My Professional Home Organizing Style

There are many professional home organizers in the Chicago area, and while we all do essentially the same work, the experience of working with us can feel very different. Those differences usually come down to personal preferences, philosophies, pacing, and style. While many organizers may share certain qualities, each of us ultimately brings a unique blend of temperament, values, and working methods to the job. That blend makes us an excellent fit for some clients and not for others.

In almost all cases, I believe fit matters deeply in this work. For one thing, it is inherently vulnerable. You are inviting a near stranger into your home, into spaces that are often private, emotional, and unseen by the outside world. I regularly encounter personal information, sensitive belongings, and rooms that carry a great deal of emotional weight. Clients are trusting me to remain neutral, nonjudgmental, and professional throughout the process.

Most good organizers have no trouble with this. It is part of the professional DNA of the field, and I can confidently recommend many skilled organizers in my area if I am not the right fit for someone. If an organizer makes you feel judged or unsafe, that should be a deal breaker for anyone. Assuming that basic professionalism and trust are in place, the question of fit becomes more nuanced. What else does it include?

One defining feature of my work is that I am a solo organizer. I do not work with a team. That means a few practical things. If you hire me, I am the person who shows up and does the work. It also means I can only work with a limited number of clients at any given time, because I can only be in one place at once. Finally, it means that projects tend to unfold more slowly. My pacing with individual clients is often limited to one session per week due to availability.

There are excellent solo organizers who work very intensively with one client for several days in a row, and there are business owners who run teams or multiple teams of organizers. Those models allow work to move much more quickly and cover more ground in a shorter amount of time. One model is not better than the other. It simply depends on what a client is looking for.

Another core element of my organizing style is a strong focus on decluttering. I hold no judgment if someone is not ready to part with many or any items, but I am most aligned with clients who are prepared to let things go. This is because I believe that a major source of household stress comes from trying to manage too much stuff.

You may have heard the oft-quoted statistic that the average American household contains around 300,000 items. This number is frequently cited in organizing literature and media, though it is difficult to verify precisely and should be understood as an estimate rather than a hard fact. Even without an exact count, the idea holds true. We live with far more possessions than most of us can realistically maintain.

After working with dozens upon dozens of clients, I have seen the same pattern repeat. As items leave the home, the emotional and psychological weight often lifts as well. Clients frequently report feeling calmer, clearer, and more capable once excess belongings are removed. This process can include donating usable items, recycling electronics and household chemicals, shredding paper, or discarding items that are no longer functional. Occasionally, I help clients rehome a large item by posting it for free on Facebook Marketplace so someone else can come pick it up.

Most people are not holding onto things of real monetary value. Even items that were expensive when purchased rarely retain that value over time. The true cost often becomes the burden of storing, managing, and mentally carrying those belongings. In many cases, the home itself begins to function as a storage unit.

There are, of course, organizers who focus less on decluttering and more on tidying, systems, and products. I do some of that work as well, but it is not my primary focus, and I try to be clear about that in my marketing and initial conversations. If I sense that someone would be better served by a different approach, I am quick to refer them elsewhere. I want clients to have the best possible experience, and I also want my work to remain aligned with my strengths and preferences.

In a similar vein, there are sub-specializations within organizing that I do not take on. I am not a move manager, and I do not work with hoarding situations or high-end art collections. These are specialized areas that require specific training, experience, and risk tolerance, and they deserve practitioners who are deeply qualified in those domains. I am transparent about these boundaries because clarity serves everyone involved.

What I do consider myself is a generalist, with depth. My work focuses on decluttering and on creating systems that genuinely work for the people who live in the space. I do not follow a single organizing method or impose a rigid framework. Instead, I spend time getting to know my clients, how they think, how they move through their homes, and how they actually use their belongings. From there, we build solutions together.

This customization becomes especially important when working with people who have brain-based differences such as ADHD. In those cases, traditional organizing advice often falls flat. What looks good on paper may not function in real life. Sometimes we need to get creative, experiment, and rethink what organization even means for that individual. A system that works beautifully for one person may be completely unworkable for another.

My professional background also shapes how I work. Before becoming a home organizer, I spent twenty years working inside organizations, much of that time in relationship-based roles within the fundraising world. That experience gave me a strong foundation in client care, communication, and professionalism. While I am grateful that this career allows me to show up in casual clothes and be more fully myself, that foundation still informs how I work with clients day to day.

Another defining aspect of my style is pacing. I move relatively slowly, and this is intentional. Most people who are decluttering are already dealing with significant overwhelm. During sessions, I am often monitoring for decision fatigue and spikes in anxiety. It is not uncommon for me to limit sessions to three or four hours, once a week or even once or twice a month, while we gradually work through spaces over time.

Some clients want to move quickly and are not planning to do significant decluttering. In those cases, I often suggest considering a team of organizers who can complete the work in a fraction of the time. Many people appreciate these referrals. Others surprise me by choosing to work with me anyway, even knowing the process will be slower. Often, they tell me they are choosing based on how we relate to one another. That is usually a good sign.

This work is deeply personal and, in many ways, near-luxury. You are receiving one-on-one attention over many hours, often while navigating stress, frustration, or embarrassment. Many clients want to know that the person they hire can hold space for those feelings without amplifying them. While some people thrive with a fast, intensive approach, many others need to move much more slowly.

A significant part of my work involves what is often called body doubling. I spend time simply being present while clients make decisions about their belongings. People sometimes comment on how strange it feels to pay someone to watch them go through their things. Almost always, they also acknowledge that they would not do it otherwise. That kind of accountability is powerful, but it takes time, and it is not well suited to a team-based model.

Because I am a solopreneur, I also set my own hours. After many years in a traditional nine-to-five environment, that schedule still feels natural to me. I typically do not start early, work late, or take on weekend sessions. Some clients can only work evenings or weekends, and there are many excellent organizers who specialize in that availability. I am simply not one of them.

My personality is another factor in fit. I am fairly laid back and a bit quirky. I like to lighten the mood with humor and do not tend to treat our work together as overly serious, because most of the time, it is not. Decluttering and organizing are almost never emergencies. If we are going to spend many hours together over weeks or months, I believe it helps if we enjoy each other’s company at least a little.

I am also a recovering perfectionist. You may occasionally receive something from me with a typo, or I may forget a small detail here and there. I am not apologetic about my humanity, and I am deeply appreciative of the grace my Chicago home organizing clients extend to me in return.

What I have found, over time, is that there is more than enough work to go around. I do not need to hustle in this business. When I put my true self out there as plainly and honestly as I can, the right clients tend to find me. And when they do not, I have a strong referral network to draw from.

In the end, professional organizing is not just about making spaces function better. It is about relationships, trust, pacing, and alignment. My goal is not to be the right organizer for everyone. It is to be the right organizer for the people who value the particular way I work.

am i your cup of tea?

If so, let’s set up a time to talk and explore your home organizing needs. You can find my intake form here.