Sometimes a well-meaning person asks us, “Why does someone need to hire a professional organizer? Why can’t they just do it themselves?” My reply often includes something like, “Why do people need to hire an accountant? Why do people go to a mechanic to get an oil change? Why do people do group fitness classes?”
Think about it. Who does everything themselves without outsourcing anything? Who always has time to handle everything themselves? Who is good at everything and never needs to ask for help? The answer is no one. Even Ron Swanson lets other people cook for him, and that “perfect” Instagram mom hires someone else to do her bikini wax.
Sometimes you just need a pro.
No one can do it all. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I believe we should each be focusing on our “zone of genius”- on what we’re passionate about and what comes naturally to us, instead of trying to be great at everything. Luckily for our clients, our zone of genius is organizing. And lucky for us, their zones are accounting, medicine, teaching, professional sports, or the law. We’re all gifted differently and that should be celebrated, not judged, as often hiring an organizer (or house cleaner, or manicurist, or…) can be.
Let me share with you a few specific reasons someone might hire a professional organizer.
1. They are overwhelmed about where to start
2. They have a short deadline
3. Career changes
4. Health issues that prevent them from working alone
5. Organizing can be emotional and they want support
6. Organizing can be hard and they want guidance and accountability
7. Baby on the way
8. Transitioning from little kid bedroom to tween bedroom
9. Moving or downsizing
10. Combining households
11. Death of a family member (and potentially inheritance of lots of stuff)
12. Things got out of hand during a difficult time/situation
13. To organize collections
14. To teach their kids how to organize
15. To have more time with their kids
16. They’re ready for real change and to create an organized lifestyle
17. They don’t know how to organize
18. Adapting the home for an injury or an elderly parent
19. Transforming the basement into an AirBnb apartment
20. It’s easier to pay someone to help you than go it alone
21. They work better with someone else
22. Guilt makes it hard to let items go, so they need external permission to “purge”
23. “Tidying up” is trendy
24. They’ve tried to do it themselves and it didn’t work/they got stuck
25. “Analysis paralysis” or paralyzed by perfection
26. They can’t agree with their spouse and need an outside opinion
27. Mental clutter and chaos keeps them from getting started
28. Fear of failure
29. Lack of energy
30. They aren’t detail oriented enough to get the job done
31. They could be making more money than organizing costs instead of taking time off work to do it themselves
32. They’re busy with a full-time job, carpool duty, their kids’ extracurriculars, doctor’s visits, PTO meetings….
We could keep going. But you get the point. There are a million reasons why someone might hire an organizer but the important thing is that they are making progress by asking for a hand. So often our fear of asking for help, or our fear of judgment, keeps us from making the progress we really need.
But we all need progress.
No, not everyone needs to hire a professional organizer, but we do believe everyone needs to be organized. And, surprise! That looks different for everyone. But more on that another time…
Embrace the Help and Happy Organizing!
Christina + The Organizing Co.
PS- Check out this article for more reasons and resources!
PPS- If some of these reasons made you think of someone you know who could use some organizing help, don’t be shy. Ask them if they want help getting organized! We offer gift cards and we don’t judge.
January 06, 2020
