Wish Come True: Clutter-Free Home

When Tammy Kelton married a rodeo cowboy, she knew her husband would have to spend a lot of time on the road. So when it came to raising their children, she was lucky to have the support of her mother-in-law, Phyllis. She's so grateful, in fact, that she wrote to The Early Show, hoping to take part in its "Week of Wishes," on behalf of her mother-in-law, Phyllis Kelton.

"I am married to a cowboy," Tammy wrote. "My husband is on the road a lot … and his mother has just stepped in and she has become my best friend and helps me with the kids tremendously. ... My wish for my mother-in-law is to have a professional organizer come to her home and get her kitchen, office and laundry room organized for her."

Phyllis' home is a 23,000-acre ranch in scenic central Arizona that's like a giant playground for Tammy's young children. "Life on the ranch is a lot of fun," she says. "They are constantly riding horses, training horses, roping, building fence, moving cows."

But with so much space and so little time for housekeeping, Phyllis' home had become overrun with clutter. "She doesn't have time to do anything with it. She's always chasing my daughter around," Tammy said.

But when The Early Show's cameras showed up, Tammy's surprise didn't go over as well as she had hoped. "I was livid," said Phyllis. "This is not the answer to put it on national television."

Phyllis eventually came around, and soon was working hand in hand with the professional organizer Laura Dellutri of The Healthy Housekeeper. "I knew once we stared hauling this stuff out and getting the place clean, she'd be happy," said Dellutri.

After a thorough tour of the house, Dellutri was ready to get to work. She offered a couple of key organizing tips to use when going through piles of clutter. "Number one, don't put it down, put it away. Number two, if you don't use it within a year, pitch it or give it to some one that can."

While a crew stayed behind to clear and clean the house, Dellutri led the way to a shopping spree at the nearest Home Depot to pick out organizational supplies. "She was getting the things she wanted," she said about Phyllis, "and I was getting things that I knew she needed and we were working like a team."

Day two at the ranch began with some surprises — like the arrival of a new stackable washer and dryer from Whirlpool, allowing more storage space in the laundry room. A pair of sheds from Rubbermaid were assembled and filled with items once piled on the front porch.

"I love having my front porch back," said Phyllis. "Now when I come home, I don't walk up and think, 'Oh no is this my house?' I say, 'Yes, this is my house!'"

By introducing new products designed to cut down on cleaning time and helping to find a designated place for everything, Dellutri helped turn the Kelton ranch into a clean and clutter-free home.

But the good news didn't stop there. Joining co-anchor Julie Chen for a live interview from Mayer, Ariz., this morning, the Keltons had a big surprise coming.

Chen told Tammy and Phyllis that Scrubbing Bubbles is providing them with a year's supply of cleaning products. Since Tammy's husband is a cowboy, Wrangler is donating a whole new wardrobe to everyone in the family. And Shell Oil is giving Tammy a gasoline gift card worth $1,500.

The final surprise is a vacation for the entire family of six at the brand new Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas. That's where the National Finals Rodeo is held each year; the gift package includes a luxury suite, spa treatments and a lot of rest and relaxation in a vacation worth $20,000.

Services and supplies for this wish came from the following providers:

healthyhousekeeper.com
whirlpool.com
The Home Depot
Rubbermaid
AutomaticShowerCleaner.com
Shell
Wrangler
Red Rock Resort