Hiring a Professional Organizer

Professional Organizers orchestrate and advise on the sometimes monumental task of organizing a home, home office, or business.  A Professional Organizer can be a big help to anyone, but not everybody needs one.

A Professional Organizer’s work begins with establishing a realistic budget and discussing ideas and goals for your space or project.  They are the organizing expert, researcher, and overall adviser– it is their job to make sure you reach the goals you desire.  They will recommend handyman, antique dealers, on-line auction assistants, landscape and interior designers, movers, retail stores, hauling companies, computer consultants and other vendors; schedule appointments; and continue to act as a liaison between you and the vendors as plans progress.  They also coordinate everybody on work days.

As with every aspect of your organizing projects, you should trust and respect the individual providing services.  A friend’s recommendation is the idea way to find an organizing consultant, but you can also look on-line through NAPO, the National Association of Professional Organizers — for referrals in your area.  Some Professional Organizers ask for a percentage of the organizing budget (15% to 25% is common)to be paid in advance for services or shopping purchases; others charge a flat rate or an hourly fee which is generally paid at days end.

A Professional Organizer may seem like a luxury, but their contacts and expertise may actually save you money in the long run.

John1sig_36

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Comments

4 responses to “Hiring a Professional Organizer”

  1. bob Avatar
    bob

    I agree and Im glad you made your point…
    Bob

  2. Angela Petruncio Avatar
    Angela Petruncio

    I have had two sessions with a pro organizer in my home. I don’t feel like I got my money’s worth, and am wondering if I did something wrong. Guidance was minimal, and she was basically an extra pair of hands helping clear out recyclables and trash. We established some categories for things I wanted to keep. And she told me to drop off the donations to the local Goodwill. Our goal was to organize my work space in the basement, but for $400 for 8 hours total, I feel over charged. I expected more advice, and more contacts.

  3. John Trosko Avatar

    Angela,
    I hear you and I am sorry you are feeling like you did not get anything out of your experience working with a professional organizer, they are not all the same. I think there is more pressure these days to deliver an experience that overwhelms. Television shows are displaying miraculous transformations in one or two days you can’t help yourself from thinking the same thing is going to happen to you.
    Hiring an organizer is very personal experience. Because they have a lot of interaction with the client (you) there has to be a lot of communication and just the right amount of pressure and cajoling or the projects suffers. I also have had experiences with clients where we do a full assessment and request their participation up to 50% of the time (we will sort without them) but the minute we get there to start the project, they are making excuses and “need to do something” which ends up taking them away from the house or office. It’s called displacement… So we are shuffling around furniture and boxes almost wasting time. And they’ve been dissatisfied wondering why more did not get done. There is just a lot of detail involved in a room or small storage space and the handling of that detail takes a lot of time. There are also various zones in a space, some areas are easily reviewed and other need more like, almost like a sub-project. Maybe there was not shelving to put anything away and no supplies for containerizing– so the big bang you expected will happen on the next visit? Was this person a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers? (they generally have access to education and resources non-NAPO organizers don’t have access to).
    Many organizers are good at folding towels or throwing out obvious trash. But they are getting paid consultant wages so they need to know where their time is better spent— on the big system development tasks. Sounds like they either could have done a better job communicating how the project flow works and what you can expect. If this is the case, and I don’t know, I would suggest you call your organizer and let them know how you feel…I would suggest a gentle approach or you will lose your organizer. Perhaps they clearly did not communicate that the first 8-12 hours is reviewing, categorizing and getting rid of the obvious trash/donations (and yes, it can take that long) and there is another phase needed to go a deeper level or some of the sub-projects? Ask them over the phone what they would suggest to do next, and how long they think it may take. You’ve worked together for 8 hours, you and she should have some idea of your learning style, ability to make decisions and desire to make purchases like shelving. If you decide their ability is not up to your standards, you can go to http://www.napo.net and search for an organizer in your area. Or you can use the contact button on the right hand side of my blog and let us know where you area and we can see if anything we know is in your area. Good luck!
    John aka OrganizingLA

  4. Angela Petruncio Avatar
    Angela Petruncio

    Thank you very much for your insightful response, and so quick. I really appreciate what you’ve said. My organizer is a NAPO member. I went through NAPO for a contact in my neighborhood. I found out about NAPO through the book, Clutter Rehab, which I found quite helpful. I agree that I need to talk to my organizer, and I appreciate your advice on how to approach them. Thanks again, John!

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