Getting Started

Clients frequently want to "clean things up" before my first visit with them.  This reminds me of how my mom used to make us clean the house before the house cleaner would come.  It didn't make sense then and it still doesn't today.  Anyone who has been doing professional organizing for any period of time has seen pretty much everything.  Perhaps the worst scenario I have encountered was with an elderly gentleman who suffered from dementia and emphysema and was living in deplorable conditions.  Not only was it virtually impossible to make my way through the house because of the piles of newspapers and everything else, this poor man was living in a completely unsanitary environment. (Think rodents)

As organizers, we would prefer that you NOT do anything in preparation for our first meeting except think about what you would like to accomplish.  Part of an initial meeting includes an assessment of how you really live, not how you want others to think you live.  It is actually important to us to see reality so that we can devise an effective strategy for rectifying the situation.  The "mess" helps us to learn more about you and how you relate to and live in the environment that you want to change.  As we look through, well, everything, and talk together, we begin to discover how things got this way, and this helps us understand your learning style, strengths and weaknesses.

These are just some of the factors that we take into account in developing a strategy that fits your situation and needs.  So, don't clean it up before we come (there will be plenty of time for that once we start!)