If you’ve never worked with a professional organizer before, it’s completely normal to wonder what a decluttering session is actually like.
Many of our clients know they want help, but they’re unsure what to expect once our team arrives. They often ask questions like, “Will you make me throw things away?” or “How much can we get done in one session?”
At My Professional Organizer, our goal is to make the process simple, judgment-free, and as stress-free as possible. Whether you’re decluttering one closet or your entire home, here’s what you can expect during your decluttering session.
Why Most People Hire Us for Decluttering
Most clients reach out to us for our decluttering services because spaces in their home have become harder to manage.
Some clients need help with a single space like a closet, kitchen, bedroom, home office, or craft room. Others are ready to declutter their entire home.
Common reasons people hire us include:
- Their home feels overwhelming.
- They have more belongings than comfortably fit the space.
- They can’t find what they need.
- They know they have things they no longer use.
- They want to get organized but don’t know where to start.
- They’ve tried decluttering on their own but haven’t made much progress.
No matter where you’re starting, we’re there to help you work through it one step at a time.
Before We Begin, We Set Expectations
One thing we always explain at the beginning of every project is that the more you’re able to part with, the more noticeable the transformation will be.
Removing items you no longer use creates more storage space, makes organizing easier, and helps you maintain your home long after we’re gone.
That doesn’t mean we’re there to pressure you into getting rid of things. Every decision is yours. We’re simply there to guide you through the process and make it easier.
We Arrive With Everything Needed for Your Session
On the day of your session, our team will arrive on time with the supplies needed to help you declutter.
That typically includes boxes for donations and trash bags for items you’re ready to throw away.
Whether you’re working with one organizer or multiple organizers depends on the size of your project and how much you’d like to accomplish during the session.
We’ll Walk Through the Space Together
Before we start, we’ll do a quick walkthrough of the area you want to declutter.
This gives us a better understanding of your goals, allows you to point out anything important, and helps us create a plan for tackling the space.
Once we’re on the same page, we’ll get started.
We’ll Help You Make Every Decision
As we work through the space, we’ll help you sort your belongings into simple categories like:
- Keep
- Donate
- Trash
Every client likes to work a little differently.
Some clients prefer to go through their own belongings while handing us the items they’ve decided to keep, donate, or throw away.
Others prefer that we hand them items one by one while they make the decisions.
We’ll simply ask which approach feels more comfortable for you.
We Never Rush the Process
Everyone declutters at a different pace.
Some clients make decisions quickly, while others need a little more time, especially when going through sentimental belongings.
Our job isn’t to rush you.
We want you to feel confident in every decision you make, and we never want you to donate or throw away something you’ll later regret.
If you need a break during the session, that’s completely fine too.
How Much Can We Get Done?
Most of our decluttering sessions last around five hours.
How much we accomplish during that time depends on several factors, including:
- The size of the space
- How many belongings you’re going through
- How quickly decisions are made
- Whether you’re decluttering one room or several
Some clients complete multiple areas in one session, while others spend the entire session working through one larger room. Every project is different.
You don’t have to spend the entire session decluttering, though. If you’re only looking to declutter a smaller area and there’s still time remaining, we can often use the rest of the session to organize the items you’re keeping.
Many clients like this approach because they leave with not only less clutter, but also organized spaces that are easier to maintain.
What Happens After We Finish Decluttering?
For many of our clients, decluttering is just the first step.
Once we’ve gone through your belongings and removed the items you no longer need, we can then organize everything that’s staying. This is where we create simple, practical organizing systems that make your space easier to use and maintain.
Depending on the area we’re working in, that might mean arranging items in a way that makes sense for your daily routine, grouping similar items together, assigning everything a home, or recommending organizing products if they’re needed.
If time allows, we can often begin organizing during the same session. For larger projects, we may schedule organizing for a future session. It simply depends on the size of your project, how much decluttering is involved, and how many sessions are needed to complete everything.
Most of our clients choose to combine decluttering and organizing because the two services naturally go hand in hand. After all, it’s much easier to organize a space once you’ve removed the excess.
If you’d like to learn more about how we help clients create organized, functional spaces after decluttering, take a look at our organizing services.
We organize:
We’ll Handle the Donations and Trash
Once the decluttering session is finished, we’ll help bag up the trash and place it in your outdoor trash bins or at the curb when appropriate.
We’ll also take up to one vehicle load of donations per organizer to a local donation center serving the greater Northshore or New Orleans area.
The only items we typically don’t remove are large pieces of furniture.
What You Can Expect From Our Team
Throughout the entire session, our goal is to make the experience as easy as possible.
Our team is:
- Friendly
- Professional
- Non-judgmental
- Patient
- Hands-on
- Here to support you every step of the way
We know inviting someone into your home can feel intimidating, but our job isn’t to judge how your home looks. We’re simply there to help you create a space that feels easier to live in.
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you need help decluttering a single closet or your entire home, our team is here to help. We provide hands-on decluttering services throughout Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, Slidell, Hammond, and the surrounding Northshore areas.
If you’d like more information on our decluttering services, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can give us a call at (504) 238-4100 or fill out a form online, and we’ll contact you.
