Does the room serve its intended
purpose? If not, what should it be
doing?
What are the essential items
needed for this space?
What’s causing the mess/issue?
What kind of organizing do you
like? i.e. jeans hung or folded, do you
need to see it to know it’s there, are you a minimalist, etc.
2) Plan
Key Question in this stage is “What
Would Make You Happy?” Talk about time and
budget parameters. Decide if you need to
hire a professional or if you can do this yourself. Maybe a better question than can you do it is
will you do it yourself?
3) Implement
Like with Like: DO NOT make decisions on what to keep in this
phase…just putting pants with pants, work clothes together, travel supplies,
baking supplies, etc.
Eliminate: get rid of broken,
unused, ugly, unnecessary and old…have boxes labeled and ready to go for
donations, trash, items that go elsewhere in the house, things that can be sold,
and things you need to return to other people.
When is the last time you used
this item? What is a scenario in which you might use it and how likely is that
to happen? What does it cost (in both time and money) to replace this
item? And how hard would it be to find
and purchase this item again? What is the worst case scenario if you did get
rid of this item?
4) Assign a Home
Is this where you truly
belong? Watch that flat surfaces don’t
become dumping grounds. STORE IT WHERE
YOU USE IT! Set up zones for different
activities.
5) Shop
Notice that this isn’t the FIRST
step! (smile)
6) Equalize
Maintaining your space on a
daily basis. If everything is
functioning well, you should be able to clean a room in 5-10 minutes…
7) Evaluate
Does it work? Follow up and change as needed. Use the one
in one out rule.
I’m starting my eighth year as a professional organizer on
November 1. In that time, I’ve learned a
lot and grown as an organizer as I listen better to what people need. When I started Yikes Organizing, I chose the
name because I thought it took some of the “scary” out of hiring an organizer
and I liked the tagline, “Lose the Clutter…Not Your Mind.”
Like everyone who tries something for the first time, there
were some false starts and I’m grateful for the people who were good sports (and
kind enough to be pleased with my work) during that first year. However, I can now say with confidence that the
four most important things I provide are accountability, support, and saving my
clients both time and money.
Often, my number one purpose is to provide accountability.
As a wife and mother of six, I’ve
always been a “doer” so the jobs that are the hardest for me are when I
literally sit next to a client and make sure that she writes that important
email or pays her bills. And yet that’s
exactly what some clients need and want.
Obviously, not everyone wants that,
but the one trait most of my clients’ share is insecurity. They think they
really should be able to do this alone but are embarrassed that they don’t want
to or can’t. I get it! When faced with a difficult task, I also
choose avoidance, or honestly try, but get distracted when something easier
presents itself.
I’m that way with cleaning my house,
for example. I’ll start with good
intentions and set the alarm on my phone for 30 minutes but 10 minutes in I
will remember that I never brought the mail in yesterday and might even be
expecting a check. Then I’m folding
laundry but get bored so turn on the t.v. and pretty soon the laundry is folded
but I’m still watching the show!
My point is that it’s okay to
not know where to start or to want help with something that doesn’t come
naturally to you. For some clients,
the best thing I can do is to get them in the mindset that for three hours,
they’re going to work hard but we will see concrete results at the end of our
time.
The second thing an organizer provides is
support.
I will take something they
dread (digging into the mess) and will try my hardest to make it fun, and if I
don’t succeed in that, I will at least make it less painful than it will be on
their own. So most times, at the end of
a session people will say that it wasn’t so bad once we got started.
An often overlooked plus to hiring an organizer
is that oftentimes I can either save you money or find something that is
important to you.
One day, when working with another
organizer, we were going through storage boxes, in a barn of all places, and found
a long-lost wedding ring for a client.
As you can imagine, this was quite fun as we got to show him a piece of
his past he thought he would never see again.
Other times, I’ve found large amounts of cash, sometimes still in the
banking envelope but more often hidden in a “secret” spot that the client had stashed
it in years ago. Another fun thing is
finding gift cards or uncashed checks that are able to be reissued.
A quick and easy way I save my
clients money is by cancelling subscriptions to things they no longer use. This runs the gamut from health clubs to any
automatic renewal where they were getting something (like pet meds) every month
and end up with enough to equip a small zoo!
In a related issue, in almost every
home I’m in, I find multiples of something that the client keeps buying because
she/he can’t find the ones on hand.
For my clients with paper overload,
I save money by getting their finances in order so they don’t waste money
paying late fees. I also get quotes from
various service providers, so they get the best rate when having something
installed or fixed.
Finally, and most importantly, I give clients
the gift of time.
I had one
potential client call and tell me that it took her an hour that morning to find
a hairbrush. While that’s kind of
extreme, time lost looking for things is money lost.
Okay, I lied. After giving it a bit more thought, the
most precious gift I give people isn’t time or money, but the peace of mind
that comes when you have an orderly home.
The one thing that absolutely every client has told me is that getting
organized makes them happier, lighter, freer, less stressed, etc. They all say it in a slightly different
way but the bottom line is that an organizer gives you that elusive peace of
mind that comes when you control your possessions, not the other way around.
YES, YOU CAN! Organizers are professionals and we won’t
judge you. We realize many times
difficult situations can throw your life into a frenzy or things just pile up
over time. Most of us have been where
you are at one point in our lives. In
other words—"What happens in Fort Wayne, stays in Fort Wayne!” Seriously, I don’t tell others who my clients
are, and your secrets are safe with me!
I can even provide you with a confidentially agreement if you’d like…
2.
What if I get talked into getting rid of
things that I really wanted to keep?
This will NOT happen. Now if you have 100 empty Cool Whip
containers and use five of them on a regular basis, I will probably ENCOURAGE
you to recycle the rest. But I work with
you to determine how much space you have, the best use of that space and what
to do with the rest. Maybe a storage
unit or the attic is the answer (at least temporarily) until you see what you
use and what you really don’t need. This
isn’t housecleaning where there are fairly set parameters on the right way to
do things. Organizing is specific to
each individual client.
3.
I
don’t know where to start and/or I’m just overwhelmed.
There are two lines of thought here. The first is to start with the area or room that
is bothering you the most. If you are
really overwhelmed, however, we could start with a small area (like a desktop
or kitchen counter) and clean it so you can see some visible progress right
away. No matter which method we use, I
will work with you to help figure out a plan of attack so that you will see
progress with each session. It took you
more than a day to get here and you must give yourself the grace to see that it
will take more than a day to get out.
4.
Is this going to emotionally draining or
difficult?
The short answer is it can be. Most organizers make 3-4-hour appointments
because that’s about the longest a client can stay focused. I try to do most of the heavy lifting
(literally and figuratively), but it can be an emotional process, especially if
you are dealing with the belongings of a loved one who has died. Again, I will work with you to make it as
painless as possible, being flexible and encouraging in the process. I definitely will move at your pace in all of
this.
5.
Will this cost me a bunch of money?
Many people hire housekeepers and
what they get accomplished is undone every week or two. Organizers cost more per hour, but we are
making a lasting change to your home. Also, most people don’t need an organizer
every week for a year so, at least, there is an end to it!
Finally, I will say that many
times we save our clients real money in a variety of ways. I’ve encouraged clients to cancel unused
memberships, helped them put a new filing system in place so bills get paid on
time, and many times I’ve just found something important to them. Recently, it was a $100 Costco gift card
discovered in a pile of tissue paper. As
Winnie the Pooh once stated, “One of the advantages of being disorganized is
that one is always having surprising discoveries!”
6.
I feel like I should be able to do this by
myself. Is it bad that I want/need help?
While it’s true that in many
cases one of my main functions is to provide accountability, another hat I
continually wear is that of an encourager.
Sometimes it’s just daunting to tackle that basement or attic alone and
there is no reason to feel bad about wanting help and/or an outside
perspective. Also, because I deal with these
situations every day, I’m better equipped to help you find real workable
solutions.
Many people hire personal
trainers to help them get into shape.
Could they do this by themselves?
Yes, but it’s easier with a professional and it takes some of the
pressure off them. Well, think of
professional organizers as personal trainers for your home instead of for your
body!
What do having your house cleaned and getting it organized
have in common?
Both give you a natural high but, even better, and certainly
more lasting, they give you more of what you really need…time.
I love organizing other people’s homes but HATE cleaning my
own and when I’ve paid to get my home cleaned it’s the best present I could
have given myself. I think I would pay
them even if they did nothing but add the clean “smell!”
That said, here are some tried and true tips from a
professional organizer who has pretty much seen it all as far as clutter is
concerned. (I say this as I have six
grown children, have lived on three continents and have moved more than 25
times in my life.)
1)
Be realistic
Your house didn’t become cluttered
in a day and it’s not going to become perfectly organized in a day…unless you
hire the crew from Clean Sweep, and even with them and t.v. editing, it takes a
weekend! I work with some clients once a
week for a year!
2)
Start with a small project you can finish
If you are new at organizing, you
may not want to start with your garage. Try decluttering a cabinet in your kitchen or
clean out your dresser. These are
projects that won’t take all day and will give you some positive reinforcement. Then work your way up to bigger projects.
3)
Realize things will get worse before they get
better
When I start with a new client this
is something we always discuss. If we
just clear off the top of your desk or your bed but don’t deal with the
“unseen” clutter in your drawers and cabinets, we really haven’t done the job
fully and you will be back to “messy” before you know it. The only real rule in organizing is that
EVERYTHING needs a home. In order to
find the best home, you need to dig down and get to the root of the problem.
4)
Sometimes more isn’t better; sometimes more is
just more
I especially see this with kids’
clothing and toys. Often more choices
just make it harder for kids to choose anything. I’ve even tested this on my 8-month-old
granddaughter. If you give her one or
two toys, she is happy. If you spread 25
toys out on the floor around her, she is overwhelmed. If you have a ton of toys
and/or clothes, rotate them so you kids feel like they are getting something
new periodically. By the way, this same
strategy works for adults and clothes as well.
5)
Don’t buy storage solutions until the end of the
project
Nobody ever wants to hear this but
you can’t know what kind of storage you will need until you know how much you
are keeping and where it’s going to live.
I tell my clients this is your reward for all the hard work we’ve
done. Plus, many times you have great
storage solutions on hand and we can reuse something you have in a different
way.
If this seems daunting, I understand. Give me a call and I’ll give you a free
30-minute, in-home estimate to get your house in order and give you the awesome
gift of time!
Today we will explore four stumbling blocks that keep you
from making your new home simply amazing.
They are:
1)
Bringing too much stuff from the old home
2)
Buying furniture and storage items before
knowing where they will be used or if you even need them
3)
Not putting things away in a thoughtful or
realistic manner
4)
Unrealistic expectations
Mistake #1: Not
realizing what will fit or work in the new home
Before a move you have such a great opportunity to go
through the things in your home and purge.
I find however, that time gets away from people and they end up telling
themselves it’s okay to do the sorting on the other end.
Let me just say this.
It’s WAY harder to go through things after a move than before. You
will be in just as much of a hurry to get unpacked as you were to get packed
and there is never a convenient time to go through everything you own. I worked with someone once (this was a
friends’ client and I was just helping her out) who didn’t do any purging
before the move and we ended up bringing a TON of expired food to the new
house. I was super frustrated and I’m
sure my friend was too.
If you label your boxes well, that makes things easier. If you aren’t ready to part with some things
but don’t know if you will need them, mark that accordingly. You can put these boxes in your basement,
attic or garage and get to them when you have more time and energy to make
decisions.
Mistake #2: Buying
Things Before You Know What You Need or Where You will Use Them
My advice in this area is to only buy or bring the things
you love or know you will need and use.
Measure the rooms in your new home and the furniture in your current
home and plan accordingly. Yes, it will
take some time but if you map out the room beforehand, you know what will
fit. Of course, there are great apps for
this like Room Planner so that’s an option too.
One of the first rules of organizing is that you don’t
buy organizing products until you sort and purge and know how much is
left. It’s tempting to shop first (especially
when storage options nowadays are so dang cute!) but you will end up with the
wrong things and/or things that don’t fit the space well.
Mistake #3: Not Putting
Things Near Where You Use Them
This is probably the biggest pitfall I find in organizing in
general. People don’t use their prime
real estate effectively. This is true in
any room, but I saw it most often in kitchens.
People would put their Christmas dishes in the cupboard above the
dishwasher, while dishes they used every day were halfway across the
kitchen.
It just makes sense to have the things you use the most
somewhere that’s easily accessible and near where you use it. It’s also important to be realistic about how
much you use something. If you spend a
lot of money on your Vitamix but never use it even though it’s on the kitchen
counter, you may need to find another spot for it. Some people use their toasters every day, and
some people use them once a month. Take a moment and plan for the life you
actually have, not the life you think you should have. Also, don’t be afraid to go outside the
lines. The best organizing plan is the
one that works for you. If you want to
put your seasonal clothes in another closet so that your master closet isn’t
stuffed, go for it.
Mistake #4:
Unrealistic Expectations
While the other tips concentrate on the physical aspects
of setting up your home, this one is more mental. Living in an age where more is better and ads
promise everything from a better sex life to a promotion by changing your
toothpaste, it’s easy to be discontent with what you have. Your home is not going to be perfect on the
first day. Be okay with trying different
furniture arrangements and realizing that you will need to make minor
adjustments over time. Again, your home should reflect your tastes and you want
it to be comfortable…whatever style you choose.
But be patient and give yourself time to get to know the house and your
tendencies once you’ve settled in…or should I say down? :)
Of all the jobs I do as an organizer, probably my least
favorite areas to work in are a garage or attic. I think it’s because these are the final
resting places for things that have no home (and often no use) and it’s usually
unbearably hot or cold when people decide they want help with these areas.
This leads me to today’s topic… why you need to organize
your garage NOW!
1)
It’s not ridiculously hot or cold.
Fall and spring are the perfect times to
organize your garage. The best, and, in my opinion, the only way to do this is
to take absolutely everything out of the garage and sort it before it goes back
in. Just trust me here; you don’t want
to be doing that when the temperature is in the 90’s…or the 30’s.
In a related corollary, you want to be able
to get your car into the garage before the first frost. There is nothing more frustrating (well,
maybe there are a few things, but for our example let’s pretend that there
aren’t), than having a garage and scraping snow and ice off your car every
morning.
2)
The longer you wait, the worse your garage will
get.
Let’s face it, once you have lost
control of your garage then nobody cares and every day a few things get added
to the chaos. The only upside for me of
organizing garages is that every time people find something that they had
thought was lost forever. Now, it’s not
usually exciting as the wedding ring that another organizer and I found once
for a client, but there are still good finds to be had. And, in a way, garages are simple to organize
because the categories are so easily identified. Pretty much everyone has garden stuff,
camping stuff, home improvement stuff (like paint) tools, car care items, bikes
and toys.
