Winning the war on the clutter chaos!

So the day has come where you have reached your limit after wasting 10 groggy morning minutes staring at your wardrobe and still had to change 5 times before settling on the attire for the day. Just before heading out, you need an item you know you have, but find yourself once again, frantically searching the home looking for it, tossing things in the air like a gopher digging his first hole of the season...and come up empty-handed and frazzled.

On your way to work a call comes in from a dear friend who is in town and wants to catch up on old times. Your eyes POP a little bigger than the gasp of air you just took, preceded by some form of profanity, because you know your place is going to need someone magical like Bewitched to come in and twitch her nose to get things in shape for the visit.

The best decision you can make to save yourself time, money and stress would be to hire a professional organizer like Curated Chaos Organizers. They can work closely with you to transform your untidy space into organized places with function and ease by fostering custom strategies aimed to help you manage everyday living in a peaceful way.

Professional organizers are in the business with a primary focus of achieving order, function and clarity for stressless routines. They are skilled to apply techniques to help you decipher what items are bogging you down to allow for a comforting release of non-essential possessions through donations, selling, recycling and repurposing.

"Where people are oblivious to areas in their space that are holding them back from efficiency and order, organizers are trained to determine where their clutter is blocking them"

Understandably, PO's come in with a professional view on the situation, whereas the homeowner has gotten used to it over time. Lives are busy and things can get out of hand. Your most purposeful, meaningful and valued items are then organized so you experience a streamlined way of living. This will provide so much more 'found’ time for doing things that matter - like experiences. The benefits are HUGE. There will be no more cleaning, storing and maintaining the non-essentials which will save hours of time each week. Money and time will be more abundant by knowing where everything is and not having to re-purchase hidden items.

Professional organizers can save you thousands of dollars over and over by teaching you the skill of intentional purchasing of goods and the difference between what you need and what you want. The art of being able to avoid purchases or freebees through weighing the pros and cons. This creates a disciplined mindset to avoid the marketing traps that tease you into thinking you need to buy more while instead you tactfully use the items you already own for ongoing tidiness and spatial freedom.

If you find yourself always stressed, pressed for time, tripping over things and looking for misplaced items you are preventing yourself from a life that you deserve.

Clutter is nothing more than those non-essential life blockers, heavy with stagnant energy. These items are not only physical barriers but also weigh in as emotional baggage. They are energy sucking vampires that undermine any chance of keeping your spirits high. When we cull the superfluous clutter from our lives we gain great clarity which allows us to lead extraordinary lives with time to fulfill our hobbies and passions.

Ask for references if you want some back-up assurance. The organizer will be working with your things in your home and possibly with you alone.

The PO should divulge that they have a local Police check and document to back that up. If they don’t, it is not worth the chance, unless you know them personally.

They must produce a service contract as regulated by the Alberta Consumer Protection Services (who operate to protect you, the consumer) detailing pricing, time, refund stipulations, a start and end time, and other particulars. It will be discussed and signed by both parties and you will have a copy. If there is no contract, close the door after them and look for a reputable PO.

These are the top 16 things to look for when looking to hire a Professional Organizer. If any of these points are not to your liking, walk away and keep searching.....or better yet, get in touch with us!

COMMUNICATION

The PO should allow you to talk and, be not only listening to you, but hearing what you are saying. Their skill is to hear what you are not saying to find where areas of chaos are coming from.

Are there tones of judgement in their communication or is it simply a firm guidance to help you?

The lines of open communication need to be supportive, helpful and balanced between all parties. Delicate questions need to be asked and tough questions need to be answered so you should both feel comfortable speaking your mind all for the benefit of the project's successful outcome.

It's crucial to find someone you feel comfortable with, as they will be working intimately with your personal belongings and home.

TRUSTWORTHY

BUSINESS LICENSE

In order to charge the going rate, the business should be a legitimate business with a provincial and municipal license. The company should be registered with the Federal government to submit taxes collected.

Quite often, this service is offered for low rates by people who are offering it as a side-hustle or a part-time job. They don't invest in the legalities of registering and licensing - which are all in place to protect the consumer and collect taxes to be inline with the other business owners.

The licensing and registration costs the company hefty fees annually, which is part of setting their service fees. They should hold a current Direct Sellers License from the Alberta government and have a document to show if asked. The PO should be able to produce the municipal business license as well.

If you are attracted to the low hourly rates, beware! If something goes wrong you have nothing to stand on and nobody is in place to protect you.

LIABILITY INSURANCE & BONDED

The liability insurance is crucial to make sure you are covered in the event of damaged property, breakage, theft, etc.…

The bond is a requirement for Professional Organizers (and other contractors) in Alberta for anyone taking deposits or fees up front. If they fail to do the work, you can reclaim your deposit through Alberta Consumer Protection Services.

Never give money upfront unless they can prove they are bonded.

This is another firm sign that a PO is in good standing as a legitimate business.

The website should have contact numbers, a profile picture and detailed information of what they provide and how it is done. Business cards or pamphlets are given upon meeting or when asked. The phone number should ring through to them and not anywhere else.

Make sure the company has a Google business profile when you search Professional Organizers. It will be listed on the left sidebar with rating stars for how many reviews their clients provided. If the business is new, the ratings may be lower, but not always less able to do a good job.

Keep in mind, Google reviews can be altered to elevate the likeability of a business if they have friends, family or acquaintances that provide false reviews.

ORGANIZATION SKILLS

WEBSITE, MARKETING & VISABILITY

The PO should have strong organizing system skills. They should be able to explain their own personalized system and be creative enough to be able to cut costs for you by utilizing items you already have.

Setting up systems and spatial planning should be achieved. You will likely be working closely with them and you need to be able to follow some of the plans to declutter, organize and maintain the space long after they are gone.

PO's are not selling a commodity where the pricing is in competition with other vendors. They are selling a service that they have invested costs from licensing, insurance and bonds to protect you, marketing, websites, time, education and experience into.

Curated Chaos Professional Organizers is selling a successful outcome for you! If you think you are going to save a buck or two by getting a friend to help you, think again. It could cost you much more time, energy and a friendship in the end. They may not be experienced in the process and the skills involved to help you make important decisions. A PO will charge a fee to get the job done and in a professional way so you are spared much of the stress and financial costs of maintaining possessions you have no use for any longer. They are standing on the outside, and looking into your life and situation with an unbiased view. Friends and family could hamper the process and have you more stressed and standing in a heap of clutter that you don’t know what to do with.

When you pay for this service, you are actually investing in your own sanity and future living and knowing how to deal with the things coming in and going out of the house so you avoid getting trapped again. So the cheapest price is almost always the one to avoid. The most expensive should have features and benefits to back up the fee that stand above the other contenders.

The middle of the road is usually the best option. From there you need to see which PO aligns with you and how comfortable you will be working with them. In my market study I have found pricing in Alberta from $65 hr to $120 hr. Some companies are not transparent so it could be higher. We set our pricing at $85 hr to give you the best value with a great service.

Inquire about the level of training they have had and how much experience the PO has. Do they do this full-full time or is it just a part-time job.

Unlike some professions, there isn't a mandatory government-issued license required to work as a professional organizer, therefore the industry is not regulated yet.

However, professional organizers operate under a system of self-regulation through certain professional associations, which set standards, ethics, and offer credentials of certification through voluntary pursuit.

A PO should have their own process of how they develop a customized plan that will work for you and your lifestyle. The plan takes into account the way you live, including your habits and personality to allow you to navigate through the challenges that face you in order to come up with attainable solutions.

You are not a one-size-fits-all type of person and they should not have a blanket process for you.

Curated Chaos Organizers has a unique, but easy to follow six step process that is utilized along with the client so you are always in the know of what is coming up next and, can mentally prepare for it.

PERSONALIZED SYSTEMS

EXPERIENCE & TRAINING

SUPPORTIVE & MOTIVATING

Determine if they are going to be a pillar of support for you to get you through the tough decision making steps or are they just going to rush you through with no compassion and understanding of your dilemmas?

A good PO will find ways to motivate you and keep you from getting discouraged by taking the task and breaking it into steps that are manageable. A set of homework plans are good, but it’s best to have a hands-on approach so you are guided to the end.

SPACE OPTIMIZATION & SUSTAINABILITY

There should be a plan created that targets problematic areas along with daily routine habits to implement a new way of living in the space efficiently and minimizing the chances of it becoming cluttered up again.

It is not sufficient to have a PO come in and work through your things to leave the space in a tidy way and not teach you how to maintain it. It's optimal to show you how to achieve sustainability like the saying: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

WORD OF MOUTH

This is by far your most secure testament to how a PO will work for you. When your acquaintance boasts about a service they received, they are happy to tell because it was successful for them.

Be sure to dig a bit deeper in how they became satisfied to see if their situation is similar to yours and then inquire through the company itself.

4 RED FLAGS

Fly-by-Nighters: Because this field is relatively new and not many people are aware yet, there will be “here today, gone tomorrow” organizers. If they thought they could pick up a buck by starting a business without doing the necessary work, they may not have any credentials either.

Breach of Privacy: Unfortunately there are PO’s credible or not, that are snap-happy and will post photos on SM without your consent, incriminating you to the world. They are not abiding by the Code of Ethics. If they are this careless and insensitive about your things, how are they going to be with your feelings? It’s a definite no-no! All things need your verbal permission and backed up with a signed document as well. This should all be discussed and disclosed at the signing of the initial contract along with the Code of Ethics that they follow.

Professional Purger: We should be very wary of the PO who wants to come in and “clean house” as quickly as possible by pursuing you to purge everything. This is more in lines of what happens in a hoarding application where they have a condition which has them keeping things that are simply trash and not so much a belonging that has benefits.

The PO needs to be flexible. You should be encouraged to release some things but there is compassion, understanding and reasoning through weighing the pros and cons in order to get to a level of less non-essentials and an agreed destination for all your belongings.

Tools: The tools will tell you a lot about how professional the organizer is. Are they organized or are they jammed in various areas? Are they of quality or are they cheap dollar store knock-offs to make due. Are they well respected and maintained?

This says a lot about how they are going to treat your possessions too. Using cheap tools will most definitely be evident in the shoddy work done with them.

A professional will not waste money on cheap tools that won’t work for them. They will have all the tools and hardware (within reason) to assist them on the job. Don’t be alarmed or put off if a Professional is particular and protective over their tools, as this is their life-line to doing a job efficiently and professionally.

Final Thoughts...

If you have read this article, you are well on your way to the right step! This process should be challenging, but there is a lot of fun along the way. We are always here to connect with you for any questions or concerns you may have and we would love to hear from you!