Things You Need To Know Before Hiring A Professional Organizer
EPISODE 7
by Dianne Jimenez
This article takes 16 minutes to read
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When you really think about it, you probably know your top 3 problem areas if you EXCLUDE the whole house needing a revamp or total gut. Whether gutting the whole house or revamping it aren’t in your budget yet or not at all… The idea of decluttering and reorganizing your home sounds like a dream AND a dread at the same time. You need help.
So why not go with a professional?
For one thing, when you do, there’s no judgment. And we’re here TO HELP YOU gain back your peace of mind so that YOU are FREE to focus on what’s most important to you. How amazing does that sound?
But first, there are a few things you need to know before hiring a professional organizer such as:
- What type of organizing session do you want or need – and how to figure this out.
- Which organizer is the best out there? And,
- Digging deeper on some important things you should know, about the professional you’re considering working with
Grab your notepad and pen because I’ll be diving into some important points you may not have considered before booking your first organizing session.
Point #1 – What type of organizing session do you want or need
During my consultations, I need to know who I’ll be working with. Just like the potential client wants to know if I’m the right fit for them and their project, it’s important we know how involved the client plans on being as this affects the project as a whole; from the length of time it takes for completion to managing expectations.
How involved do you plan on being?
Before you shop around for a professional organizer, it’s important to make clear on HOW involved you, the client, plan on being. You can be anywhere from fully immersed to giving us total carte-blanche and everything in between.
Every client is unique. There are clients who want to work alongside the organizer as a team. In cases like this, the client hired the organizer for guidance and directions AND to help speed up the process.
If the client is physically not present, this usually means they have full trust in the professional, which is great! Because this tends to speed up the process but know that this usually entails
- a history of having worked with the professional and knowing exactly what to expect. Or,
- that the client did their research and maybe got good referrals. Maybe in this case their project is time sensitive. Meaning, the goal here is to get the job done as quickly as possible. This is true when there’s a deadline, like a move or a house being sold. Everyone is on a timeline and the less time there is, the higher the stress and the quicker the job needs to get done. So sometimes, having a pro help out, with little interruptions can meet your goals.
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Now if the client wants to be semi and fully involved, the professional is regarded as the teacher or guide. Both are learning from one another. And this often, is really special because this is where trust starts to build and the relationship flourishes. Often, I hear and it’s happened to me, where the client almost becomes a friend. Almost.
I emphasize this now: it’s important to understand and make the line clear that during an organizing session and ANYTHING to do with the realm of organizing, decluttering, etc.
… that although dealing with a lot of personal items, stories and emotions, the relationship must remain Client-Professional.
If you do hit it off and become friends after the whole process is done, then that’s totally up to both of you and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve heard many senior organizers become really close friends with past clients. Just like friends can become clients, the other way around happens.
And often, this is how one starts their pro organizing journey: after organizing their own home, they move on to family and friends to practice their skills. So back to client involvement. When I’m talking about semi – involvement, this is very unique for each client.
Some can’t physically be there but are immediately available for questions whenever needed. Other clients just need help with the decision making and the professional can take on the physical part of sorting and moving things around.
The other way is true too, where the organizer is guiding, coaching and instructing or helping to decide while the client is doing the physical work. This scenario is typical with virtual organizing (which I’ll get to in about a minute).
Once the client is involved – anywhere from fully to partial involvement, the time it takes to complete a project will be affected. Now let me be CLEAR, this isn’t the ONLY thing that will affect potential delays but this is one of them that can be controlled from the start.
To avoid any added expense and awkwardness, it’s important to establish the following before you start any organizing session:
1. Limit all interruptions:
set your phone on vibe or send it to voicemail. Ensure the kids and pets are out of the work area. Beforehand, put your session on the calendar so everyone who normally would need you, KNOWS you’re busy. Also, deliveries you may receive, try not to schedule them during your organizing sessions.
2. Avoid distractions:
Turn off the TV. Put your social media and email notifications on mute. Pretty much anything that you know that will take you to another time and space, know how to handle that and what to do to come back to the present time. Sometimes, noting this and having that conversation with your organizer BEFORE the session can help reduce delays.
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Keep the communication open as much as possible, because as a professional organizer, I want to ensure our time is used efficiently and effectively. And I know you want to make sure your dollars are considered carefully – and I totally respect that.
What could delay or extend an organizing project:
- getting information from other people.
- It’s their stuff and you need to do something with it. Have this information ready, or have the person within earshot to help make that decision
- our own decision making time.
- Make sure you have the conversation with your pro organizer and let them know more about you. This will avoid a lot of guesswork and…. some frustrations that may arise.
Now that we got your involvement out of the way, …
What type of service do you want or are you ready for?
Is it in-person or virtual?
Certainly with the pandemic hit, virtual organizing has gone on the rise; But it’s still fairly new in some parts. Depending on the organizer, their preference and goals, they can choose to go either-or, or maybe even provide a bit of both.
For me, I’ve taken my business mostly virtual through 1:1 organizing sessions to creating digital products like my online Toy Organizing Course and Closet Decluttering course. I also have a few select clients for whom I do in-person sessions.
Others have changed their whole business model and gone from in-person to 100% virtual. The changes could be a mix of personal reasons to more strategic ones like the ability to cast their net for wider audience. I love this because now we can serve clients globally. And those who enjoyed our work from afar can now work with us so easily with a click of a button and a Zoom link.
And for many organizers, their business keeps them local or they just love getting their hands in there. I get this too. There’s nothing more satisfying like organizing a once-chaotic space and immediately seeing another human beings’ life change for the better and peace of mind setting in. It’s really beautiful to witness.
Whichever service you decide to go with, virtual or in-person, other factors come into play now too, like: comfort level and your location
With COVID getting us to rethink about our own health, our fears that come up and those we could affect our comfort level has totally been affected. This has certainly changed the game for current clients and organizers alike. Heck, the whole world had to adjust some way or another.
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Next is your location. If you’re living in a remote area and don’t have an organizer close to you (or that you need to pay extra for the distance), virtual organizing may be an option to consider.
All you need is solid Wi-Fi, a device with a camera to video chat so that we can see your space too. This is the basics you need. The rest is just getting comfortable with propping up your device on something. But your organizer will discuss with you and guide you throughout the whole process.
Now the last part I’m going to talk about between virtual organizing and in-person sessions, are the differences. There’s just 2 of them:
The 2 big differences between virtual and in-person sessions are:
- For virtual, you’re doing the physical part yourself (or say, with your spouse or your partner ), while the organizer is there as a guide and coach, on the phone. And
- in-person sessions last anywhere from 2 hours to 6 or 8 hours. Whereas virtual, especially recently and how many of us are Zoomed out, a virtual session can be anywhere from a 15 minute check & go with a follow up 45 minutes later, to lasting maybe 1.5 to 2hours, big max. It all depends on the organizer and the client’s agreement.
Before I move on to my next point, it’s important to discuss all the things you are comfortable with or not comfortable in doing, during your initial meeting or consultation. Talk to a few organizers and see which one meets your comfort level.
Also, it’s OK to switch from in-person to virtual and vice versa. Sometimes just like life, our schedules can be a little chaotic.
OK moving on!
Point #2 of what you need to know before hiring a professional organizer, and that’s: Which one’s the best?
Actually, you SHOULD be asking yourself: Which one’s the best for YOU? Because, not all organizers are the same.
As mentioned earlier, our goal is to help you gain more time, decrease stress and overwhelm and, ultimately, give you peace of mind so that you can focus on what’s most important to you.
Anatomy and physiology to doctors and nurses are like organizing, systemizing and decluttering are for organizers. It’s the basics. It’s what we know!
Professional organizers are business owners and at some point or another, we all offer promotions and discounts, 1 on 1 work and so much more.
But where we set ourselves apart from one another goes a lot deeper than just the basics. Our knowledge of different things, our life and professional experiences are vast AND our personality and energy makes us quite unique.
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Let’s take a closer look:
Before becoming a professional organizer, we had to start somewhere. And where else to start than at home! After that we’re pretty much organizing other people’s homes – like extended family and friends – AND different spaces too.
Also, if we worked anywhere else, unrelated to home organizing, you kNOW we were involved in organizing other things too: our work spaces, planning events, figuring out our workout routines and schedules, coordinating gatherings with friends and even meal prepping for the week! Who knows, you may even be a pro organizer in the making and you didn’t even know about it!
So let’s talk about specialties
There are pro organizers who work with individuals while others like groups like a family setting or corporate for instance. When talking about home organizing though, dive deeper, there are some that focus on kitchen and bedrooms, garage sheds to outdoor spaces.
So make sure you find out exactly what they specialize in, if they do have one.
There are organizers who specialize in productivity, digital organizing, downsizing and moving seniors, home staging, art collections and sale, and tons more too!
Some organizers specialize in helping individuals with ADHD or Chronic disorganization. For example, one organization called the Institute of chronic disorganization, or ICD, is a non-profit organization whose “mission is to provide education, research and strategies to benefit people affected by chronic disorganization, and the professionals who work with them”.
Some organizers specialize in packing and can provide a complimentary service of moving you or your older relatives to a new home. There are those that also provide handyman access or connections with them. Some organizers have experience dealing with antiques and selling them or even handling precious art pieces and paintings, and what to do with them. I have a colleague who also does design. She literally has that service to design closets and kitchens too! These are all great extras to know about.
On top of this, there’s the availability factor. Some organizers can work weekends and evenings and some only work during the week. Others have more flexible schedules.
So it’s really important for you to establish for yourself, prior to your first conversation with a professional organizer, is to know what you’re able to do and absolutely cannot, or will not adhere to. Limits and boundaries baby!
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Just like pro organizers are very different from one another, so are your needs. Maybe this time you’ll need help with decluttering. But eventually, or maybe you’ve had this experience already, we’ll have to deal and think about our parents and help them downsize. Maybe you’ll be moving to a new home and upsizing or downsizing yourself. Or, welcoming a new addition to the family. Regardless of what it is, whenever there’s a life change, getting organized is part of it!
Now just to make it clear, the professional organizing service your neighbor, or in-law or gal pal used may not even be the one you truly need. So for every project that you have, consider what you’ll need, and talk it over with your potential organizer. In todays’ show notes, I’ve attached a cheat sheet that will help you sort out: ALL your questions so that you’re equipped and ready for your next consultations .
Point #3 on what you need to know before hiring a professional organizer
Dig even deeper on some important things you should know about the professional you’re considering working with.
We covered specialties and niches, and WHO that professional organizer specifically offers services to like: newly single fathers, seniors whose kids don’t live in the city, and entrepreneurs running small businesses, etc. and there are TONS of different organizers out there.
So what makes a professional stand out even more, from other professional organizers? It’s education, insurance and affiliations.
Education
There are MANY organizers out there who do this professionally but may not have had any recognized training or are associated with a known organization. This maybe or may not be something that’s in your top priority but it doesn’t hurt to consider these when deciding between a handful of potential organizers to work with.
Unfortunately, it does happen where there is conflict between client and professional. Who else to go to, or help resolve matters other than with a recognized organization that has by-laws and a code of ethics committee like the Professional Organizers in Canada. In the US there’s NAPO, or National Association of Productivity and Organizing and APDO, or Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers in the UK.
All websites have a button you can click that says “find an organizer” and from there, you can make your selection based on the criteria I talked about in this episode AND definitely base it on your project needs and capabilities.
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Insurance
Check with your potential organizers whether they are insured or not. Accidents, unfortunately, can happen. So best to check to be sure you and they are covered.
Affiliations
When a professional organizer gets trained they’re usually affiliated with that association and very well may be affiliated with other organizations based on their specialties. As I mentioned earlier, ICD, or Institute of Challenging Disorganization, is one where a few of my colleagues also belong, either as students or educators.
How do we get to KNOW your potential organizer BEFORE you even get to meet them?
Well, thank goodness the internet gods and everyone else is on it: for social media. Yes, you can TOTALLY check out who the person who’ll be going through your things… OK that sounds creepy but it’s basically why you’re going to be hiring them….. On social media and their website. Mind you, there are some still, that don’t have either of these and that’s still OK.
Social media has the power for you to get your creep on or legit get some intel on the professional. Some will show you really beautiful, Pinterest Perfect pictures and videos of their work. And that’s awesome!
Just keep in mind that this person is also a mom, an aunt, or a regular guy, a grand-mother, someone’s uncle or even a neighbor. All of them, ‘us’ I should say, are trying to grow their business. So if you do see something unique, connect with on a much deeper level, or think “hey, I could work with this person” – let them know. We love to know that what we’re putting out there, is bringing you 1 step closer to your dream-space feelz.
So, on THAT note, being a newbie podcaster, I’d love a review of this episode. I would be so grateful to you for it. And if you know someone who’s searching for an organizer, text them the link to this episode and share it with them. Don’t forget to tell them about the cheat sheet!
I encourage you to really do your research online, talk to friends or better still, get on Facebook groups or forums where people who’ve USED pro organizing services before, AND had the same struggles as you’re having right now. Really, see what their journey was like – not just the results.
Remember,
…just because everyone on your street used the services of 1 organizer, doesn’t mean you’ll have the same results as they did (good or bad). You don’t all go to the same hair stylist, let alone the same salon now do you?
OK, this was a lot of information! My friend, I really hope this episode shed some light and gave you something to go with on your next search-and-find for the right professional organizer. Don’t forget to grab my cheat sheet to help organize your thoughts and be ready for your next consultations.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for being here and spending some time with me today! See you back here next week ok? Have an awesome day! Bye.
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