Hiring a professional organizer definitely has its advantages. If you aren’t willing or are unable to hire an organizer use someone in your family to help you organize. They can assist you in decision making, keep you focused and help you get more done in less time.
We recently completed a bedroom in part of our basement so my girls could each have their own room. By finishing this part of the basement we were eliminating the play room. For years we had been using a bookshelf in the play room that my husband’s uncle made when he was young. It was being used to house the kid’s books and some school supplies.
One of my girls wanted to paint it so she could use the shelf in her room. Of course! That was a great idea.
SORT
First, we had to clear it off. We followed the organizing steps sorting the items into categories.
PURGE
Then, we decided what books and supplies to keep and what to get rid of.
ASSIGN A HOME
Now, we needed to assign a home for the items we were keeping.
One logical idea was to store them on the other bookshelf in our home. These shelves were filled with my husband’s and my books. But, the problem was, it was full! I have tried at various times to get rid of some books but as soon as I start looking at them I get overwhelmed and decide it isn’t that big of deal. I walk away from the shelves not having made any progress.
Does this ever happen to you?
Now there was a need and it became a priority in my life.
My 13 year old daughter wanted to do it now. She looked at me and said, “Mom, I’ll help you.” We sat down to organize the book shelf.
SORT
The first step in organizing is to sort. The books were fairly organized on the shelf into broad categories – organizing resources, studies I have done in the past, marriage books, parenting books, spiritual books, etc. We glanced through and sorted those that were out of place.
PURGE
The next step is to go through each category and purge. This is where my daughter went to work. She pulled out one book and said, “Keep or donate?”
I said, “That’s Dad’s book.” So we placed it in a pile for my husband.
She pulled out another book and said, “Keep or donate?”
I could get rid of that book. We put it in a donate box.
She pulled out another book and said, “Keep or donate?”
I wanted to keep it. We put it in a keep pile.
She pulled out another book and said, “Keep or donate?”
Oh, I couldn’t decide. She asked, “When is the last time you thought about getting it off the shelf and looking at it?” “Could you live without it?” {Smart little organizer!}
That was easy. Donate.
On and on we went. We grabbed my husband as he walked by and he went through his pile and together we filled up our donate box and made room for the children’s books and school supplies that we wanted to keep.
It felt sooooo good. I LOVED having my little professional organizer there to help me! What a difference it made. Making decisions is far easier with someone beside you.
ASSIGN A HOME
We had already decided to assign a home to the children’s books we kept on this book shelf. They fit on the space we cleared.
SET LIMITS
This bookshelf set the limit. No more books unless we get rid of one of the books we have. Limits are amazing. Organizing products like baskets or shelves or files provide limits for our stuff. Once the space is full you know it is time to purge.
MAINTAIN
Find opportunities to maintain your spaces. Go back through the organizing steps periodically to keep clutter under control and your spaces looking amazing!
{Update: Since this project, we’ve remodeled. We didn’t have a space for the bookshelf and decided to give it to someone in need. Once again we used the organizing steps. We purged MORE books out of our lives and now those we kept fit on this smaller bookshelf pictured above. It is a great feeling to be free of more stuff. I want to minimize my possessions whenever possible.}
6 reasons a Professional Organizer can help you.
Here are 6 reasons why you should hire a professional organizer. In my case I hired my daughter who could actually help a lot of people even though she is only 13 years old!
- Make an appointment. You’ve made it a priority! You can’t decide to do something else because you’ve committed to this appointment.
- Your organizer keeps you focused on the goal, undistracted from the plethora of shiny objects around you {like a nap}.
- You have someone to guide you through the decision making process. Have you used this object? Do you love it? What is the worst thing that would happen if you got rid of it? Could you bless someone else with it?
- If needed, you have someone to confirm your decision which is more helpful than you think.
- More hands make lighter work. You get the job done faster. The key here is get the job DONE.
- You have a fresh set of eyes with new ideas and thoughts that you may have never considered.
Consider using a professional organizer to help you get organized. One client said she gave up her summer vacation to get her home organized with the help of an organizer and it was the best decision she ever made.
Did you know that having an organizer come and help in an area of your home can spark motivation and ideas that will help you complete the rest of the job on your own. You don’t have to hire them for the entire project.
Have you used a professional organizer? What was your experience?
Love her statement….“When is the last time you thought about getting it off the shelf and looking at it?” She’s a pro Tracy!