Overwhelmed with your move in the Denver area?

Yes, we would love to help. Every move is different, but most have some degree of stress. We will start with a conversation so that we can assess your current situation and share the services we offer that can make your move easier. We have had clients who have outsourced their entire move. One client left for a vacation from her old house and came home a week later to the new house. She never touched a box. Other clients just need a few organizers to get them jump started on decluttering before the move or unpacking afterwards. We are flexible and will jump in and take care of the tasks that you don’t want to do (or can’t do).

No. We get a lot of calls for moving companies because of the keywords moving and relocation on our website, but we have no trucks and we don’t move items. We do, however, have relationships with moving companies and would be happy to make recommendations, so call us if you need a suggestion! We are also happy to help in a move management capacity by getting bids for the movers, supervising while the movers pack and crate your items and while they load and unload the truck.

Do you feel overwhelmed by “stuff” or by tasks on your calendar? Are you moving soon and feeling like you will never be able to get it all done? Then hiring an organizer might be right for you. Many of our clients are busy professionals who don’t have time to stop their lives for a week so they can unpack their new home. On the other hand, if you’ve been trying to catch up with the mail, the laundry, and a dozen other things for as long as you remember, than you might benefit from having us help you put some systems in place that are tailored to the way you think. Either way, we’re also happy to have a conversation with you to determine whether we are the right company to help in your home.

The right time is the day you wake up and you just know that you are ready to make a big change in your life. In order to sustain change, you need to be fully committed to the process and willing to do the work that change requires. You need to have the time to be involved during our sessions and you need to have budgeted the money for our work together.

Definitely not! Our goal is to make sure that you have items in your home that are serving you in your life right now. But we also understand that you may own items that you have a powerful emotional connection to. We will work with you to help you make sense of the items in your home and if you want to get rid of some of them, we can help you do that. But the decisions are yours to be made and we will never force you to get rid of anything that you want to keep.

Please don’t. We like to use Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE acronym to describe the organizing process. (Sort, Purge, Assign a home, Containerize and Equalize) Until you sort and purge your items and then assign them a home, we really don’t know what kind of containers will help you maintain order. And unless you have been through that process, buying containers usually contributes to the clutter. We will be happy to recommend containers and organizing supplies (and to shop for them if you prefer) once we get to that part of the process.

Highly unlikely! We have been in hundreds of homes and we have seen all kinds of things! And even if it’s the worst situation we have ever encountered, we are professionals with a high degree of empathy and will not judge you. (By the way… if you think you might have a problem with hoarding, you might consider downloading the clutter hoarding scale from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. The scale is intended as an assessment tool for residential environments. A Place for Everything^® can usually help clients who are at Level 1 and 2 on the scale. If you’re higher on the scale, we would be happy to refer you to a qualified organizer. )

The items that leave your home will either be trash, recycling, donations or items to sell. If it’s just a few bags of trash or recycling, we will take them to your garage, dumpster, or wherever they go. For larger amount, we have contacts with several hauling companies who can come out and haul away unwanted items. For donations, you can either arrange for the organization of your choice to come and pick up the items, or we can assist with that. And for items you wish to sell, we can refer you to appropriate vendors who may be able to sell/auction/consign your items. Selling your items is not a service that A Place for Everything^® offers. We can also recommend a company to come to your home and do shredding onsite.

No. And heck no. It’s wonderful that you want to help your friend or loved one, but getting organized is such a personal journey that we really need that person to come to the conclusion that they need help on their own, and then reach out for that help. Once they reach that conclusion and decide to call us, if you want to pay for services for them, we’re happy to arrange that. But we would never organize someone’s stuff without them being aware that it’s happening. (And yes, that goes for unpacking. Last year we had a very sweet husband call us because his job had relocated him to Denver. His wife was very pregnant and he wanted us to come and unpack and put everything away before she arrived. I told him it was a nice thought, but if I was in her position, I would rather have a say in the matter. We ended up unpacking the house with her on Facetime for most of the day so she could help decide how to set up the nursery, her closet and bedroom, the kids’ rooms and the kitchen. In the end, she was very happy!)

We will never judge you or your space. We have worked with so many clients whose lives have been affected by so many circumstances and we really just want to help you escape from being overwhelmed.

The length of time that each project/space takes has several variables. The most important one is how quickly you make decisions. If we’re unpacking your home, many times we can help you make lots of the decisions about where items are placed. But if we are helping you declutter a space, most of the decisions need to come from you. The other variables are the category of item that we’re organizing (tax papers vs linens) and the amount of “stuff” that you have. You will find that letting extra items go is like a muscle that gets stronger as you use it more. The process almost always gets faster as we go along. That’s the long way of saying that no, we probably can’t give you an accurate estimate at the beginning of a project. Once we’ve worked together for a session or two, we will be able to better assess the speed at which you make decisions and the actual quantity that’s left to deal with.

I love to support new organizers, but I don’t always have time in my schedule to meet with everyone who contacts me. Here are a few resources to start with. If you still have questions after you have read some information on these websites, feel free to email sg@apfe.co and we can set up a time to talk.

NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) – www.napo.net I highly recommend that you take the 001 Course – Introduction to Professional Organizing.

NAPO Colorado – the local chapter meets every other month for networking, educational speakers and other activities to help you succeed. http://www.napocolorado.org/

NAPO Colorado Mentor Circle – This is sponsored by NAPO Colorado and usually meets at a local restaurant every other month. A great place to meet other new or aspiring organizers and get your questions answered by a seasoned organizer. Look under the events tab of the NAPO Colorado website http://www.napocolorado.org/Mentor-Circle

ICD (Institute for Challenging Organization) – This is a great place for educational resources, especially in the fields of chronic disorganization, ADD / ADHD, and hoarding. https://challengingdisorganization.org/

NASMM (National Association of Senior Move Managers) – a great resource if you’re interested in working with seniors who are downsizing / relocating. http://nasmm.org/