Laura Tomei loves tackling the home organisation tasks you’ve been avoiding. Photo: Zoe McMahon / Maple and June.
Do you ever struggle to find things you know you own, and often rebuy things you already have? Are your countertops always covered, or your cupboards overflowing? Does cleaning take hours out of your precious weekends, with things ultimately stuffed into one of many “miscellaneous” drawers? Do you find you never feel truly relaxed in your own home?
These might be symptoms of “home overwhelm”, a growing blight of modern life that Laura Tomei is tackling with her home organisation business.
The idea for Casa Reset came from lived experience — the kind that leaves you exhausted, overwhelmed and craving a sense of calm. In the space of a few months, Laura found herself navigating major life transitions largely on her own.
“It was a time of a lot of change, and I didn’t have family around,” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘How do people do this?'”
As she reset her own life piece by piece, realisation dawned: so many people were quietly carrying the same clutter, not just in their cupboards and garages, but in their heads.
“That reset I so badly needed? I wanted to be a helping hand to swoop in and do that for others.”
At its heart, Casa Reset is about creating spaces where people feel free to focus on what’s important.
“Our time on Earth is finite, and most of us spend the vast majority of our waking hours at work,” Laura points out. “We don’t also need the clutter of daily life eating away at our precious free time.”
Laura’s background gives her a rare mix of skills to help. She graduated with a business and marketing degree in the US in 2006, and worked as an event manager at The Star after moving to Australia — a job that gave her the ability to organise a multitude of moving parts.
Design has also always been part of her world. Her father was an interior designer, and that passion stayed with her. More recently, she tucked her own interior design degree under her belt, and runs a small interiors business alongside Casa Reset.
“Casa Reset combines a desire to help people with my passion for design,” she says.
An example of spatial planning in an Austinmer home that Laura helped prepare for sale, which involved interior design and managing trades. Photo: McNeice X.
In practice, Laura works one-on-one with clients to declutter, reorganise and reset their homes — from wardrobes and pantries to garages and entire households. She starts with a short consultation, followed by tailored questions to understand how her clients live and what they need most.
For new parents, that might mean resetting a nursery or even helping with nourishing meals. For families in transition, it could mean setting up two homes after separation in a way that feels seamless for children.
“Speaking from experience, there are ways to make those tricky transitions feel easy and stable for children,” Laura says.
While any combination of work, kids’ schedules and life admin makes it hard to summon the energy to tackle the projects that feed into home overwhelm, Laura says the impact of a calm home is profound.
“Living in a home that doesn’t feel chaotic is priceless for your health and your mental wellbeing,” she says. “Especially for kids. I see it with my girls. Chaos breeds chaos.”
Her philosophy is simple: less clutter, more breathing room. A home you love coming back to. A space that sets you up for a better day.
Try starting with the pantry, fridge or wardrobe — a low-hanging fruit that Laura personally loves to tackle.
“Approach your wardrobe with the idea that every piece needs to earn its place. If you haven’t worn something in a year, it’s probably time to let it go,” she says.
Casa Reset services are treated with confidentiality. But for anyone feeling home organisation a burden they “should” be able to handle, Laura is unequivocal.
“There’s no shame. We’re all overwhelmed,” she says.
“Life is busier than ever, and sometimes you have to choose between clearing out the pantry and spending time with your loved ones.
“Your most precious resource is your time. Ultimately, that’s the service I provide — injecting more time into people’s lives for the things that matter most.”
For more information, visit Casa Reset.
