Here are some common questions, but I would be happy to discuss any specific questions you have. There is no cost for the call, which can last up to 30 minutes. I will not pressure you into making an appointment or push you to be ready before you are. I want you to feel comfortable with this process and know you are ready to get organized.
Will you make me throw away all my things?
Absolutely not! You make all the decisions about what stays and what goes. Together we will discuss and clarify the guidelines at the beginning of our first organizing consultation. I will encourage you to make decisions based on your values, goals and objectives. We can then use your allocated space for your loved and treasured items. Through the process you may decide that your priorities have changed and that not all of your items are loved and treasured and feel you are ready to part with more things. In some cases, we may be able to accomplish your goals by utilizing your space better allowing you to keep all your items.
Do I have to be at every organizing consultation or can you do the work for me?
It is necessary for you to be at every organizing consultation. If I do the organizing for you, then you haven’t learned the new skills and any progress will just be temporary. We will define your goals and talk through your trouble spots while evaluating your situation together. It is necessary for you to be present for sorting items because you decide what to keep, purge or donate. The plan that will develop from our work will be an improved lifestyle that will allow you to create and sustain organization. If you need someone to help because of time constraints, that is something that will come out of our work together and will be addressed.
Can I do the work myself?
Absolutely! If you are a self starter and don’t need the partnership of having someone work with you side by side, then telephone coaching will be a great solution for you. This will allow you to create a tailor made plan for your area and break it down into doable steps with the support and accountability of a coach. This is the perfect option for the do-it–yourself organizer.
How should I prepare for our first appointment?
It is most helpful if you do absolutely nothing to your space. Resist the temptation to straighten up the pile of clothes on your treadmill and sofa, mountain of mail on your kitchen island, or the stacks of papers on your desk. It is quite helpful to see the natural flow of your home and to see where things land. Please try to minimize distractions during each appointment by making arrangements with friends, family and co-workers to avoid potential interruptions. Make child care arrangements so you will not be interrupted and can focus on organizing for the duration of the session. Be ready to answer questions that focus on your current lifestyle habits, goals, values and needs.
Should I purchase organizing products?
As tempting as it is to buy products to get you started, it is best to wait until later in the process. You may have everything you already need, or may need to start from scratch. I will make recommendations as we go. This will help you to stay within your budget by not having to purchase all at once and allow us to try to reuse already owned products in your home. You may start to collect empty cardboard boxes to use for sorting.
How long will it take to create an organized home?
Each person and project is unique. I set myself to your pace. I love organizing and can go for hours at a rapid pace. You need to feel comfortable with the pace we are going, so you set the pace and I mirror you. The length of a project is determined by how quickly you make decisions and the amount and type of clutter that you have. Having a partner makes the process go by much more quickly and efficiently. I have data that I can share on average times to organize specific areas. Your project will likely be within that range. I am sensitive to time constraints and events that are scheduled. I will work with your schedule and help you to create a plan to meet your completion date.
I’m not sure where to begin; the whole house is a mess. What do you recommend?
Start with what is troubling you most, or with the area that will make the biggest impact. What area is stressing you out? Is it the dining room table hidden under piles of clutter for years? Or your home office that you would use if it weren’t piled with your kids’ homework and old bills? If a holiday is coming and you would like to use the dining room, that is the perfect place to start. If you are tired of paying late fees because you keep losing your bills, creating a home filing system would be the best place to start. During our initial telephone consultation we will decide upon a starting place for our first in person consultation or for your first coaching session.
Are the sessions confidential?
Yes. I appreciate you inviting me into your home and realize the high level of trust you are placing in me. Each session is confidential and non-judgmental.
What is your philosophy on organizing?
Organizing is having things done when they are due, knowing where things are when you need them, and knowing where to put things when you are finished. Organizing is a learned process. No one was born naturally organized, although some do have a natural inclination. Those who are organized have learned it from someone or somewhere. They may have learned it from trial and error, a relative, teacher, friend, book, or a professional. I want organizing to be an enjoyable experience. My objective is to alleviate the stress, embarrassment, frustration, or anxiety you may feel about your circumstances.
Everyone needs help sometimes. I have found that often the things that I find the most challenging are the most rewarding when they are accomplished. I have made it my mission to help you uncover the feeling of peace, harmony, and tranquility that living in an organized space can bring. Hiring a professional organizer is your first step toward optimizing your time, home, space, and peace of mind. I’ll help you uncover solutions that fall in line with your natural abilities and tendencies and create an environment that aids you instead of frustrating you. We will take this one step at a time and define your path in clear and simple goals.
I have a friend/family member who hoards. Can you help them?
I get many calls every month from concerned, well meaning friends and family members of individuals who hoard. For hoarders to make changes in their life they have to recognize that there is a problem and agree to get some help. It will be necessary for me to talk to the person who needs the help to determine how I can be of service to them and what would be a good first step. They will also need to talk with me to determine if I am someone that they feel they can trust and work with. They need to be in control of the process. It will be necessary for them to work with a counselor while they are working with me, preferably the three of us will be working in collaboration to create an ideal support system for your loved one.
I haven’t let anyone into my house for a long time. Will you take pictures or tell my friends /family or neighbors what my house looks like?
Absolutely not! All the photos on my website are generic photos selected for the purpose of creating a website. I do not take or post photos of my clients’ homes for others to see. I realize that everyone likes to see the before and after photos that many organizers provide on their websites and I like seeing the progress that can be made too. If you are someone who really likes the before and after photos, I will encourage you to take your own photos at the beginning of our project and then at an interval that make sense. This will give you a visual representation of how far you’ve come.
I have too much stuff; can you help me organize it better?
If space planning is the issue, I would be happy to help you come up with a more efficient space plan for your home. Often the people who ask me this question have more stuff than space. It is only possible to pack so much stuff in a certain size space and have it be usable and accessible to you. If you have a lot of things you are not able to get to or use, I would encourage you to consider letting go of some of the clutter to allow you more space to live freely.
What is the difference between a collector and someone who hoards?
A collector typically displays his collections and talks about it with friends and family. He takes pride in his collection which is apparent from how he keeps it stored. For example, a baseball card collection would likely be in protected sleeves, organized in some manner so that the collector can find what he is looking for to show another collector or a friend or family member a specific card he may be looking to see. When a collector makes a purchase, generally he has items he is specifically targeting and intending to add to his collection. He will pass up other things that may fit into the collection in search of the items he deems important to his collection. He feels good when he purchases something that is part of the collection and usually is exuberant in talking about his newfound purchase with others.
Someone who hoards generally does not have their items neatly organized so they may be viewed and discussed with others, they may not even really know exactly what they have as part of their “collection.” They will purchase things as part of a collection when they see them. For example, they may purchase packages of baseball cards, even though they already have all the cards from a certain year. It is not that they want two of the same specific card, they are just adding to the collection in general. Once they have added to the pile there is often a feeling of regret or remorse because of the money spent or the lack of space to place the items once they get home. Items are rarely shared with others.
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
