Professional home organizers assist with many areas of organization including residences, businesses, time management, paper management, chronic disorganization, space planning, filing, wardrobes, closet systems, event planning, errands, personal shopping, financial management, packing and moving and many more areas.

Professional home organizers may also be very specific in the types of organizing they offer or they may be general and offer a wide array of organizing services. Some professional organizers work with specific populations such as seniors, children, students, legal/medical offices, and the chronically disorganized.

However, most home organizers specialize in one or more areas. Most organizers do not do cleaning or clerical work. If either of these is your primary need, you'll be better off hiring a cleaning service or a secretary.

Once you contact a professional organizer, he or she will do an initial consultation in person or over the phone to assess your needs and give you a time and money estimate for your project. Some organizers do this consultation for free; others charge. They should tell you up front.

Depending upon project size, the organizer may provide you with a verbal or written plan for the project, and develop a schedule for project completion.

Professional organizers or consultants provide a wide variety of services, including:

• Cleaning out closets, kitchens, storage areas, bedrooms, attics and garages
• Remodeling closets and storage
• Rearranging living space to be more pleasing and efficient
• Personal coaching, goal setting
• Planning, packing and unpacking for relocation
• Garage and estate sales
• Organizing children and teenagers
• Errands and personal shopping
• Setting up filing systems and developing paperflow systems
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Filing
• Setting up recordkeeping systems
• Sorting through paper piles
• Paying bills
• Preparing medical insurance forms
• Event planning
• Photo and memorabilia organization.

An organizing project requires participation from the professional organizer and from the client.

The organizer will:

• Provide solutions, suggestions, choices and methods
• Do some of the physical work
• Give you encouragement and support
• Tailor the solution to your needs, preferences and lifestyle
• Never be judgmental about disorganization or treat it as a moral issue

The client will need to:

• Make the time to participate in all steps of the organizing project
• Make decisions
• Be willing to make changes
• Be willing to do maintenance once the organizing project is complete.