It’s never too early to put your life in order, say Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, authors of two books for young readers based on The Home Edit organizing and lifestyle brand they co-founded in 2015 with the goal of reinventing traditional organizing and merging it with design.

On September 3, Random House Books for Young Readers will publish Let’s Put That Away!: My First Book of Organizing, a board book in which toddlers cheerfully tidy up and put their toys and books where they belong after a day of play. Launching The Home Edit for Kids series, this title features art by animator and illustrator Hsinping Pan, whose work has been showcased in projects for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney.

Due on the same day from Clarkson Potter with an announced first printing of 100,000 copies is The Home Edit for Teens: How to Edit Your Space, Express Your Style, and Get Things Done! Through conversational text and copious color photos, Shearer and Teplin advise teens on organizing, decorating, and putting their individual stamp on such personal spaces as home study areas, closets and bureau drawers, backpacks and school lockers, and storage spots for sports gear and electronics.

Shearer and Teplin have previously brought their organizing strategies to the page in three books for adults. Their signature approach to arranging and designing spaces according to the color spectrum of the rainbow struck a chord with readers: The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals and its two follow-ups currently have close to 1.5 million copies in print.

Since its debut, The Home Edit has also established a strong presence across additional media. The brand now encompasses an Emmy-nominated Netflix show, Get Organized with The Home Edit, starring Shearer and Teplin; a popular podcast; a social following of more than 8.5 million people; in-home organizing and design services in nine U.S. cities; and a line of organizational products that is sold in stores in 31 countries. In 2022, Hello Sunshine, a media company co-founded by Reese Witherspoon that is a division of Candle Media, acquired The Home Edit.

Getting Organized

The authors’ business partnership sprouted organically—and quickly—from their friendship, which began serendipitously after each moved to Nashville. “A mutual friend set Joanna and me up on a ‘blind date’ because she thought we had a lot in common,” Shearer explained. “We were both Jewish, had husbands in the music industry, kids of the same age, and wanted to start an organizing business.”

The stars aligned, and on the same night they met, Shearer and Teplin decided on their company name, designed its logo, bought their domain, and registered their LLC. “Organizers are nothing if not efficient,” Shearer said. “Looking back, it’s probably ill-advised to essentially get married after a matter of hours, but when it’s meant to be it’s meant to be.” The two naturally struck a stable balance, Teplin added. “Clea was the creative brain in all of this, whereas I come from more of a business background. That made us a good combo from the beginning.”

The door to a new opportunity opened for The Home Edit as Shearer and Teplin’s in-home organizing gigs for friends led to increasingly more clients, including celebrities. One day, while organizing the home of model and actor Molly Sims, she told them that they should be on TV, and she provided a key contact. “Molly’s husband works for Netflix,” Shearer said. “So I guess you could say the rest is history and everything else took off”—including book deals with Clarkson Potter for the adult Home Edit titles.

These were edited by Angelin Adams, the imprint’s director of editorial, design, and culture, who is also the editor of The Home Edit for Teens. “This book came about as a result of Clea and Joanna’s adult book tours,” she explained. “When they were on the road, they noticed many tweens and teens accompanying their parents—mostly daughters—who fan-girled the authors as much as the parents did. It was incredible to see how the ground had already been laid for this book and it made sense. We know that organizing your space helps organize your mind, and teens are struggling these days. This book not only helps them learn life skills they need to thrive and organizational systems to use in their own spaces, but it also helps them outline their goals—it touches all facets of their lives. The Home Edit is a natural fit for this audience.”

Sara Sargent, senior executive editor of Random House Books for Young Readers, noted that she looks forward to introducing Let’s Put That Away! and future titles in The Home Edit for Kids series “to young readers who are just beginning their journey of learning and discovery. A big part of The Home Edit’s message is that being organized and being able to find belongings easily is important to one’s mental health and decreases anxiety, and this book underscores that in a light, kid-friendly tone that is not at all didactic, which also reflects the underlying Home Edit mission.”

Next up in The Home Edit for Kids series is a picture book, due in spring 2025, followed by a second board book later that year. And the authors hope to add additional titles to the series in the future. “We are having so much fun creating these children’s books,” Shearer said. “We definitely want to continue playing in this space and finding new ways to bring organizing and tidiness to young readers—so stay tuned for what is to come.”

The Home Edit for Teens: How to Edit Your Space, Express Your Style, and Get Things Done! by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Clarkson Potter, $19.99 Sept. 3 ISBN 978-0-593-71222-1.

Let’s Put That Away! by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, illus. by Hsinping Pan. Random House, $8.99 Sept. 3 ISBN 978-0-593-71218-4.