<p>I am thinking of using a Professional organizer to help organize my catchall unfinished family room and general clutter. There is a current deal locally for just over $500 for 8 hours, to be used in one day (Seattle area). These folks are Angie’s List award winners. We need help (motivation) to move stuff out of our waiting-to-be-refinished family room (includes boxes of paper files, mementos, junk, as well as pieces of wallboard, lumber, paint and supplies, etc. Most of the paper is mine, and H can’t let go of usable, but unneeded lumber. Our garage is full of all the furniture that was moved out of the family room to it can be refinished. Our garage has always been crowded and it has never held our cars.</p>
<p>So I am in a catch-22. I need to clear out the family room to finish it (including putting in flooring), but I have virtually no room available in the garage. I am too embarrassed to tell you how long we have lived this way! </p>
<p>Money is tight (kid in college after all), but I have to do something. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Just think about how good you will feel when you have a family room that functions as a family room. If the lumber is something your husband is trully using than move it to another space while the family room is being done. As far as paper goes…just start with a pile at a time throw out as much as possible and use a filing system that is right next to you. Put the papers in stacks according to the file they belong in. The key to normacy and an easier life is to get rid of stuff. It really is life changing to pare down to what you love and need. Of course hoarders think they love everything but unless this is really that kind of problem you should be able to handle doing this without intervention.</p>
<p>Also, once you move the furniture out of the garage it is time to tackle that project. Cars belong in the garage not in the driveway. Sorry to say this but a messy house makes me cringe.</p>
<p>I understand that money is tight, but it sounds like your house is going to get tighter and the catch 22 will expand exponentially as you put things off. If you need the structure and support of a well-regarded organizer to get unstuck, go for it. Liberation will be worth the effort and if you haven’t tackled it yet on your own, you are unlikely to make progress. No shame in knowing our weaknesses and getting the support we need to have the best quality of life possible. It models important skills for the kids and can also reduce any marital tension by having a third party to facilitate. If you have unneeded lumber, look locally to see if any organization would use it (for sets at school plays, pre-schools, Habitat for Humanity, etc.) Good luck!</p>
<p>If money is tight, Spend 500 for some service that will put you into more bind. When they “organize” the stuff for you, they will still need your time to answer questions. So why not do it yourself? Some times it is the will from you, not the actual action.</p>
<p>Mom had put off for 10 years taking care of the storage that has dad’s estate in it. It is around 150 sqft floor to ceiling. We had to move it in two weeks, because the storage needs to be vacated for repair work. I just went in and did it in two days, got rid of some and moved some. Its matter of determination.</p>
<p>I made the first step by contacting the professional organizing company and asking questions. Still need to discuss with H. I think it would be worth the money. Ideally, I could get H to take a day off work and have my college age daughter around to help (she doesn’t start school until late Sept).</p>
<p>I find myself regretting the lost time of having this family room unavailable for the kids to use it. I know that I have to stop dwelling on that and get myself motivated to move forward and actually do something. I think having an outside person to oversee the process can only help. </p>
<p>Travelnut and M-3, I think you are correct pointing out that we would be happier in a organized and streamlined house. I like the idea of donating the unneeded building supplies to non-profit salvage type place. There are places around here that we can donate.</p>
<p>I still need to get pass the $500 fee, but I think the peace it would bring would be worth it.</p>
<p>I think $500.00 is a reasonable price for peace of mind and the huge feeling of freedom you will get when your “mess” is straightened out. You can do it yourself, but it’s like eating and elephant. The whole thing is overwhelming if you look at it in its entirety, but if you just look at one foot or a toe on that foot then it is manageable. Lumber can be stored outside under a tarp until you find a good home for it. Maybe you can talk your husband into donating it to the boy scouts or to another group who could use it, that way it is not wasted. Also you can get one of those pod things delivered to your driveway to store your furniture while you are clearing out the garage and family room. It would give you more area to work in.</p>
<p>It doesn’t make sense to pay someone else $500, especially when money is tight, to tell you what you already know you need to do - clean the mess up and get rid of what you don’t need. Paying the person the $500 still doesn’t solve the problem of you and H making the decisions to do something with the junk since it has to go elsewhere regardless.</p>
<p>You need to just get started on it. You probably don’t need most of the papers you’re keeping so send them to the recycle bin after making sure any truly important ones are kept (this shouldn’t be more than a small box of papers for almost anyone).</p>
<p>The lumber, drywall, etc. that you know will never be used needs to be gotten rid of. Sometimes it’s mentally more acceptable to donate usable items than throw it out because you know someone else can actually use it so see if some of it can be donated. There’s no good reason to keep random pieces of drywall when it’s so cheap to buy another piece at the time you need it. The same is true with the lumber and other miscellaneous bits.</p>
<p>At the same time you should be honest with yourself and question whether you’ll really refinish the furniture being stored in the garage or not and if ‘not’, then donate it to a worthy cause so others can get some use out of it. You can feel good about this. You can even take a tax deduction for it.</p>
<p>There’s no point economically in hoarding this stuff that’ll not be used - especially when it’ll actually cost you more money than it’s worth by hiring this consultant (to tell you to do what we just told you to do) and the action of getting rid of the stuff will have to happen regardless if you’re to do the room.</p>
<p>Sometimes it is easier to pay someone who will do it for you.</p>
<p>However, with clutter, I have found that you need to deal with the clutter, first. Why do you have it? Do you want an organizer to tell you what to throw away? What to file? </p>
<p>I think most of us can do that pretty well on our own. Unless we are hoarders (I have several family members like this!) I have a hard time getting rid of things and my battle is often of the variety of - “it cost so much”, “I may need it again - or one of my kids might!” and the sentimental factor. It’s a battle for me. I have to be in the right frame of mind to be ruthless about tossing and discarding stuff. If I am not, I don’t ever get very far.</p>
<p>The hard part is motivation (or at least for me!) You have to make up your mind that you want to clear out the junk. Some of it is important. Some of it is trash. Some of it can be donated. </p>
<p>I also think it’s easier for other people to tell you what is unimportant. Having a friend come over for the day to help you stay strong is not a bad idea. </p>
<p>After you get rid of the bulk of what is weighing you down and keeping you from using your space, then you can hire an organizer who can help you stay on top of the problems before they take over. </p>
<p>Before you buy new stuff, remember to get rid of the old stuff - whether it’s clothing or electronics or whatever. If you always do this, you won’t be overcome by it. (That’s what my friend tells me when I am trying to de-clutter!)</p>
<p>Even if you pay someone else it’s still '‘you’ who needs to decide what to keep or not so it’s pointless to pay someone else a lot of money for this. If you’re not mentally willing to make the decisions then that’s that and you’ll just not make any progress.</p>
<p>Another idea - just get started by grabbing some of the stuff and placing it in the middle of your living room - preferably in the way. Then, go through that pile to dispose of it and keep only what’s absolutely needed. Sort it into recycle, donation, trash, hazardous waste (paint, etc.), and ‘keep’ piles. Keep doing this until nothing’s left in the family room. Get rid ot the recycle, donation, trash, etc. piles right away - don’t put it off. You’ll end up with a small pile of what you feel you truly need to keep and can then work on finding a place to put it (but not back in the family room).</p>
<p>I can almost guarantee you that the $500 is more than the cost of replacing that drywall, lumber, paint, etc. with items you actually need at a later date so just get rid of it.</p>
<p>If you think the stuff to be organized AND kept is worth more than 5000, then spend 500 for the organizer. Otherwise, the organizer is just come to dispose all the stuff for you, what is the point to pay 500? </p>
<p>If I were you, rent a storage POD as described before, hire couple of HS students for $10/hour(or whatever), move every thing in to the POD and while they doing it, you stand on the side and tell them which to throw out which goes to the POD, which to keep and which to Salvation Army.</p>
<p>I paid an organizer to work with me for three days when we were getting ready to move some years back. It absolutely saved more than the cost by preventing us from moving junk and trash. It was a pleasure to work with her. Among other things, I could work on one room while she did another, which made the work go very quickly. </p>
<p>I am very good at getting rid of stuff and sorting things; the organizer was amazing at it and several times faster than I was.</p>
<p>I think it’s a very hard question. I’m a horrible procrastinator, and tend to let clutter accumulate. What’s difficult for me is making all those decisions about what to keep, give away, etc., and where to put things. The physical effort involved is trivial in comparison to the mental effort.</p>
<p>Part of me would answer: Save your money. Watch a few episodes of Hoarders and it will motivate you to get started on your own. It seems a bit pointless to pay that much for someone who will just stand there and force you to make decisions. She won’t have a magic wand - you’ll still have to do the work.</p>
<p>But another part would tell you to go for the organizer (unless you can enlist a family member or friend to play the same role). When we moved recently, it was extremely painful but very helpful when first a friend and then my daughter took on the role of devil’s advocate. Do you really need this? When did you last use it? It was easier for me to make decisions when my helpers did a rough sort first, and then I got to do a quick review and make the decision. </p>
<p>If the money is a problem, I’d encourage you first to ask your daughter to help you, in exchange for a reward of some sorts (Maybe the reward is the remodeled family room). My D was wonderful at this job (and I’m going to make much less progress now that she’s gone back to school!). You could also look on craigslist - I saw ads for people who are not well-established professionals, but who work for a low hourly rate and might be really helpful. Some people are just good at this, and they actually like doing it. So you might find a college kid or a stay-at-home mom who is picking up some spare cash by doing this part-time. I think you could probably get just as much done paying someone $10/hr as you would paying $65/hr.</p>
<p>I’d say it depends on how big the psychological issues are for you in completing the task, as well as how on board the rest of the family is in letting go of things. As I’m from a family who tends to hang onto things, it is hard to let go of stuff, and having a rational voice tell me what a rational person would do eases the process. Sometimes I’m that rational voice for myself, sometimes that voice is drowned out by other dynamics. Would your H get rid of the lumber more easily, and with less family tension if a professional told him to do it? Might be worth the money. </p>
<p>Can you look at that space creatively yourself, if you allow yourself to take on the task? Can you follow though on the task if you allow yourself the time and headspace? </p>
<p>Do you have a friend who could help you with this? Can you swallow your pride enough to ask them? </p>
<p>Otherwise, hire the service, and feel good about moving on past this millstone around your neck.</p>
<p>UCSD dad-luckily someone on Craig’s San Diego allowed my S to live in her house for a month before moving into his dorm at UCSD. Be careful with Craig’s, google folks and get references, but it is also the facilitator of great deals and personal connections.</p>
<p>I’d pay my D and her friends to be your “slaves” while you instruct them on where things go. How could someone else know where things should go? I’d hire the kids and promise DH a very nice dinner once done!</p>
<p>I think it’s a matter of the majority of people being fine but a small subset being the bad guys that necessitate people be careful. There have been a couple of bad Craigslist associated incidents here recently (including the shooting death of an 18 y/o college student who was robbed then shot due to a setup done via craigslist ) and I know it happens everywhere. </p>
<p>I’m glad it worked out well for your S and it worked out well for the person who advertised that she had your S respond. </p>
<p>I agree with your statement that it’s a great facilitator and that people get references and be careful. In the OP’s case it just seems so unnecessary to get a random person to do this but that’s just my opinion of course.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great replies. I am still trying to decide what to do. I go down there and I am overwhelmed. There is still ‘finishing’ that needs to be done and I need my H to do it. A couple of sections still in need of wall-boarding, a built-in cabinet area that was torn out and now needs to be insulated and wall-boarded and of course the flooring. Half the stuff down there are the necessary remodeling supplies, a step ladder, saw-horses, paint, etc. The other half is boxes that I carted down there to ‘temporarily’ store. Neither one of us would have any qualms about throwing out each others stuff, but I find it is hard to let go of your own stuff. </p>
<p>The good news is that nothing new is coming into the house (for a long time now), and we do get rid of stuff, although not as frequently as we need to. I do have about 6 large plastic bags ready to go to a good donation center, and I promise that it will happen tomorrow!</p>
<p>I will have to consider the suggestion of letting go of the furniture that has been in the garage. It just might be time to free up the space in the garage and buy new when the time comes. (Mostly thinking of the sofa)</p>
<p>I do have the money ($500) if I really decide to go for it. It would come out of a little savings I personally have. I would only do this if my H was available to work with me and the organizer. I neglected to ask if the organizers work weekends, and if not H would have to take a vacation day.</p>
<p>I have considered asking a friend (more of an acquaintance) instead of paying for professional help. She could use the money, but my D pointed out that this individual might be too ruthless and I would not want it to impact our relationship. </p>
<p>I am trying. It helps when the family works together as I can’t do it all alone. My oldest came home from work today and jumped in to do her share and my youngest is taking care of her things. H is trying to get the outside of the house painted, so the inside is currently a lower priority. I will continue to go through my stuff downstairs and consider my options.</p>
<p>Maybe to help you make the decision on the sofa and other furniture to be redone - have you priced having the sofa reupholstered? We thought about having a sofa redone but once we heard the prices to have it done decided it wasn’t worth it. I was surprised at how high the cost was.</p>
<p>I do not think that you should be looking into any organizing projects untill the drywalling and other similar remodeling jobs are finished. Can you and your H dedicate a weekend to tying up all loose ends? Then your H will probably be more inclined to toss any leftover construction materials, and the organizing project will be easier to handle.</p>
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