional and personal life!
Ulrike was born & raised just outside Hamburg, Germany, in a small town where her father was a doctor and her mother commanded a household of six. Her parents both came from large families and her childhood was filled with visits to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
In college, she studied History, French and Design from 1988-1992 at the University of Augsburg and the Fachhochschule Hildesheim where she received a Fulbright Scholarship for Design. From 1994-1996 Ulrike worked as Art Director at The Lacey Group, Minneapolis, MN and she worked as Art Director at Pluzynski & Associates, Inc. from 1997-1999.
After years of dealing with tight deadlines, she decided to focus on her 3 children full-time. Her husband’s career in the Museum World was blossoming and it was a true gift for her to be able to stay at home. Ulrike's oldest son finished college in May 2022, her middle son goes to "The New School" for Classical Music and her daughter is a Freshman in High School. Her passion is Real Estate Investments: She had the privilege of renovating/flipping small Real Estate Investment since arriving in NYC and she considers it a blessing even though it comes with its highs & lows.
Who knew that she would end up raising true New Yorkers, coming from a small town near Hamburg, Germany - all because of her wanderlust and staying open to the unexpected and to embrace the twists and turns along the road.
I started my career as a style editor at Condé Nast, and moved on to be President of a gallery and photo studio in Chelsea.
Most recently, I’ve collaborated with my partner in real estate development and design. We’ve worked on townhouses in Brooklyn, a farm in upstate New York, and multiple beach homes in New Jersey.
As much as I love to work outside the home, the most rewarding and challenging aspect of my life is raising my four children. They’ve patiently moved with us on many projects and tolerated living in multiple construction sites!
I’m thrilled to be part of the Done & Done and to watch the company grow and prosper!
The living room is my favorite space because we have an open floor plan that overlooks Brooklyn Bridge Park and the NYC Bridges. It’s the perfect room to entertain family and friends because while I’m cooking, we can all hang out together and enjoy the view.
People might have guessed that Stephanie would eventually become an organizer. In high school, she kept a record of every outfit that she wore on a piece of paper in her closet! Fast forward several years to when Stephanie met her husband Dan – set up by their respective Croatian families. Six homes, three children + one dog later, Stephanie lives in Connecticut with her husband and their three children. Stephanie keeps busy organizing their two college boys and high school daughter. When not working, she enjoys swimming, rowing, biking, gardening and volunteering with Meals on Wheels, the New Canaan Garden Club, the Congregational Church of New Canaan and Waveny Care Center. Stephanie is very thankful for team members Lise and Louise for helping to bring her on board!
As a young girl growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, OH Judy would marvel at her grandmother, who every time she visited, would clean out and reorganize her parent’s refrigerator. She inherited the organizing gene and enjoyed cleaning out and reorganizing her bedroom in between school terms. Much to the delight of friends and family she has carried on the tradition of her grandmother by leaving them with the gift of a reorganized linen closet or pantry after her stay.
Judy graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH with a B.A. in International Relations with a concentration in Political Science and History. She immediately moved to Washington, DC where she lived for several years before moving to NYC with her husband. She had a career in politics and marketing before becoming a stay at home mom after the birth of their triplets. Over the years she has worked as a small business consultant and fundraiser at her children’s schools.
Judy enjoys working with clients in finding homes for their special things and helping them realize a more organized home. She is looking forward to transforming her own family apartment into a adult family living space now that her children are college bound. Judy lives in Prospect Heights Brooklyn and near Hudson, NY with her husband.
Born and raised in Montreal, Gail embodies the character traits of a true Canadian, nice, helpful, with a sense of humor. As a young girl, Gail would organize her grandmother’s dresser drawers during visits to her apartment. Gail loved their interactions as she worked. Making improvements to someone’s space and listening to the stories of their life proved to be a meaningful experience.
Many years later, Gail chose to study Architecture and got her degree at McGill University. In New York, Gail learned the ropes working for an Architect, designing and project managing high-end residential projects in Manhattan.
Gail delights in collaborating with others to re-imagine a space and then witness the impact of the transformation on someone’s life. She brings her architectural skills of space-planning and visioning, and her enjoyment of brainstorming with clients and a team, to her work with Done and Done. Gail currently volunteers at the Brooklyn Public Library, assisting the Curator of Visual Art Programming on rotating exhibition projects. She lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn with her husband, also an architectural designer, and daughter, who is almost off to college. There is always an improvement project to work on at home.
Jeanne was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri but also frequently visited her dad and new family in NorthernCalifornia. All that traveling for parental visits had its many perks, as Jeanne quickly learned how to master the art of packing the essentials into a suitcase and make a nest fit for any bird.
Jeanne earned her BFA from Syracuse University and later moved to NYC where she worked for artist Kris Ruhs making jewelry for Bergdorff Goodman, Corso Como 10 and private clients. She also started her own accessories business making eye-glass chains which sold in Henri Bendel’s, Robert Marc Opticians in NYC and Rodeo Drive in LA.
Jeanne attended the School of Visual Arts post baccalaureate in Art education and went on to teach art to children ranging from preschoolers to 8th graders until she married her husband Fred. Jeanne has extensive experience with all aspects of the home, from purchasing, selling, designing and renovating. She has designed and renovated many projects in her own home while also helping friends declutter, organize, and make decorating decisions. Jeanne also had a 12 year real estate venture in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It also doesn’t hurt that according to astrology, her birth chart has 6 houses in Virgo, making her exceedingly detail oriented!
Originally from the South and educated in the Midwest, Louise moved to New York after college. With a can-do attitude and lots of energy, she worked in sales for clothing manufacturers selling to everyone from major department stores to golf pro shops. Eventually Louise left the city for Connecticut and raised/managed/organized four children, one husband, countless pets, moves and renovations. These days she still volunteers in town (Meals on Wheels, National Charity League and the New Canaan Garden Club) but has found as her children have grown, she has much more free time. Louise is now thrilled to be able to bring her organizational and management skills, positive attitude and high energy to work at Done and Done.
Born and raised in Denmark, Lise came to the United States for a six month visit in the 1980s in order to improve her English. She met the man who would become her husband within two months of arriving and lucky for Done and Done, she stayed. After graduating from UConn with a degree in Design and Resource Management with minors in Psychology and French, she eventually settled in New Canaan where she raised her two children. After years of homemaking and extensive volunteer work (Red Cross, National Charity League, Girl Scouts and NC Garden Club) Lise’s friend, Macky Hennessy, suggested she reach out to Ann and Kate and bring her organizing talents to Done and Done. Lise did her training hours in record time and very quickly became an invaluable member of the team.
Macky Henesey was born and raised in Seal Beach, California. She grew up playing competitive tennis, swimming, running and was a recruited field hockey player at UC Davis. When the beaches beckoned she returned to southern California to graduate with a degree in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach. She then ventured east to begin a career in public relations and advertising in Washington, DC. She met her husband Mike there and they moved shortly thereafter to New Canaan, CT where they’ve lived and raised their three children over the last 25 years. Macky has organized her home, her three kids rooms (repeatedly!), countless dorm rooms and parts of many friend’s homes. Macky has volunteered extensively and her work has spanned from the New Canaan Garden Club to the Waveny Care Center to National Charity League. Professionally she’s taken on the reorganization of a filing system in a law firm’s Westchester County office. Having organized everything from lace to lawsuits there’s not much that intimidates this one!
We didn’t have to search far when we were looking for someone to start up our marketing department. Meg Koett comes to us by way of family; sister to Ann and aunt to Kate, her hire was a no-brainer. We needed someone who knew us well enough to represent our brand and who better than a woman who has literally been there since day one?
Meg is a graduate of Ripon College, but decided early on to work from home while raising her two children. The co-founder of Jam Custom Handbags, Meg learned how to work with clients, how to advertise a brand and how to sell products online. After a successful run of five years, Jam closed their doors and Meg was available to put her knowledge to work for Done & Done.
Favorite space: My favorite space in my home is my exercise room. It’s very small but it has a ton of natural light so I always feel better after spending some time in there working out and getting my thoughts together!
Emilie Stoll is a born and bred New Yorker. With close ties to the Eastern end of Long Island, Emilie has an appreciation for both city and country living. With an early love for organizing in her closet-sized NYC bedroom, Emilie never tires of the satisfaction of decluttering one's life, both physically and metaphorically. Emilie received her Bachelor's degree from Connecticut College where she pursued her love of dance. This took her to lead the marketing department at Dance Magazine prior to joining the Done & Done Team. Though Emilie needs only one winter coat and one set of pans, she values the importance of those sentimental silk scarves from grandparents and those gosh darn hand written letters. Emilie lives in Manhattan with her fiancé and their blind bunny Cooper, and is poised to continue to delve deeper into the power of human connection and building community.
With a background in event management and hospitality, Lauren recently transitioned from planning and executing corporate meetings and special events to professional home organization. Lauren uses her trademark skills of problem solving, creativity, and flexibility to help Done & Done clients. She excels at logistics and operations, and her attention to detail means that projects go smoothly from concept to completion.
Good at wearing multiple hats, Lauren is adept at responding quickly to changing circumstances, always maintaining an upbeat, can-do attitude. As the Client Experience Manager, she specializes in customer service that nurtures positive, productive relationships with both clients and suppliers.
With a degree in Art History, Lauren has also had the opportunity to work onsite at various cultural institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (Pafa).
Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College and a certificate in meeting planning from Temple University. Lauren, her husband and her two young daughters recently moved and she is excited to renovate, decorate and apply what she is learning at Done & Done to create a more organized home.
Meri was born and raised in New Jersey. After graduating from Lafayette College with a BA in English Literature, Meri began her career working in ad sales in New York City. She then ventured to the West Coast to explore all that San Francisco had to offer. Meri built her career in the Bay Area and spent over 12 years working for a large tech company in advertising sales, business operations, and client services, where she also met her husband Darby. After many years in San Francisco, they purchased their first home in Oakland which is when Meri realized her passion for home interiors and her desire to create functional and beautiful spaces. As their family grew, she tackled many remodels and design projects in their 1920’s East Bay home. When Meri and her husband decided to move back East to be closer to family, Meri de-cluttered, packed and staged their home which expedited the sale and increased the value. She is currently (and slowly) remodeling their NJ home one room at a time.
Meri has always enjoyed helping friends and family problem solve, organize and brainstorm ideas, and brings to Done & Done her expertise of project management, attention to detail and love of organization!
With another #nospendnovember in the books, I can finally share all my must-have baby products that have gotten me through the first stages of having Charlie at home.
While it may seem counter-intuitive to be writing a post about buying products right after #nospendnovember, it’s important to note that we aren’t trying to advocate never buying anything new ever again. Rather, our philosophy is shop intentionally and purchase the best products that are available to you. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? You can see the details in our Instagram No Spend November highlights.)
There are some truly life changing products out there that can add efficiency and functionality to your life. And if there’s something that’s going to make my life with two little boys easier, I’m all in!
I’ve rounded up some of my favorite must-have products for anyone with a baby on the way or who currently has little ones at home. Many of these products would be amazing gifts with Christmas around the corner or maybe a socially distanced baby shower in the near future. These are the things I couldn’t live without!
****This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own and I have only recommended products I use and love.****
The Baby Brezza is like a Keurig for baby formula. It’s expensive but it would be a great gift for a bunch of friends to go in on together. There are some controversial things in the news about it not dispensing properly, so be aware of that but I LOVE mine! It’s a lifesaver in the middle of the night. One note, you do have to follow cleaning instructions carefully.
If the Formula Disperser is a bit too pricey, the Baby Brezza Instant Warmer may be a better option. It’s way more affordable and will definitely give you peace of mind if you have baby brain and are worried about getting the water temperature right in the middle of the night!
Poor Charlie had terrible gas when we first brought him home and we later discovered he had a tongue tie, which was contributing to the problem. Dr. Brown’s Baby Bottles really helped! They have a more even milk flow and the shape of the nipple worked way better for him.
We didn’t have the same problems with James, he took a bottle very easily and didn’t have any tummy troubles so we used Playtex VentAir bottles which worked perfectly for him. If you’re looking for an all around reliable bottle, these are the ones I recommend.
If ever there was a necessity with a new baby, it’s burp cloths – I go through them like mad! I love this particular brand because they’re made of organic cotton and are big enough to deal with any inevitable spit up, spill or mess. Not to mention, could these be any cuter? They come in a variety of patterns and they’re all adorable. I have two sets from when James was born that I am still using with Charlie so they last incredibly well.
Ok, this may seem like an indulgence but trust me, your baby will disagree. When you’re desperate to get your bundle of joy back to sleep in the quickest way possible, turning on the lights and slapping a freezing cold wipe on their warm little backside is not the way to go about it. This wipe warmer with a soft night light will potentially get you tons (minutes?) more sleep every night!
I haven’t had huge problems with diaper rash, but I do know this product is a must-have on every changing table. It’s super protective and it’s free from parabens, preservatives, dyes and talc so you don’t have to worry about putting something toxic on your baby’s skin.
As I mentioned above, Charlie really suffered from terrible gas and these drops really seemed to help quickly! They’re safe for newborns and are free from alcohol and sugar, which is obviously essential.
Cradle cap is so common, but it can be really disconcerting for new parents. Charlie admittedly had a mild case, but this product cleared it up after a single use! It’s incredibly gentle and I saw immediate results. I also lent it to a friend who’s son still had cradle cap at 10 months and it cleared it right up!
This is such an ingenious invention! It’s a portable bath that has a heat sensitive plug to let you know when the water is exactly the right temperature. The plug changes colors to let you know if the water is too cold/hot. I love the cradle attachment for newborns and the plug for easy draining. I got mine when we were living in the city and were tighter on space but honestly baby baths can be so bulky that the fact that this one collapses and tucks right next to the bath is great.
If you ever watch my stories on Instagram, you’ll know that James spends a ton of happy time in the bath. He loves all his sharks and whales and now Charlie can join him! This seat has been a game changer for our nightly routine because I can safely bathe both of them at the same time.
So sleeping. Yeah. It’s a constant topic of conversation around here. I’ve been struggling with James getting up very very (very) early, but Charlie has been doing really well for the most part. We invested early on with the Snoo Crib and while it is wildly expensive, there are some options. Rentals are available on the Snoo website and lots of moms resell the crib when their baby grows out of it. Which you could then do when you’re finished with it, so it may not cost you much in the long run and wow, what an investment! It’s possible to get it during one of their annual sales for around $950 and sell it on Facebook Market Place for close to $700!
If the Snoo is too much for you they have another great product that is WAY more affordable. Their sleep swaddlers have such a unique design-they have velcro straps to secure your baby and a breathable mesh fabric so they don’t get too hot while sleeping. Definitely recommend!
Once Charlie got too big to fully swaddle, I still needed something to prevent him from waking himself up. This sleep suit did the trick perfectly. It still prevents their reflexes from waking them and makes them not want to roll over so easily. We used this with James as well and it lasted through both boys.
Unfortunately for me, I have two very light sleepers. White noise is a necessity in our house and I really love this particular product. Its inexpensive which is great and easy to transport (not that we are all doing tons of travel these days).
Did I mention I have two light sleepers? 😉 That applies everywhere we go, not just at home at bedtime but for nap time too. Fortunately, this travel sound machine is a huge help. It clips to basically anything and fits perfectly in a diaper bag. I use mine on the headrest in the car and on the handle of the stroller.
So these first two items maybe aren’t technically toys, but they sure do the job. Charlie has them with him constantly and while they may be the drooley-est things ever, they really seem to help sooth his sore gums. The Munch Mitt has a velcro strap to keep it on his hand and off the floor, which is a major plus!
These teether keys are a nice change from the Munch Mitt. You can pop them in the fridge or freezer so they’re nice and cool. They have textures on both sides so the top and bottom gums will get worked at the same time. Of course, they’re free of all the nasty stuff, so rest assured about them going in your child’s mouth.
This little mobile is the greatest entertainer! It easily attaches to the side of a crib, stroller and especially in the car! It has 5 different melodies so you’ll only go slightly crazy from hearing the same tune over and over again. But baby will love it, even if it’s not on your favorite playlist. Charlie HATED the car until he was about 5 months old and this really helped soothe him.
Here’s one toy we don’t leave the house without! James and Charlie both love it and so you can rest easy knowing that it will be around for a few years. It has ten different melodies and most importantly a volume control!
If there’s anything that’s worth spending money on for new parents, it’s reliable secure baby carriers. Without them, nothing can get done! They free up your hands so you can do dishes, wash clothes or grab the pint of ice cream from the freezer. I used the K’tan Baby Wrap every single day from 0-3 months and the Happy Baby every day from 3-6 months. If you are a new mom, are going to be a new mom or know someone who is, these are truly must-haves!!!!
I hope this list was helpful to all you moms out there! These products have made my life easier and hopefully they will do the same for you. I know how hard it can be to enjoy these exhaustion-filled, tantrum-laden, endless baby days, but they’ll be gone before we know it. Let’s get through it together, send me a comment and let me know how you’re doing!
