Tell me about hiring an organizer

In My Humble Opinion
1

As many of you know, I’m a real slob. My house has, like, a natural level of crap that it likes to sink to. I clean, it returns. I clean, it returns. Obviously, some of it’s that I need to get better habits about keeping stuff clean, sure. And when I stay on it it’s better. But a lot of my problem is that there’s just not a place where stuff goes. I mean, I try to make a place, but it just never works for me.

I was wondering if there’s an organization service that would work for me. I know somebody who had somebody come in and help them with it - she had to clean first and then was helped to organize, but then this woman has a home business, which means her needs are really different from mine. Plus, I don’t wanna clean first.

What I want, I guess, is something like those TV shows - somebody to come over and work with me for a few weekends and end up with a clean, organized house.

Has anybody used a service like that? I looked in the yellow pages and all I found is maid services, which isn’t what I want. If you’ve used one, how did you find them? How did it work out for you? How much did it cost? Did you stick with it? Any experiences or hearsay would be appreciated. It would be really nice to be able to open the damned doors and have the air work better, but I can’t because the cats can’t go in the two junk rooms, which take up about 30% of my whole house! I need to have the bug guy come, but I can’t get the place clean enough for ti to do any good! (It’s been a year!) Argh!

2

How about this?

One theme I seem to hear on the shows (which scare and thrill me, since the mess is WHOA and the after is so reassuring) is that people don’t know where to start. Is that you? Have you made attempts and failed?

3

Attempts? I started the SDMB Slob Reform Club and then became too embarrassed about it to post. :wink:

I finally found three local people by realizing the search phrase is “professional organizer” - but that doesn’t really tell me a lot without calling random people off the Internet (although I did find the National Association of Professional Organizers, which probably means at least something).

4

But what is it you think maids do? They pretty much come to your house, organize and clean your stuff. That sounds like what you’re asking for.

5

[QUOTE=Grossbottom]
But what is it you think maids do? They pretty much come to your house, organize and clean your stuff. That sounds like what you’re asking for.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, when I had my housekeeping business in Michigan, that was one of the services I performed and charged for by the hour. I used several large boxes to sort alongside the client accoording to their needs, the only constant ones being one marked ‘Everyday’ and another marked ‘Goodwill’. Then we’d work our way through one room at a time, not allowing any distractions.

Good luck!

6

Maids do not organize. Organization often involves buying storage equipment, prioritizing, and throwing stuff out, none of which they will be doing.

They clean. They may clear. Some may feel comfortable with minor organizing, but I know I sure wouldn’t, especially with someone new.

Expect to have to work with any organizer you hire. They can’t do it without you.

7

I’d hire a service to clean first, then hire an organizer. I wonder if your local college would have students that are into that. I think there’s a certain level of design knowledge that they’d need before they could become certified. Maybe you can get one on the cheap.

If it works out, let me know. I’m still trying to figure out how to stuff 2 tons of stuff into a one-ton house.

8

The thing is, I don’t see how a maid can help me. I mean, yeah, maybe she could dust around the crap on the table, but how is she supposed to know where the crap goes? She could make the bed, but she’d just have to step over the piles of clothes on the floor (although I probably could dump the big stack of “to consigns” on somebody to wash and press). A maid can only do so much, and most of them are pretty clear on their websites that they just clean. Maybe a specific individual could be gotten to come and help me get my shit together, just by virtue of goading me into it, but I don’t get the impression that most cleaning ladies are really up for the “do these pants still fit me and if so where do I put them?” purge.

9

Nope, and it’s not just a matter of cleaning up once; you need a system you can stick too. Given storage solutions, once they’re full you can only buy new if you purge the same amount of the old. Get into the routine of actually using the storage solutions and not just reverting to old piles, etc. It’s got to be someone who understands how you are, not just imposes a plan on you.

10

Sounds like you need someone like me.

I’m doing this for my elderly aunt and she hasn’t done much in the way of filing for 35 years. Or throwing things away. Think Miss Haversham. Three big rooms, stuffed to the gunwhales, and boxes of papers and papers scattered throughout. I have only to open a case, open a drawer, or turn over something to find yet more papers. Indeed, to get things properly sorted, I’m having to go back a decade before that. It’s taken me 6 weeks so far at 2-3 days a week. (I don’t do paperwork every visit: for example, one visit I spent the whole time simply cleaning the bathroom.) I’m being utterly ruthless, but all the papers are jumbled up and have to be individually examined. Bank statements, invoices, receipts, letters etc are kept; advertising flyers, envelopes etc get junked. This is just the first sift, mind, but I’m still chucking out over half. Later I’ll correllate everything and junk 90% of it. I’m sure telephone bills from the 1970s aren’t needed.

Somehow I doubt you’re anywhere near as bad. Please don’t get that bad. I’d suggest the first step of looking for someone to clean and tidy for you. Leave organisation until later. You’ll be amazed at how much space a simple tidy creates.

11

The papers aren’t really a problem for me. I’m tackling my paper issues at work with the “Getting Things Done” system, which is really working for me - the key, for me at least, is to have a crapload of file folders and a label machine, and to not be afraid to make a folder for just one piece of paper. I have a huge stack of “to be filed” at home, and if I could just get the house clean maybe I’d tackle it. :slight_smile:

12

Don’t be afraid to ask people you know for recommendations for a cleaning lady who works independently.

While my organization skills have improved tremendously in the past 7-10 years, I still have a lot to learn. When we moved into our new (to us) home in the fall last year, my DH met the neighbors cleaning lady across the street. She came very highly recommended by practically everyone on the block and she’s now our cleaning lady, too. In addition to traditional cleaning, she’s also done a very good job of helping me organize stuff in our new home. She’s very reasonably priced, too!

Independent cleaning folks are sometimes willing to work outside of the box of what is considered normal cleaning responsibilities.

13

[QUOTE=Zsofia]
As many of you know, I’m a real slob. My house has, like, a natural level of crap that it likes to sink to. I clean, it returns. I clean, it returns. Obviously, some of it’s that I need to get better habits about keeping stuff clean, sure. And when I stay on it it’s better. But a lot of my problem is that there’s just not a place where stuff goes. I mean, I try to make a place, but it just never works for me.
…
What I want, I guess, is something like those TV shows - somebody to come over and work with me for a few weekends and end up with a clean, organized house.
…
It would be really nice to be able to open the damned doors and have the air work better, but I can’t because the cats can’t go in the two junk rooms, which take up about 30% of my whole house! I need to have the bug guy come, but I can’t get the place clean enough for ti to do any good! (It’s been a year!) Argh!

…
Attempts? I started the SDMB Slob Reform Club and then became too embarrassed about it to post.

[/QUOTE]

I have no suggestions for you. I just had to say that I like you. It warms my heart to know I am not alone. I feel your pain and frustration. I wanted to join the Slob Reform Club thread but I have not even begun to reform yet. Well, I did manage to move some containers to my junk room after cleaning up half the junk room so now I can barely get into it again, but I don’t think that counts.

I have a large living room with junk in it, another junk room, a garage, a storage shed and on offsite storage shed. People say that if you’ve had stuff in storage for a while and aren’t using it then you should pitch it but I know there’s stuff in there I want I just can’t get to it so I can’t randomly pitch stuff. It didn’t help that a lot of my mother’s junk was dumped on me when she went into Assisted Living, and I can’t just randomly pitch all of that because there might be some momentos (spelling intentional) in there that I want.

I think you just have to start small. If you look at the entire house as a whole you will be too disheartened to attempt it. If you start with a closet, a bathroom, a desk, a corner of a room it might be easier. My problem is I have done this, then something happens and I get too busy and I just have to toss clothes in the closet without hanging them up and I’m right back where I started.

It doesn’t help that my home if filled with Servants of Chaos who revel in knocking over my neatly stacked boxes, horking hairballs on my freshly cleaned floor, sneaking into my closet and yanking down and hairyfying my freshly cleaned and hung clothes … but I love them anyway because they don’t mind my slobbiness, I just wish they’d give me a break once in a while.

So anyway, I am going to try to concentrate on cleaning out my shed and garage first so I can move my better junk out to those places so I have more room to work with inside. I also want to create a kitty play area in the garage for climbing and litter boxes. Um … so why am I sitting at my computer now and not working on these grand plans? Well, it’s kind of overcast and icky outside. Um … maybe tomorrow will look better.

14

Buy a copy of the book A Perfect Mess and forget about the organizer.

Read up on the Noguchi Filing System, which is all the rage now, and is simply the pile of papers on your desk with organization-flavored frosting.

15

Wile E, when I do clean it’s because the cats motivate me. Because there’s less crap for them to knock over and make noise with and be pains in the ass with if things are clean.

16

Being “organized” requires 2 things:

  1. More places to put stuff than you have stuff.

  2. An honest recognition that if you don’t have time to deal with an item now, you won’t ever have time to deal with it later. Items will always keep coming, the world doesn’t get slower, and the day isn’t getting any longer.