When To Get A Professional Organizer + What It’s Like
As a professional organizer, one of the main things (among many others!) that we do is to help clients declutter and then implement versatile organizational systems that continue to keep them organized after we leave. Getting organized isn’t a one-time event and we don’t treat it as such. We focus on creating systems that will last based on the needs and current lifestyle and habits of you and your family. With those elements in mind, we’re able to implement solutions that will last because they support how you are already living, making it easy and intuitive for you and your family to adapt.
So how do you know if you need a professional organizer?
Do you relate to the following statement: The more time you’ve spent at home, the more you’ve faced a brutal realization: you’re not organized. Among other spaces, the dysfunctional junk drawer in the entryway — with its myriad of prized items including hand sanitizer, a detached lens that popped out of your RayBans, and the spare key to your car — says it all. But, despite your best attempts, you can’t seem to create a stylish and functional oasis on your own.
Or, how about any of these:
You have a closet/pantry/garage full of clothes/expired food/unused random items. But despite the excess, you can’t put together an outfit or find what you need because you don’t know what you already have. Essentially you are spending too much time looking for things you need and/or are surrounded by things you no longer can use or love.
Your past ways to declutter have been shoving miscellaneous items into drawers or closets, only to create more chaos. Remember physical clutter fosters mental clutter!
There are reminders of your previous organization attempts and failures everywhere that discourage you from any change: random bins, trays, and baskets without anything inside, bins and boxes piling up in your garage because they don’t fit the space you originally intended them to fill, or a label maker still in it’s box.
You want some guidance and a specific plan tailored to you and your families needs.
You pay a monthly fee for a storage unit filled with stuff you could live without.
Do any of those things apply to you? If yes, don’t worry. They have applied to all of us at one time or another. And, we know first hand that life happens. That’s when a professional organizer comes in. Professional organizers have a passion for thoughtfully approaching the clutter in homes.
Our home and space, in many ways, is an extension of our body language. When we look at our home, it can almost inform us about who we are and affect our self-esteem and sense of identity. In other words, the unfolded pile of clothes you religiously create next to your bed, talks. It quietly says to your subconscious, “You’re a messy person,” which may leave you feeling embarrassed, sad, or feeling incapable of organization in any form. But the truth of the matter is, your internal monologue lies. You just have messy habits, and habits can be changed. Your life is shaped by both your mindset and daily habits. Hiring a professional organizer is an effective way to love yourself, and create that change if you've been putting it off. When your home is streamlined, your life is more streamlined.
Here’s what you need to know if you've considered reaping the benefits of this service, inside and out.
How much does it cost to get your home professionally organized?
Organizing services are a high-end, high-touch service. Services are charged on an hourly rate based on the amount of time it takes to organize the space, plus the cost of organizing materials, and any other project-based fees. Every project is unique both in design and cost. It is not an inexpensive service, but it is an investment that pays long-term- mentally, emotionally, financially and more.
It’s key to think about the spaces you want organized before you opt in. To save money, you may only want well-loved sections of your house organized, like your kitchen, closet, or entry where backpacks and winter coats run amuck. Doing so is pretty standard, and will focus your energy (and budget) properly.
How does the process start?
Every project starts with a consultation. I think one of the biggest organizing mistakes I see is people trying to take their whole house by storm, and not really having a plan or a priority. The consultation, which is done at your home, let’s you figure out “what’s going to pack the biggest punch” and define your vision.
During the consultation, AGH will tour your space, look for storage, ask about your lifestyle and how you function within the specific space(s), figure out what’s working and what’s not, and take pictures and measurements. You don’t have to prepare anything beforehand, or make things neat. Organizers have seen it all and prefer to see your space at its worst. (Think about how epic the “before” and “after” shots could be!) However, knowing where you want the project to go, even if you just show a Pinterest board, is beneficial. The more you know and can articulate what success looks like to you, the better chances you have of getting the results you want. The ultimate goal for you and your family is to create a personally tailored and practical organizational systems that allow you to focus on enjoying your lives instead of being constantly bogged down by tons of clutter and disorder.
After the consultation, we devise a project plan and determine a project estimate. From there, we prepare for the project, including doing all of the shopping. Then on project day, it’s time to take everything (yes, everything) out of the space you’re organizing, so you can start making clear decisions toward your goal. It always gets worse before it gets better, but this is one of the most important steps in the process. If purging/editing is necessary (and most of the time it is), you’ll be included in this phase of the project. Editing and sorting instills boundaries, which are essential when remote working options are the norm, and the line between your professional and personal life is frequently blurred. Deciding what a space is for — the purpose it serves — is doing yourself a favor and will leave you feeling supported by your home.
Once the editing phase is complete, we then categorize the remaining items to create an organization system that makes sense for you. Then, we put all your newly organized items back into the space by utilizing the organizing materials, taking extra time to color-code and/or label everything for a finishing touch. The space receives meticulous attention to detail, carefully considered systems and a styled aesthetic.
Let’s talk more about editing when it comes to organizing and styling your space.
This is particularly crucial, and the right organizer will hold you accountable to your decisions and keep you close to your “why.” For instance, if an organizer is working on a closet with a client, when they see a blouse they’ve literally never worn, or come across their tenth white T-shirt, we recall your vision and inspire action. While an organizer will never force anyone to get rid of anything, our objective perspective and recommendations on personal items are provided to work towards your goal and create the best possible outcome for the space. People can really rationalize keeping anything, so it’s our job to bring you back to the vision of what you’re trying to create instead of, ‘Could this coat be useful?’
Of course it can be, it’s a coat. But, when speaking specifically on the topic of a closet, it’s the place where there’s a lot of aspirational items that don’t get touched. For a closet project, we’ll set up bins for categories like: trash, recycling, donate, sell or consign, give to a friend or your mom, returns, and repairs, so clients can even discard in an organized fashion.
As we work together, we encourage clients to get real about their current life, climate, career, and identity. More often than not, the “what if” thinking is a scarcity mindset at work. This is where you assume there’s not enough — that you’ll be left out to dry, and so you feel the need to hoard what you have. The opposite is an abundance mindset, where you firmly believe there’s enough resources, like food, water, or trendy clothes, to go around.
By letting go of T-shirts one through five, you’re ridding yourself of clutter and supporting the idea that you’ll be able to get what you need, when you need it. The abundance mindset leaves many clients with between 30 to 50 percent less than what was in their closet originally. They say their wardrobe feels new, despite not buying a single thing. How sustainable, right?
After a serious edit, there’s also room now to style your closet. We love taking a cue from boutiques by using matching, streamlined hangers and adopting a minimal wardrobe. Personally, I really find the less I own, the better I dress, and the more creative I am with my outfits.
We always recommend grouping similar items together and then create subcategories within those groups. For clothes, these subcategories can be based on occasion, sleeve length, and color. For shoes, you should apply the same method, and then pack away or push back anything seasonal.
Don’t skip on good products, placement and labeling.
Continuing with the closet project example, ultimately, you want to get dressed in the morning with ease, so putting your most-worn items front and center, aka in “prime real estate,” is key. This trick works well with your skincare and makeup products too, if you’re headed to your bathroom next, and will give your brain a break from decision-making. Conserving your cognitive resources, because you’re not tying up your working memory with urgent thoughts like, “Where is this?”
Good products and labeling will also help you reap the rewards. Products like drawer inserts and dividers + bins and baskets that match your home’s aesthetic are some of my favorites. Implementing the organization principles is “where everything comes to life and your beautiful space emerges.”
Once your space is organized, it’s up to you to maintain and celebrate it.
The challenging part is over when your space is organized, right? Kind of. You’ll want to do daily pick-ups and seasonal edits in order to maintain your hard work. I think there is a myth that you can organize once and that’s it. The truth is that life isn’t static, so as long as there’s things going in and coming out of your home, you will need to do maintenance.
If you have kids, I suggest scheduling edits before holidays and birthday parties. To avoid a major house-cleaning project, do laundry once a week; sort your mail as it comes in; “reset your space” before going to bed; and edit your wardrobe twice a year. The systems you created should never have to be tweaked, but the volume of items in your home likely will.
In between maintaining your home, celebrate it. It’s where you live, work, love, eat, and listen, and you dished out a lot of resources to make it the oasis it is. Give yourself the victory of tackling your junk drawer and eliminating the almost-inevitable pile of clothes. Proudly share your space on Instagram, or throw a virtual housewarming party. I bet picking out an outfit will be a breeze.