the best professional home organizing consultants

In our ongoing quest for serenity, we’ve explored books to inspire us to tidy up our living spaces. We’ve assessed ways to monetize and recycle the furniture and apparel that we no longer need. But what if you’re stuck at Phase 1, which is getting your house in order? Our correspondent Julie Chang Murphy has the solution. Here, she shares the best professional home organizing consultants. If you need help de-cluttering your home, one of them may be just the catalyst you need.

De-cluttering is definitely a Thing now. How did that happen? And how should you think about tacking the job if you choose to get organized?

can tidying up really change your life?

Marie Kondo and her KonMari method of tidying up and organizing is now part of the mainstream consciousness. Included in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people, Kondo has clearly struck a nerve at this moment in American culture and worldwide.

Her book, ”The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” has sold 10 million copies. Her addictive Netflix series, “Tidying up with Marie Kondo,” is also a cultural phenomenon and has spawned countless articles, think pieces and hashtags. We should note that all of this has, in its own way, cluttered the Internet and social media. But we digress.

If the world is spinning out of control, at least everything has a place in the serene and joyful sanctum we’d like our homes to be.

why not just do it yourself?

Most of us would like to believe ourselves capable of organizing our own belongings. But seeing as how there is a professional organization called the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO), as well as education programs to become a CPO (certified professional organizer), there is clearly some expertise involved. This might be a job better fit for the pros.

It’s not hard to see why. Our stuff- even the word itself sounds like a cross between an exasperated sigh and a frustrated epitaph- is imbued with intimate and personal meaning. It can be uncomfortable and downright impossible to choose between what is desirable or disposable.

Those half-size too small Chanel flats? Well, they just might fit once I start drinking a gallon of water a day to flush out my system. And yes, I do need to keep all of my books from that Western Philosophy class I took in college because I will reread them one day and actually understand it. Everything “sparks joy”…not right now, but, maybe later!

the potential benefits of working with a professional

A proper professional organizer, whether from Kondo’s newly launched consultant group or other longstanding businesses, can help facilitate decision-making and set up systems to help us maintain order and clarity in our lives.

the best professional home organizing consultants

If you’re ready to live clutter free, read on. We’re exploring the ins and outs of using a home organizer. And sharing our list of the best professional home organizing consultants. Your space can be an oasis of peace, order, and efficiency, dear reader. If you can just get out of your own way.

1. KonMari

The KonMari Method is rooted in Shinotism, which is the belief that spiritual energy is present in everything around us. As a teen, Kondo apprenticed at a Shinto shrine as a Miko (or shrine maiden.)

The KonMari Method

While most tidying and organizing methods typically follow a room-by-room approach, KonMari advocates tidying by category and in order. The sequence is: clothes, books, komono (miscellaneous items) and finally, sentimental items. They key element that has received the most attention is the spiritual aspect of the tidying. One is supposed to reflect on the items, only keeping things that spark joy. Everything else? Thank them for their service and let them go.

Among the best home organizing consultants, KonMari associates are all officially certified in this method. There are 6 levels of expertise. The entry point is a Green Level certification, indicating that the consultant has completed 30 tidying hours, Bronze, (150 hrs) and so on, all the way up to Certified Master (1,500 hours).

You can easily search by location and level to find a consultant right for you. Most of the practitioners have their own personal website listing their rates. There are before and after photos, which are very calming and addictive to scroll through, too.

Typically, a potential client can choose an a la carte session, which often has a minimum of 3 hours at a set rate per hour. Packages of multiple sessions are also available for larger-scale projects. One can expect to pay $80 to $150 per hour depending on geographical location and experience.

Alternatives to KonMari

Before KonMari swept the nation, there were other well-established organizing services already de-cluttering the high-end homes of the elite. These services are perhaps a little less spiritual in nature and more practical and all-inclusive. In addition to organizing, they often have a background in interior design and can help design custom closets and storage solutions. For people going through life transitions, they can also help with organizing and facilitating moves.

Here are some of the best home organizing consultants that we’ve come across. Another way to find a reputable company that is closer to where you live is through NAPO’s directory.

2. Graylane Solutions

Professional organizer Haya Kramer founded Graylane Solutions as a way to combine her lifelong passion for organization and design with the desire to help others achieve serenity in their homes.

Based in New York, her expertise has been featured on the Huffington Post and Refinery29. She’s sought out by elite clientele who appreciate her interior design approach. The clutter might get worse before it gets better, but Haya will leave your space looking pretty. After the help de-cluttering your home, Haya can design and install custom storage solutions so that the changes become part of your permanent lifestyle. Prices upon request.

3. Eco Modern Concierge

Based in Houston, Amy Vance’s home organizing business Eco Modern Concierge stood out for its emphasis on sustainability. After all the decisions on what to keep or throw away, and after all the packaging up and moving things all around, it would be easy just to throw everything to the curb and go back to your neat and tidy home.

Instead, Amy will assist you with putting tools and processes in place to help you reduce, reuse and recycle. The company uses sustainable products, travels in an eco-friendly way, sets up compost and recycling for client households, donates as much as possible, and can give your house or business a full “green makeover.” Your closet and your conscience will both be clean! Rates start at $75/hr.

4. Resourceful Consultants

Barbara Reich started Resourceful Consultants 20 years ago. She’s also the author of Secrets of an Organized Mom. Her company is headquartered in New York. In addition, she has a team of some of the best professional home organizing consultants. So they can service cities and states around the country. 

The company can do more than just helping clients purge and simplify. Resourceful Consultants provides a host of other lifestyle management services. In the kitchen, they work with a dietitian to edit your kitchen, eliminate unhealthy food and leave you with a newly stocked, highly organized space to gather with family and friends.

In addition to help de-cluttering your home, they can address digital cluttering on your computer and phone. And for homes with household help, Barbara can even train your housekeeper/childcare provider to ensure a well-run home.

One of the best tips when hiring a professional organizer is making sure you like them enough to spend hours with them. This is an active process. Barbara is relentless but her sense of humor is evident in a feature from the New York Times about home organizing. Her theory on kids’ art supplies: “You spend a lot of money to send your kids to nursery school. Let them paint there.” Prices upon request.

5. Organize to Excel

If you need help de-cluttering your home in the Los Angeles area, Katherine Macey wears multiple hats operating her business Organize to Excel. She is a home organizer and also a life coach. It’s easy to see the correlation between streamlining an overwhelming closet and helping a client streamline their goals – that explains why some of  the best home organizing consultants do both. Each of these processes can benefit from some emotional support, motivation and a healthy dose of tough love.

Whether you need help organizing or taking steps to get your life under control or both, Katherine and her team offers their expertise in helping their clients establish good practices. Rates start at $400 for a half day and up to $7,830 for an ultimate home makeover that includes 2 organizers and 18 sessions of 3-hour hands-on organizing.

A Practical Way to Reduce Stress Levels

Less mess = Less stress. Few things in life have such a straightforward solution. The best home organizing consultants can help you get “un-stuck” and turbo-charge your effort de-cluttering your home.

Whether you go it alone, or with a pro, start with those first 3 hours and let us know how it goes. In the meantime, I’ll be scrolling through those before and afters for inspiration. Good luck!

Crediting her training as a cultural anthropologist at Wellesley College, Julie has immersed herself in various industries in the last 15 years including fashion design, event planning, fitness and even investigating police misconduct. Julie lives in NYC where she loves trying every ramen and dumpling restaurant with her husband and three children. She finds joy in bold prints, biographies of fierce women, kickboxing and spending way too long finding the perfect polish color to express her mood.

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