Organization. It is a skill I desperately lack. I was that kid that ALWAYS had a messy room and now I am that adult who just cannot stay ahead of the mess. I have had plenty of excuses for my messiness over the years (my room was too small, my house was too small, my kids are too messy), but it really comes down to my lack of organization. This past summer, I decided it was time to contact a professional organizer. While the decision sounds simple enough, it probably took me a good month to schedule my first appointment!
Letting someone come into your home at its messiest is an embarrassing thought! Yes, professional organizers want to see your house at its messiest! They instruct you NOT to clean before they come over. I read the descriptions of several organizers before I came upon Kari Grady from Need to Organize LLC. The words that convinced me that she was the one? "Residential organizer helping mothers of small children." Someone who understands the struggles of keeping spaces organized when you have small children? Sign me up!
My husband and I are notably “frugal” and big on DIY, so how could I pay someone to do something that I SHOULD be able to do on my own? The fact is, I just wasn’t blessed with a gift for organization. I have browsed Pinterest searching for ways to better organize my home and there are some great tips out there, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to find someone who could help me accomplish what I have never been able to do on my own. After all, I've been trying to be more organized for years! Hiring someone to come in and help me would be a far more effective use of my time than browsing Pinterest!
Back to that frugal aspect, though. I knew I needed help. I found someone I thought could help, but could I spend money to have someone tell me how to organize my house? Mr. Frugal himself was convinced that the money spent on having a better functioning house would be well worth it. Kari suggested we start with a small project, so we started with my kitchen pantry. It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of time/investment to organize a small area, and you can still see an immediate impact. When everyone knows where something goes, it’s a lot easier to keep things put away. I can’t stress enough how much time and effort it will save you when things have a place that they belong in your house! I was also amazed at how many things I had multiples of because I couldn’t find something already had!
Seeing the results first hand makes me wish I had reached out for help a long time ago. It is now more than four months later, and my pantry is still organized! My kids and my husband know where to put things back and where to find what they are looking for in the pantry. My counters are even cleaner because things are being put away more often. Kari has an excellent eye for organization and knows how to make things more functional. I received my organizing session free of charge in exchange for advertising for Need to Organize LLC, but the thoughts and opinions are my own. Stay tuned for a future article about our organizing sessions and some embarrassingly messy pictures of my house!
