HOW ASHLEY MURPHY TRANSFORMED AMERICA’S CLOSETS

Creating calm from chaos, one closet at a time.

Ashley Murphy speaks with the quiet confidence of a woman who inadvertently pioneered an industry of Instagram-worthy interiors. She is, after all, the co-founder of Neat Method, a luxury home organizing company with 100 franchises across North America. “I was that kid who rearranged furniture for fun,” Murphy reflects. “I moved my bedroom around weekly, and my parents would get so mad. Now I laugh about it; all the telltale signs were there.” 

Those childhood impulses have manifested into a multimillion-dollar empire that has transformed what it means to be organized. Neat Method, which recently published The Neat Method Organizing Recipe Book, offers step-by-step guidance for those seeking the kind of pristine spaces Murphy’s team creates for clients who have included celebrities like Kate Hudson. 

Murphy’s journey to entrepreneurial success follows an unexpected path. Growing up in a small, blue-collar town near Columbus, Ohio, she studied Apparel Merchandising at Indiana University before landing in Chicago. After a brief stint as an assistant buyer for a maternity brand—”not a great experience”—she pivoted dramatically, returning to school for personal training certification. 

For six years, Murphy built a successful in-home personal training business until the 2008 recession prompted another reinvention. When a family friend mentioned having professional organizers transform her closet after a move, the seed was planted. “It reminds me of you as a kid,” the friend told her, recalling how Murphy would organize closets as a pastime. 

The idea crystallized during her personal training sessions. “I thought to myself, it’s a little hard to be healthy in your body if you’re not healthy within your home,” Murphy explains. She began organizing her clients’ spaces alongside their workouts, creating more functional kitchens and living areas that complemented their wellness journeys.

Then came another twist: a move to San Francisco for her husband’s job. Within days of arrival, Murphy met another Chicago transplant with similar aspirations. “She’s like, ‘I’m thinking of going into closet organizing,'” Murphy recalls. “I was like, ‘What? This is crazy!'” The serendipitous encounter led to a partnership that would revolutionize the industry.

Their approach was novel: rather than coaching clients through the organization process, they would transform spaces completely, often while clients were away. “You go to work for the day, you go away for the weekend, and we’re going to bring our team in and transform your space,” Murphy explains of their concept.

What began as a passion project quickly snowballed. Not only did clients keep calling, but aspiring organizers started reaching out, asking to learn their methods. Two years later, they had created a franchise model that would eventually grow to 100 locations.

Today, from her Hinsdale home where she lives with her husband and two sons, ages 10 and 12, Murphy oversees a sprawling organizational empire that includes an exclusive product line carried by Crate and Barrel, Food 52, and Bloomingdale’s. The recent publication of their organizing recipe book represents another milestone, documenting the methods that have made the company a household name among the design-conscious set. 

Murphy maintains the disciplined routine of someone who has built order into every aspect of her life. Rising at 5 a.m. without an alarm—”even on weekends”—she begins each day with electrolyte water, black coffee, and meditation before tackling creative work in the quiet early morning hours. A 9 a.m. workout precedes a day filled with Zoom meetings, connecting with franchise owners and partnerships across the country.

The business has not been without challenges. Six years ago, Murphy and her partner sold Neat Method to a product manufacturing company based in Memphis. After five years, the partnership hadn’t delivered the expected value, and in a bold move, they bought back the business. “We sold Neat Method when it was an infant, and we got it back as an unruly teenager,” Murphy says. “It’s been quite the two years of cleanup.”

Murphy reveals one critical insight about home organization that might surprise many: “The most common theme we see is people not having any systems. People will be inspired to buy products, but the reality is they buy the product without actually doing the organizing first.” This fundamental misconception—that containers create order, rather than systematic organization determining the containers needed—underpins Neat Method’s entire philosophy.

As our interview concludes, Murphy mentions the Special Spaces initiative, organizing bedrooms for children battling cancer, revealing the heart behind the meticulous aesthetics. For all the celebrity clients and glamorous homes her company has transformed, Murphy seems most energized when discussing how order can bring peace in chaotic circumstances.

In an age of maximalism and accumulation, Murphy has built her life and business around the opposite principle: that less, arranged with intention, offers something deeply valuable—not just visual harmony, but the mental clarity that comes with it.

neatmethod.com