Hands-on organizing

Drawer full of food storage containersOrganized drawer

Before the first day of hands-on organizing, Organized! by Romanic® will have previously discussed the job to be done with the client during the initial consultation and arrives ready to do the job. Organized! by Romanic® generally works straight through and does not eat in client homes. Organized! by Romanic® brings her own water/diet sodas and may bring one in to consume while working. Depending on the conditions in the client’s home, Organized! by Romanic® may either ask to use a client’s powder room or drive to a nearby fast food or grocery store to use the bathroom.

Organized! by Romanic® generally works Mon-Sat from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in client homes but being a 1-woman business means that Organized! by Romanic® can be fairly flexible to work with clients who have special needs. Organized! by Romanic® can and will work a little later or longer in one day if it means that we can complete the job in a single visit, but tries to be finished for the day no later than 8 p.m. even when staying later to finish a hands-on organizing job. Organized! by Romanic® does not usually start working in client homes earlier than 10 a.m. because several locations where I purchase supplies and/or drop of donations from the day before do not open until 10 a.m.

Organized! by Romanic® generally does hands-on organizing for 6 hours at a time in one day. This is because over the years, 6 hours seems to be the amount of time needed to make a lasting impact on the amount of clutter in a room. In shorter visits, clients often re-fill the space before their next hands-on organizing visit. Therefore, the only “homework” that a client ever gets is to “maintain the gain.” In other words, if Organized! by Romanic®  clears off a client’s dining room table, the client can use that new space to sort the papers from their kitchen counter or desk, but by the time Organized! by Romanic® returns, the dining room table needs to look the way it did at the end of the previous session.

Organized! by Romanic® always calls or texts clients prior to driving to a client’s home. Prior to arriving at your home and at no charge to you, Organized! by Romanic® may need to go to purchase supplies (boxes, contractor bags, gloves, dust masks, etc.) that are needed for your job or may have to go and drop off donations and/or trash removed from another client’s home the day before. Organized! by Romanic® only charges for the time spent working in your home. Organized! by Romanic® does not charge for delivering donations or hauling away trash that is sealed in contractor bags.

Organized! by Romanic® saves on the cost of high-quality boxes and contractor bags by shopping at warehouse stores. Organized! by Romanic® never marks up the cost of basic supplies. Organized! by Romanic® does not charge for the time spent purchasing basic supplies and shows clients the receipt for these supplies so clients know that they are only reimbursing Organized! by Romanic® for the supplies that are being used in their home.

Because other locations do not open until 10 a.,m., Organized! by Romanic® may not arrive at client homes promptly at 10 a.m. but clients are not kept waiting without being informed that Organized! by Romanic® is purchasing their supplies or dropping off donations. Clients are contacted again after supplies are picked up/donations dropped of when Organized! by Romanic® is on the way to their home.

There is no charge for the time spent picking up basic supplies for a client’s job. However, if the job requires the purchase of shelving, storage bins, cupboard/drawer organizers and so forth, then Organized! by Romanic® charges the regular hourly rate during the time spent shopping on a client’s behalf. Organized! by Romanic® is more than willing to take one client shopping with me so that he/she knows precisely why I am choosing the items that I am choosing. There is only one passenger seat in the Organized! by Romanic® full-sized work van. If a client accompanies Organized! by Romanic® during the shopping, the client pays for the items directly without having to reimburse Organized! by Romanic®.

There is no fee for having Organized! by Romanic® drop off items a client wants to donate. There is no fee for “field trips:” Field trips are when a client accompanies Organized! by Romanic® on the trip to donate his/her items so the client can see that their excess stuff is really a blessing for someone else. When Organized! by Romanic® drops off donations on a client’s behalf, Organized! by Romanic® either brings the donation receipt to the client on the next organizing visit or mails the receipt to the client. If Organized! by Romanic® sells items on e-bay for clients, Organized! by Romanic® keeps 20% of whatever is left after e-bay and PayPal take out their fees. Organized! by Romanic® also makes referrals to certified appraisers, auctioneers, bulk trash services, exterminators, plumbers, handyman services, movers, and other service providers as needed.