Krissy Warlich and Cara Sandoval have been best friends since high school. They went to community college together. And they even earned certificates from UCLA Extension just one year apart from one another. This year, they decided to embark on the ultimate test of friendship: Opening a business together.

“We both found ourselves recently in the same position in life, where we wanted a little bit of a change,” Sandoval said. “So why not join forces and start a business together? It just happened organically that way.”

The result of their burgeoning collaboration is Sort~n~Sweet, a business that pitches the two as a professional organizing team for any number of applications – from organizing the inventory of a commercial business, to assisting a family with organizing assets for their family estate and leading up to home staging and interior design services.

“We understand the overwhelming feeling of having all this stuff and not knowing exactly what to do with it,” Sandoval said. “Having someone on your side who can take some of that stress away from your life can be so helpful. And we are grateful that people trust us to lend them this service.”

“Everything we do kind of leads back to wanting to help people,” Warlich added. “Being organized in life can be really uplifting and provide you with a sense of freedom.”

Warlich is one year older than Sandoval. They met briefly before attending Alta Loma High School, but then really hit it off during a child development class.

“I pretty much followed her everywhere she went because I was obsessed with her,” Sandoval joked. “I’m an only child so I consider Krissy my sister.”

Since high school they have maintained a strong bond and common interests, even attending Chaffey Community College together.

“We’re both artsy people and very creative,” Warlich said. “And we both have our different strengths, so over the years we’ve gotten to know how we fall in place together.”

Warlich was the first to enroll in a UCLA Extension certificate program for interior design. She graduated in 2008, and Sandoval followed closely behind, graduating in 2009. Warlich has had various gigs that put her interior design skills to use, most recently for a closet company. Sandoval has also leveraged her design skills while managing a successful family-owned candy company.

The idea of organization came from their desire to tap into the fun and creativity of interior design while casting a wider net for the business. They do not take the privilege of interacting with people’s personal belongings lightly.

“People are letting you into their homes, and it’s very personal sometimes,” Warlich said. “They’re inviting you into their personal space. You want to be mindful and respect the way they live while also trying to help them.”

“I do really enjoy this work,” Sandoval said. “I can use my creativity and there is also a lot of psychology when working with an individual's tastes.”

Early clients included a thrift store, where organizing inventory and determining product placement led to further interior design. They also helped with a family that was struggling to deal with an estate and all that was left behind by a loved one.

“I feel very passionate about this – helping the elderly community or people whose parents have passed. We both went through that in our lives,” Sandoval said.

The education at UCLA Extension was invaluable at almost every stop along the way, but especially with the new business Sandoval added.

“I loved it,” Warlich added. “It was an amazing program. When we got there it was absolutely mind blowing – the professors were all working professionals coming to teach us from reputable firms.”

“Our end game has always been to go back to design,” Sandoval added.

And now two friends are embarking on yet another journey, ready to hard launch Sort~n~Sweet in 2026 and make a name for themselves, together.

“You do have to have a level of comfort with each other,” Sandoval said. “We completely balance each other out – yin and yang.”