How I Work

You call. We meet. You show me around. I listen. You ask if this is the worst I’ve ever seen. I assure you it isn’t. We develop a rapport. We will be working together for many hours, so you need to know who I am and feel comfortable with my energy.  I am not a fairy godmother who waves a wand - you and I are working alongside each other, going through your things.  I ask a lot of questions to get to know how you live because every client is different, and I don’t impose cookie-cutter solutions. My goal is to help you arrange your home and your life in such a way that works with you, instead of against you.

When you are ready to work, you book me, and we determine a mutually convenient time to schedule our first session. Your homework is to have boxes and laundry baskets available to help us sort. If you want to start sorting before I get there, go for it!

I am not Marie Kondo. I do not make you throw all the clothes onto the bed (how overwhelming!) You don’t have to thank each thing you are letting go of. We tackle one space at a time, sorting what to toss, keep, donate and sell. Don’t worry about buying plastic storage bins, shoe boxes and pretty storage containers yet until we know what we are keeping and how we are storing it.  Until then, we use what we have. Form follows function, and not until we determine what each space will be used for and what we are keeping, can we then put things away in places that make sense to you, and know what size containers we need to keep things organized. The fancy labeling and pretty containers, if you want them, come last.

Neatly Arranged Gift Certificates

  • Available for any amount of hours

  • Hours must be used within six months from the start of the first session

  • Can be bundled with the paperback or ebook version of “This Mess is Making Me Stress!”

  • Ask about donations to fundraisers

How much time will it take?

Organizing is more effective in sessions of 4-5 hours each. That gives you enough time to tackle a space, purge, organize, and dispose of whatever is not staying.  You might be able to do a kitchen or a bathroom in a few hours, but most bedrooms or home offices take at least 5 hours. Most garages take at least 10 hours, while whole homes take at least 20 hours.

If you don’t build in time to load the car with donations, take the trash out, list things for sale, put away things that belong in a different room, label the containers, call the handyman, and do whatever it takes to finish a space, chances are you will never see it to completion. Of course, if you don’t have 4 or 5 hours available at a time, you can schedule an organizing session for a shorter time, but anything less than two hours is not recommended. We try to schedule the next session before the first one is over. 

Will you help take away the things we declutter?

I can arrange for a hauling truck, dumpster, or curbside pickup. for trash. You pay for those services directly and I will be there to supervise if you wish.

As for recycling, I can give you resources or you can pay me for my time to drop off.

I can schedule a pickup for donations or take them directly to a donation center. I can also take them with me and list them for free on Facebook Marketplace.

If you want to sell items, you can pay me for my time to list them on Facebook Marketplace, eBay or consignment clothing websites like Poshmark, Depop or TheRealReal. I can also arrange an estate sale or help you get ready for a yard sale.

How much does it cost?

I offer a free one-hour personal consultation before booking the job. At that time, I can estimate how many hours a project will take. In addition to charging an hourly rate,  Neatly Arranged offers you the opportunity to buy blocks of time at a discounted rate. All hours must be used within 6 months of the first session.

IN PERSON DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING

  • $60/hour

  • Block of 10 hours: $500 (17% off)

  • Mileage Charge: $1.00/mile for >15 miles from Winnetka, CA 91306, each way, per session

VIRTUAL CONSULTING

  • $50/hour

  • Block of 10 hours $450 (10% off)

SENIOR DOWNSIZING & MOVING

  • Call for quote

EVENT ORGANIZING

  • Call for a quote