-Is this the worst mess you’ve ever seen?

No. I grew up with three brothers and I’ve seen it all. I’ve never seen anything that truly shocks me. Also, I love mess. I love a challenge. There’s very little that scares me about decluttering. No, not even your “catch-all” room that’s packed to the gills with stuff. 

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-How did you get into this business?

When I was 6 months pregnant, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for work after my son was born. I tried to think of things I was good at, but would allow me the flexibility to spend a lot of time with my baby. I realized that I had been organizing most of my life and I had also done it at every job I’ve ever had. I asked my husband and a friend if they thought people would pay for me to come and help the declutter and get organized. They both said YES.

 

-How long have you been doing this?

I’ve been organizing professionally since March of 2016. 

 

-What did you do before this?

I went to a 4-year liberal arts college in Iowa and got my degree in Religion and Youth & Family Ministry. I worked as a nanny and then a youth minister for about 6 years before I had my first child. 

 

-Your home must be perfect! How do you get your family to go along with organizing?

Hahaha, my home is far from perfect. We are like any other family...laundry gets done and then sits unfolded for 7-10 business days. Dirty dishes pile up in the sink, we find toys crammed everywhere...despite our best efforts to keep things picked up. However, I will say that I make an effort to make my bed every day and we try to “reset” the room to our standard of tidy every night. We limit the amount of toys the boys have and the amount of toys that are out at any given time. Limiting toys means less to pick up and the toys themselves get treated much better. 

 

-Are you going to make me throw out most of my stuff?

No. Absolutely not. You are the one in charge of your personal items. However, I will say that the majority of people I work with keep far more things than they have space for. I.e. You have too much stuff and not enough space. We can work together to solve just one of those problems. I can help you declutter. I can’t make rooms/storage bigger.

 

-I’m embarrassed for you to see how I’m living. You’re going to judge me, aren’t you?

Nope. There are a million reasons why our stuff gets the better of us and all of them are valid. My goal is to help you sort, declutter, and organize your space in a way that makes sense for you. You’re likely going to have to part with some items, but it’ll be okay. Everyone’s journey is different and hiring a professional organizer can be very intimate. I do my best to respect you every step of the way. 

 

-Do you have any sort of certification?

No. I have a lot of experience working with folks all over the map. If a certification in organizing is important to you, I can definitely point you in the direction of an organizer who is professionally certified. 

 

-What do you think of Marie Kondo?

I love her! She’s tiny and cute and great at decluttering.

 

-What happens to all of the stuff I want to get rid of at the end of our session?

We can do a few things: 1.) I take everything you’d like to donate to Bridging . 2.) I give you a list of resources for a few different places to take different things (i.e. old blankets and towels to an animal shelter, old computers to PCs for People) and you donate to whichever places strike your fancy.

 

-I really need to get organized, but I don’t have a lot of money...would you consider a discount for me?

The short answer is no.

I would love to be able to work with as many clients as possible, for whatever they are able to afford. However, as this is my livelihood, I am not able to offer that. Please also keep in mind that organizing is technically a luxury service. If you’re interested in more resources to getting organized on your own, I loved The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. 

 

-My uncle is a hoarder and needs a lot of help. Do you work with hoarders?

Unfortunately, I do not work with hoarders. There are two reasons for this; one is that I do not have a degree in psychology. Hoarding is a psychological disorder and I believe that I would be doing a disservice to the client by not having the necessary training to work with them. The other reason is that I simply don’t have the experience in working with hoarders and again, would be doing a disservice to the client. I’d highly recommend Seriously Organized  or Clutter 911, two Twin Cities companies who work with hoarders.