Small Takes With Laura Cattano

How a professional organizer living in 335 square feet in Brooklyn makes it work.

Friends, I’ve watched the news from Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene with a heavy heart. I donated to the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (my first “real” job was with the United Way), and the Blue Ridge NPR station has a list of places where they suggest giving and Barbara Kingsolver pointed to the Appalachia Funders Network. I’d love to donate a little more; if you decide to upgrade to a paid subscription this week, I’ll donate 20% of the subscription income. 

Bill McKibben

wrote eloquently about watching the climate crisis play out in real time, and last year he wrote about the floods in his home state of Vermont and how social trust helped them pull through.

In Small Takes, I ask people who are living small how they make it work. My first three subjects, Alison, Christene, and Whitney, were all moms with kids around the same age as mine. This week, I’m introducing you to Laura Cattano, a professional organizer and interior stylist, who is living small solo here in New York City. I discovered Laura a decade ago when Erin Wylie interviewed Laura for New York magazine. When Laura said, “You’re paying by the square inch in NYC. So you’re paying if you’re storing stuff you’re not using,” I knew I’d found a professional organizer who truly understood the puzzle of small spaces, and I’ve been following Laura’s work and calling upon her as an expert ever since.

Laura has been living in her 335-square-foot Brooklyn studio for 15 years, making tiny tweaks and upgrades the whole time. Last year, on the eve of turning 50, Laura embarked on what she calls “a mid-life reset,”¹ in which she paired a major edit of her physical things with deep, inner work. “I had a strong urge for clarity in every way—to be refreshed and renewed as I neared 50,” she says. “I went through every single one of my things 12 times over. My place is small and I don't have much storage, but I donated, recycled, and gave away bags upon bags of things. The more I let go of the more I wanted to let go of.” I admire Laura’s absolute commitment to clarity, her ethos of buying fewer but better things, and her fervent attention to detail (see her WFH set-up, as an example). I also appreciate that even though her style is elevated, her organizing solutions are refreshingly approachable. Here’s how Laura makes her small space work:

What helps you stay organized in your small home? 

I’m naturally neat, organized, and clean, so it doesn’t take much, but owning less means having less to maintain. I also take the time to ensure that everything has its place that is as accessible. Ease of use is important: How easily you can take something out and put it back affects whether or not you’ll put it back. Annoying tasks don’t get done. 

This apartment has pushed my intentional consumption to the next level; having my home feel spacious and calm is more important than any thing. No matter how much I think I may “love” something—a chair, a table, a lamp, a kitchen appliance—if having it will throw off the energy of the space by taking up unnecessary room, it’s not worth having.

What has living small given you? What has it taken away? 

Living in a small space has given me mental space: It’s easy to clean and keep in order. I don’t have a housekeeper, which is a good trick to stay organized because you interact with your things more. I don't have a dishwasher either, but mindless tasks like washing dishes and cleaning and putting things away when I get home gives the mind a break, allowing for deeper subconscious thought, which I find beneficial, especially when trying to solve a problem. 

As far as what it's taken away, when I redesigned the space in 2019, I moved the bed from the living space into the alcove. Not wanting to give up my dressing area, I downsized to a twin bed, which isn’t so bad, as I'm small myself.

Do you have any tips for living small? 

Prioritize your life over stuff. List the activities you want your space to support and how you want the space to to feel; this will give you a guide of how to edit your things. Keep only the things that allow you to live the way you want to live within the means of your space.

Think about how long it takes to use something up in relation to how much you need and can store. For instance, a lot of families do crafts but the amount of craft supplies they own well exceeds the amount they need for months at a time. This is also true for office and school supplies and even food! 

Assess the true cost of a purchase. You pay for things in more than money; for example, you might ‘save’ buying a full set of cookware, but the daily annoyance of having to dig through six pots nested in a drawer to get the three you actually use actually takes away from your quality of life. 

Don’t edit according to arbitrary ‘rules.’ For instance, my view on how to edit your wardrobe, specifically not simply getting rid of things you haven’t worn in X amount of time.

What changes have made the biggest difference in your home? 

Decoratively, I’ve made a lot of changes, but more impactful is the practice of thinking about how I’m going to store something before buying it. For instance, I chose the travel-sized versions of my iron and clothing steamer because they’re easier to store (and I’m not steaming clothes for hours on end). Another example is choosing a Miele canister vacuum instead of the more common upright vacuum: It’s small enough to live under my kitchen sink along with all my other (very few) cleaning supplies. 

What is your greatest home extravagance? 

Oh gosh, it’s all an extravagance. I love nice soaps, towels, dishes, and clothes. I do keep a balance of what’s worth spending more on (like lighting) and where I can save (my dressing closet set up). Living in one room means I don't need as much furniture, so I have chosen to invest in fewer more expensive pieces that I can take with me when I go. For example, I replaced my IKEA shelves with Vitsoe’s Universal Shelving. Some may argue that Vitsoe is expensive, but they bring aesthetic and functional value and they can be reconfigured and added to when I move—to me they’re well worth the cost.  

How is your home sustainable?

As a self-reformed shopaholic, I am intentional about what I consume, and therefore I consume a lot less. And I love the things I do buy: I use them fully, take care of them, and keep them longer. The majority of my possessions are also of such quality they can have another life after me. Fast fashion is not a part of my life. My wardrobe is made of mostly natural materials like cotton, linen, silk, wool, and cashmere, and I consider anything I’ve bought in the last three years as “new.” I also only replace tech when necessary; my desktop computer was 10 years old before buying a new one and I only get a new phone if I need to replace it.

Care to share an Instagram account that inspires you? 

Arent&Pyke, interior designers out of Australia that mix color, texture, and functional living. You may think looking at my space I do not like color, but it’s not true!   

What’s on your home wish list right now? 

To be honest: Moving. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for 25 years (and in this space for 15). I am ready to have more green space—a yard. I’d like to be able to step in grass at any moment of the day without having to get on a bus to go to a park.

Thank you so much for being a part of Small Takes, Laura. You can follow along with Laura's work on Instagram @lauracattano and learn more about her organizing and styling consulting at lauracattano.com

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Do you know someone I should profile in Small Takes? I’d love to feature people from different places, stages in life, and personal styles in future editions. Please reply to this email with your suggestions!

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📌 3 More Things

The best small space I saw last week was this pastel-hued Danish apartment, in which the homeowner, Sif Steendahl Grandorf, made almost all of the furnishings. It’s a real lesson in the power of paint.

The most interesting home I saw last week was this energy-efficient renovation and addition onto an existing structure by the Australian firm The Sociable Weaver (h/t Dense Discovery). I write a lot of stories for magazines where the homeowners “had” to tear down the existing house, and while It’s certainly easier to start over, this project proves you don’t have to.  

Sustainable living: In case you needed a nudge not to use ChatGTP. There’s a huge environmental cost to using AI tools—even for something as simple as crafting a 100-word email. (🎁 link)

One last thing: I ❤️ these old ladies.

1. My two cents: The Mid-Life Reset would make a great book title/concept.