teamturner Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I'm seriously considering getting someone to organize my house. I cannot seem to get the clutter under control. I've tried Flylady and did make some progress but it doesn't take long after you stop for things to get depressingly bad. My biggest mess is my school area and it's the first room by the front door. I know I need storage solutions and projects completed but my dh already has a project list (already started and uncompleted) a mile long! I can't take it anymore and it makes me so cranky when my house is this messy! I don't know if I can afford the service so I thought I'd check here to see if anyone has any experience with a professional organizer. How much does it cost? How long did it take? Did you think it was worth it? What rooms/areas did you have done? Anyone do the whole house? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Watching eagerly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Just a thought b/c I've contemplated the same thing. I'm not a born organized person and have the same struggles. My house is in a constant state of disarray b/c I can't seem to maintain control of all my clutter, the school papers, materials, books, toys, clothes, etc. I can't afford to pay a prof. organizer...period. But, I do have friends who are born-organized people. I've contemplated putting out a "cry for help" and simply asking one of those friends to come over one day and help me find solutions to my biggest challenges. Do you know anyone who is born-organized or simply does a good job maintaining her home? Perhaps you can swap services w/ her? She can help you organize and you can help her do something that you are gifted at and she is not, KWIM? Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I did this fall. It was EXPENSIVE, but my organizer was worth her weight in gold. I couldn't find things. I had piles of things in corners, falling out of shelves and drawers. So many things didn't get put away because they did not have a home - I needed a major decluttering and was paralyzed by the size of the job. I was drowning in paper. I had 5 "company's coming " boxes in my bedroom that needed filing and putting away. Jeanne was fantastic. She understood that this project was emotionally draining for me, so we worked in two hour blocks. She would come about every two weeks and she gave me several small tasks and measurable goals in the meantime. We would sit down with my calendar and make appointments to do the tasks assigned. We are taking a break until the holidays, but I can see having her come for 2 or 3 more sessions to get a handle on things. She also helped me see that I desperately needed to simplify my life and I had to let go of a couple favorite activities/projects. I still have a way to go, but I am no longer cowering in fear of my stuff. I do see that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. If you are planning on going this route, I would recommend interviewing a couple to get a good fit. I knew 2 other organizers, but I knew that I could not invite them into my mess. It was just too personal. These people are "born organized" and simply do not understand how emotional "stuff" can be. They just couldn't understand why everyone was not like them. They could come in and organize, but not help the person change habits. hth, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Just a thought b/c I've contemplated the same thing. I'm not a born organized person and have the same struggles. My house is in a constant state of disarray b/c I can't seem to maintain control of all my clutter, the school papers, materials, books, toys, clothes, etc. I can't afford to pay a prof. organizer...period. But, I do have friends who are born-organized people. I've contemplated putting out a "cry for help" and simply asking one of those friends to come over one day and help me find solutions to my biggest challenges. Do you know anyone who is born-organized or simply does a good job maintaining her home? Perhaps you can swap services w/ her? She can help you organize and you can help her do something that you are gifted at and she is not, KWIM? Just a thought... Yes, I've thought of asking a friend to help. The only drawback is that I think we wouldn't be ask productive as I might be with a stranger. And I might hurt a friend's feelings if I didn't like an idea. It's definately worth looking into though. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chai Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I have two friends that are in the organizing business. The going rate is generally $25-$50 an hour. If you find someone new in the business or if you are doing a large job, you might be able to get a better deal. The hottest organizers will cost even more. I worked with one of the organizers (a friend) to prepare my house for sale. We worked for two weeks through the whole house. She looked at all of my cupboards and storage spaces and then started to help me clear it out, re-organize and pack. Each night she left me with "homework" to complete before she came back the next day. It was utterly exhausting and my house was not a disaster when we started. (Well, okay, one room was a disaster. :001_smile:) I find that good organizers have a completely different mindset--they can look at the problem and dive in. I can come up with good organizing ideas, but I can't implement! It made a huge difference to have someone pushing me to just do it. I think that it would be a lot easier to do the work over a longer time period, but on the other hand, you would have to wait longer to get the results. It was absolutely worth it for me. I have no doubt that the house looked better for the sale. I wasn't worried about potential buyers opening any cupboard or closet. I've tried to implement some of her ideas in my new house. I have a lot more storage space, though, so I can get away with not being so organized here. If you can afford it, do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I'm an amateur organizer. That is, I only work for friends or friends of friends, and charge very little ($25 first hour, $10 hour after that, 4 hr max per day). It's more for fun for me than as an income stream. If an organizer doesn't help you speed up your decision-making process to help you avoid the mental gridlock that causes clutter ("Clutter is delayed decision-making") then in my opinion, she isn't really helping you for the long-term. Might be fine for staging a house for sale, but you want a new, fresh voice to help change your thinking patterns. My first question when I come into a home is "What is bothering you the most? What is really causing you a problem?" We start there. My next question is "What do you want this space to do for you?" Then "What *is* working? Which parts are not working?" That's where I start brainstorming potential solutions. I always suggest you group things together that are used together, to prevent duplication and clutter. Once you see what you have, you can decide where it will be useful or what storage space you need for it. Storage doesn't have to be expensive. Use what you have or can scrounge. When I've given talks and talked about cheap storage, people's eyes glaze over, though everyone gets excited about cool new (costly) storage systems, lol! Holding on to stuff has an emotional cost, and financial cost. You lose time looking for things, you are constantly frustrated and exhausted by the endless decision-making. You end up buying too much, buying storage tools that don't fit your home or stuff, and just chucking it all into piles to avoid the stress. And the circle widens. Letting go of stuff has an emotional cost. But it comes with a payoff. There are lots of good books out there on organizing internally and externally. Deniece Schofield is by far my favorite. Look for her stuff at the library. Julie Morgenstern and Harriet Schechter are others with good books. Good luck; you can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 How funny that this topic should come up now. Last night I had three people recommend that I work as an organizer and today another woman asked me to organize her home for her. Sadly, she's actually too far away for that to ever happen. I never would have thought that something that I do, and so naturally, would actually be marketable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 I wish I lived near you. I've had people say I should be in that business. Do you have a friend who could possibly help you in exchange for something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 "Clutter is delayed decision-making" then in my opinion, she isn't really helping you for the long-term. Might be fine for staging a house for sale, but you want a new, fresh voice to help change your thinking patterns. Good luck; you can do it. What a profound statement! Clutter is delayed decision making. That seems to be my problem. I am the type of person that doesn't put things back and my dc are following my lead so everyday it piles up which doesn't help. I told my dh that I wanted to get a professional organizer and he didn't think it would work since I would just revert to the clutter. So I thank you for recommending some books to read. I will look into them. I do regularly declutter but what ends up happening is that most of it gets thrown away (I'm not that attached to things unless it's the kids' stuff) or put in a folder/storage bin if we have one, or put in a pile for things that I don't know what to do with. Those little piles are what I struggle with. We have just painted the school room so hopefully we can begin to put some shelves on the wall or get some storage type furniture in here to help. My other awful spot is the laundry room where I have a counter opposite the washer/dryer that is piled high with stuff. I clear it out every so often but it just begins to accumulate again. So I suppose reading some strategies in a book and making that my New Year's Resolution are in order. I think that was my last year's resolution as well! Sigh......Although I did successfully organize the "junk drawer" last year with one of those organizers and it's still working for me. And I did the one in the office and I can find stuff in it as well. So perhaps there's hope for me yet. You've given me a lot of great ideas. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 I wish I lived near you. I've had people say I should be in that business. Do you have a friend who could possibly help you in exchange for something else? I do know someone that would be good at this type of stuff but she wouldn't be available until the summer since she teaches during the school year. I may see what I can accomplish myself until then. I need to go back to some of the stategies that were working for me with Flylady i.e. setting timers and working on hotspots or spending 15 minutes a day finding 28 things (??) in the house to get rid of. Those kinds of things. I recently made 2 trips to Goodwill with the back of my van loaded with toys, clothes, baby stuff. I even cleaned out my closet of all the hanging clothes I never wear or don't fit. It felt good. I just need to keep on going. I believe I can successfully declutter but I struggle with storage solutions and making decisions in that area. I want it to look nice and be functional. Anyone know of a friend with the natural gift of organizing in the Dallas area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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