What to Expect
If you’ve seen the makeover television shows, you may have high expectations of what a Professional Organizer does. Contrary to what they do in thirty minutes for FREE on TV, most of us don’t paint or install new storage solutions ourselves. We try to work within your budget but we don’t normally wield hammers and paint brushes!
Here is what you can realistically expect:
What is a Professional Organizer?
A PO is someone that provides you with assistance, information, product recommendations, and techniques to help you become more organized. They help you stay focused and on track with your project and usually provide you with a plan to guide you through the organizational process.
Do I do all the work or do they?
It’s usually a team effort between the two of you. If there is some heavy lifting to be done, your PO may need your help or may have to hire someone for that. Usually you do most of the decision making while your PO sorts, organizes, and coaches you. You can ask your PO if they do hands on organizing or only do consulting. Jan Davis of ClutterBye® can even do the bulk of organizing without you even being there.
Will I have to throw everything away?
No, you don’t have to throw everything away! It’s the job of the Professional Organizer to help you decide what is and isn’t important to you. Through organizing, you will learn how to establish a home for most of your stuff and along the way you may find things you no longer need.
How long will it take?
This is the million dollar question that everyone wants to know! The reality is that it depends on the severity of your situation, your time frame, your ability to make decisions, how much you want to talk about your possessions, and how far you want to go. We at ClutterBye® have found that it doesn’t do any good to try to estimate how long it will take because there can be areas that you decide to do on your own, boxes that are full of tiny little items that require monumental decisions, empty boxes that you thought were full, and myriad other reasons to change the scope of the project. How long did it take to get to the current state? It takes as long as it takes.
Does the organizer bring containers and products?
Some do. We carry a few products with us but usually need to size up what you need before making recommendations and purchasing products. Since Professional Organizers charge for their shopping time, we usually like to buy the right thing or make recommendations for you to purchase them yourself. Shopping online saves a little time, too.
I’m too embarrassed to have anyone see my mess.
This is what a Professional Organizer does for a living so we see it all. There are many reasons that people get into the situation that requires help. Mostly it’s just that they are just too busy to keep it under control, or maybe they were ill for awhile or caring for a family member. Sometimes they’ve inherited things they don’t have room for, have combined households, had a baby, started a business, there are millions of reasons how it came to be. We don’t make judgments; we are there to help you fix it. Most POs will sign a confidentiality agreement before you get started.
Where do we start?
After your Professional Organizer has assessed your situation, you will discuss your goals as the two of you work up your personalized Action Plan. That’s where you will decide where to start and dig in. It’s the Organizer’s job to get you started, which is usually the hardest part!
You could use the services of a Professional Organizer if:...
I have more than 50 grocery bags stashed away... I can’t walk into my closet without stepping on clothes and shoes... I get charged late fees all the time... I have no idea where my birth certificate is... If I had to get out in a hurry I would be bouncing around like a ball in a pinball machine... I’m not proud of my space.