Anyone hired an organizer for their house?

[keyslover]

We have a small house and lots of stuff.  I do not know how to organize at all, unless you count piles and baskets a form of organization.

I am considering a Living Social for Organization, anyone have experience with a Professional Organizer?  

[kirra]

You can't organize stuff if it's more than your house can hold.

If it really is just you don't know how to organize it, hiring an organizer might be worth it, but before you do that I would take a hard look at how much you have and how much your space can hold.

[keyslover]

Dec 10, 2013 10:38:03 GMT -5 heybetch said:

Are you a hoarder? I need more details.

Ha!  Not a hoarder.  We have under 1200 sq ft, 2 small kids (lots of stupid toys that we try to purge regularly) and a dog.  Our kitchen is tiny and a HORRIBLE set up with a few cabinets and little counter space.  

I fight with paper all the time (bills and school stuff) and it is everywhere.

I have tried to reorganize the kitchen a million times and it never works.  

[lime]

I considered becoming a personal organizer for a while, as a side job. (There wasn't much of a market in my area, so that was a no go.)

Purging will be the first step and an organizer can absolutely help you with that.

[keyslover]

Dec 10, 2013 10:39:13 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Sounds like you need to start by purging.

We do.  Problem areas are paperwork, kids stuff (toys and artwork) and small kitchen.  

[keyslover]

Dec 10, 2013 10:41:15 GMT -5 specialk said:

I have not, but agree that if you have too much stuff the first thing you should probably think of doing is deciding what you don't need and getting rid of it. You can't organize clutter.

Hope that didn't sound judgmental! Not how I meant it. I just think that if you are hiring a professional organizer, I would want to make the most of it by making sure that the things they are organizing are the things you really want to hold on to.

 That is a great point.  My paperwork I admit is clutter.  

It is more organize my kitchen, organize my kids room.  

[keyslover]

Dec 10, 2013 11:03:34 GMT -5 mofongo said:

Dec 10, 2013 11:01:51 GMT -5 keyslover said:

We do.  Problem areas are paperwork, kids stuff (toys and artwork) and small kitchen.  

Can you go through the paperwork, shred what you can and file the rest? We have a very tiny filing cabinet. I don't keep much but some stuff you have to keep.

I need too.  Paperwork is the devil in my mind.  I am not sure why I keep everything since it is all available online anyway.  I am not quite ready to give up paper delivery though because I do like the reminders for the bills and such.  

[urbancowgirl]

A friend of mine is a professional organizer. We hired her to help us with a few closets when she was first starting out so that she could build her portfolio. Overall, I think it was worth hiring her. She was good at helping me to decide whether to keep or toss things, and we ended up with a lot more space. The best part was that I learned techniques from her that I still use when I need to organize closets, cabinets, etc.

[winnied]

Prior to hiring an organizer I suggest checking out home organization blogs like I Heart Organizing. We also have a small space with a poorly designed kitchen. A few changes have helped greatly. Hiring an organizer only does so much, you have to buy items to help you be organized usually as well.

[thinkofthesoldiers]

Re the paperwork, I got this www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog/product/213/catid/16/ and keep it on my counter where I was shoving paperwork. I have one folder for bills, one for each kid, one for the dog, one for things that need to be filed, etc. I put everything in its folder as it comes in. When I do bills, I bring it to my office, pull the needed folder and do what needs to be done. It has done wonders for the paper clutter. I have a small basket I keep next to it for pens, tape, etc that I need and were getting lost in a drawer.

[keyslover]

Dec 10, 2013 11:24:11 GMT -5 winnied said:

Prior to hiring an organizer I suggest checking out home organization blogs like I Heart Organizing. We also have a small space with a poorly designed kitchen. A few changes have helped greatly. Hiring an organizer only does so much, you have to buy items to help you be organized usually as well.

The thing is I buy things that are supposed to help me be organized (baskets, bins) but I think I just am bad at using them.  Not too mention I am sure there are products out there that I have no idea even exist!

I will check out the Blog too.