Having been in the organizing business for over twenty years, I’ve noticed a thing or two about the people who hire me or those who think they should. They’re DISORGANIZED!!! Shocking I know, but it is so much more than that. What do they have in common? What prompts them to hire a professional? Check out my solutions for common organizing challenges and the things that make my amazing clients special:

They Own A Lot of Containers –

Reducing clutter is not about clearing a pile and putting it in a plastic bin or pretty container to mask the contents. Your space may look better, but all you are doing is delaying the decision of what you need to get rid of as well as making it difficult to find items when you need them. Commit to sorting and dealing with your piles before just hitting the order button or heading to the store to buy bins and baskets.

They Like Their Stuff –

Getting rid of things can be hard. But just because someone gave you something is not a reason to keep it. To quote Marie Kondo, “The true purpose of a present is to be received. Presents are not things, but a means for conveying someone’s feelings.” Embrace the joy you feel when you receive a gift, don’t keep it out of obligation.

They Keep Things In Their Head –

Life is overwhelming enough. Sometimes remembering your your kids names and ages is even a challenge:-) Your brain is not designed to retain as much information as comes at you on a daily basis. Between email, text, the Internet, phone and life it’s too much for your RAM (Random Access Memory) storage to hold so when you actually need to recall the information it’s not available. Make lists in one notebook that you love and can carry with you, and/or use a to-do app (Wunderlist, ToDoist, Things) to track and organize all the things you want and need to do, use Evernote to house all information you want to have at your fingertips, but don’t need to access.

Homes are Not Respected –

In order to find the items you want or need in your life you need to designate a home for them. But just having a home is not enough if you don’t put things back when you’re done using them. Soon items are lost when you go to look for them and your space becomes messy and cluttered. Respect your space and the items you have by taking the time to put things where they belong when not in use.

Spent Money = Keep It –

Just because you spent money on an item doesn’t mean you need to keep it. The pair of pants you’ve been waiting years to fit into or the broken lawn mower you’ve been meaning to fix need to go. The space these items occupy in your home (or worse, in off-site storage) costs money as well. Space has value just as much as the items you own, so let go of the things that are not serving your current life.