There are a lot of professionals out there to turn to when we want something done quickly and correctly. During a recent home reno project we accidentally hit the electric to our well pump (thus, had no water!) so an emergency electrician call, 2 junction boxes, 5 minutes of work and $100 later we had our electric back and up to code. Albeit an expensive call, it was much less expensive than having my husband and brother-in-law spend all day on it and possibly burning down the house! The moral of this story is, when you are in over your head, call in professional help!
Chances are you don’t do a good amount of organizing on the daily and when it comes time to get to work on a problem area it’s extremely overwhelming. That’s not to say that professional organizers don’t have messy areas but it only takes a few minutes to get them under control when it’s time. Those who are not used to having systems or decluttering and organizing regularly usually shut down or only get through a project halfway. Professional organizers have the advantage of always practicing and fine-tuning their craft so they are up-to-date on the latest techniques and storage solutions.
So what can a professional organizer help you with? When I work with clients the first step is to understand why the area is unorganized. My starting a project steps are usually:
- Understand why there is a problem; get to know the client and their personal challenges with organizing
- Remove all items from the space and declutter: save, donate, trash
- Assess items left to store and purchase appropriate containers (if necessary)
- Organize items into a system that is easy for the client to understand and maintain
I also provide follow up services at 1 month and 3 months, kind of like quality control. Sometimes people need refining in their systems or to get back on track before completely derailing and these check-ups help to ameliorate any issues.
In addition to understanding why you’re having trouble keeping things in order, the goal is also to learn and implement the organizational skills needed to keep the area organized. There is no point in having a professional coming in and set up a system that doesn’t work or make sense for the individual or family; upkeep will be impossible. I’ve made that mistake several times rearranging my husbands things. I organized it in a way that made sense to me but completely confused him and everything was back to chaos within a week. Once we started working together on a solution that worked for him, there was peace at last!
Another organization hurdle people deal with is where to find appropriate storage solutions and spending time buying, returning and repurchasing the items. Usually with a professional organizer you don’t have to worry about those obstacles because they take care of it for you. Their list of resources for consignment shops, shredders, painters, contractors, etc. can save you a lot of time and aggravation. At the end of the project you should have an organized and well appointed space.
Lots of people also don’t know where to start with their organizational needs, or they try to tackle it as a team (husband/wife, roommates, etc.) and there is too much clashing of opinions that it thwarts all efforts. Professional organizers can act as a moderator in these type of stressful situations and keep the task at hand in focus.
Like with most things, when you call in a professional, the amount of time a project takes is greatly reduced, freeing you up to do much more valuable things with your time. And if you’re worried about the price, figure out how much you’re worth per hour and multiply that by the time it takes you to complete a project. It is most likely much more than you would pay a professional to come in and do it in half the amount of time, plus teach you some new skills. And that, my friends, is invaluable!
Here are a few pictures of my organizing projects:
Keep similar items together
Snack drawer in pantry. Clear containers and items out of boxes allow you to see what and how much of each item you have left.
Linen closet. Smaller towels folded and placed in a basket keep them from falling over or getting in the way. Magnetic fiberboard boxes allow for decorative storage of medicine and first aid products as well as back up toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.)