What difference does it make to employ a PO?

You may be wondering what a Professional Organiser or a Decluttering Specialist can add that you wouldn’t be able to do on your own. To be honest, you wouldn’t be the first person to ask that question! At first sight, most people appear to have the abilities necessary to clear their space, shift items around, look at things and make decisions, etc., so why pay for someone to help you out? Isn’t this an unnecessary expense when you could do it all yourself?

This appears to be common sense, but ask yourself if it actually holds true for you?

I’m sure you have tried to do something about whatever situation you find in your own home, right? You may have been annoyed by too much stuff in your living room, or the fact that you cannot squeeze all your clothes into the wardrobe at the best of times. You may have too many of your children’s toys in the living room or the garage is overflowing with things that have just ended up there for no good reason. I realise this may not be your particular bug bear, but you get the idea.

These situations have been building up in a world where YOU were taking care of things the best you could, and one of the main reasons nothing changes is simply this: the person who tries to sort everything out has the same mindset as the one who is responsible for the issue in the first place! What makes you think that you have changed your mind about any number of items you need to deal with? You had good reasons to hang on to them at some point in the past – maybe you even had an internal discussion about keeping it – and now you are looking at items you made a conscious choice to keep, all the while hoping of finding ways to let them go.

You can see the problem here, I’m sure. What makes you believe that your choices would be any different right now? The trouble here is that you experience a negative pressure (“I’ve got too much and have to make choices what to throw out.”) rather than a positive one (“which of these do I want to keep?”). Clearly, this is a bit of a puzzler.

Another element you may lack is experience in the matter. A Professional Organiser has more experience with many related questions, no doubt about it. It is not unusual that my clients simply have never found ways to organise their things in a way that not only makes everything more accessible, but also shows what they actually own. It is a common issue that people hang on to everything because they have not view on what exactly they really own. They are afraid of letting go of something because they may miss it someday. Even if it’s an item they had forgotten about until they dug it up in the attic.

The issue is that if you don’t know what you have, and it suddenly turns up unexpectedly, it feels new and exciting and it’s hard to let go of it. What kicks in at that point is something else altogether: a sense that it may come in handy one day, or even the thought that “I’ve kept it for so long, it would be a pity to throw it out now”. And that last thought also works for things that have been broken for the better part of the decade!

You could, of course, do everything on your own, but wouldn’t a second pair of strong arms be helpful? And wouldn’t discussing the benefits of holding on to something specific make more sense with someone who has no vested interest in making you keep that item (that is often the case with family members or friends who either have their own interests or do not want to damage their relationship with you). There is something to be said for a healthy distance from the client in question.

All these – and many other notions – apply to a lot of people. There is no shame in asking for help. None whatsoever. It’s a fact of life that we all have different abilities and hang-ups and in most cases, we are able to ask for help when necessary. When you are sick, you go and see your doctor. Getting your car repaired by a specialist rather than your brother’s mate is a no-brainer for most people. Having a cleaner and gardener or getting your shirts ironed may seem like a luxury item, but ultimately it is meant to make your life easier and completely acceptable. Why, then, not take this forward and think of a Professional Declutterer and Organiser as a specialist that can do something in ways you wouldn’t be able to or feel little love for?

Are you still wondering what a Professional Organiser or a Decluttering Specialist can do that you wouldn’t be able to do on your own? It seems that what goes for common sense isn’t all that common, and often doesn’t really make sense either. There are many solid reasons why it turns out to be difficult to let go of things or organise stuff properly, and most of them require a trusted outsider – a professional – to intervene and help you move forward. Proof positive that there are good reasons for bringing in a professional. It will save time, nerves and potentially even money in the long run.

If you have enjoyed reading this, you may find these other articles interesting:

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