Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Kim McBrayer, owner of Space Cadets, poses in her store in Inverness. Space Cadets is a storage solution store that offers not only products but in-home services as well.
Kim McBrayer is a formerly messy person. Kim McBrayer is a formerly messy person.
“I was one of those people who literally thought they were the only person on the planet who didn’t have it together,” said McBrayer, the owner of Space Cadets in Inverness. “‘Something’s wrong with me. How come I can’t do this and everyone else can?’”
But as she shared organizational tips with friends, and they asked for her assistance getting their homes cleaned up, she realized other people faced the same struggles.
“Once I realized I could take off my mask and be real with people, that this was something I struggled with, I found that other people appreciated that authenticity. … So through that process, I decided to open a business,” McBrayer said.
She opened All Spaced Out in 2001, and said she was her first client in organizing — something that would become a passion. A few years later, however, she was facing divorce and her son’s terminal cancer diagnosis and in 2009, decided to close her business.
That dark time, she said, and her son’s death in 2011, reaffirmed for her the power of organizing and its ability to refocus energy into life.
“I think that’s the biggest driving force for me, is having that simplicity [of an organized life] allows people to enjoy what’s truly important in life,” she said. “And having a son who passed away, I look back on his life and know I was very privileged to get to enjoy my time with him.”
When McBrayer chose to re-enter the world of organizing, she decided it would be with a new name — Space Cadets. The name, she said, is a play on words, but also qualifies how disorganized people sometimes feel — like a space cadet.
“What I immediately try to do is explain to [clients] that I’m not going to judge them because I’ve been there,” she said. “So immediately I set them at ease, that they’re not going to be the worst I’ve ever seen.”
In December 2017, McBrayer opened the Space Cadets store in Inverness, where she was able to add on to the services offered by her business.
Space Cadets offers organizing help with someone’s current system, the installation of new organizational or closet systems, relocation assistance — where they will help set up and organize a new home, in addition to new services that the store allows McBrayer to provide.
They hold regular “workshops” where individuals can learn tips for organizing, she said, and the store will hopefully provide even more opportunities for expansion.
Organizing is a way to simplify life, McBrayer said, and it helps reduce stress and reduce the time needed to maintain a home. It frees up Saturdays, she said, and lets you get outside or go to ball games.
“I think a lot of people really look at organizing like an addiction. There’s something so soothing about it, so calming. It’s a lot of fun, and people enjoy it,” she said.
People will sometimes be “in awe” of the options offered by her store, McBrayer said, and she is glad that their range from weekly organizers coming to a home, to the gadgets on display in their store, can help a variety of clients.
Space Cadets is located at 5291 Valleydale Road, Suite 121. for more information, go to spacecadetsorganizing.com.
