Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, when you book a consultation you will be meeting with the Owner, Grace. If she’s not available, you will be meeting with one of our other lovely organizers (See the “Meet my Team” page)
I love my consult time with my clients, it helps us get to know each other more, and it offers me some ideas of what’s important to you. I take notes as you show me your spaces. I am basically gathering information, so we can be great problem solvers for you. I have an agreement to go over with you, that I will email you to sign. This gives us a foundation of clear communication of our expectations of each other. I offer free virtual consultations (through Zoom) as well as in person consultations (for a small fee). I love meeting your family, and your pets and seeing your home just as it is day-to-day.
And, furthermore, I encourage you to NOT clean up before the consult. Your job is not to impress me! I’m meeting you with eyes of GRACE!
Grace to Organize is a team of organizers. As of right now, we have 6 associate organizers in addition to the Owner (Grace) You can hire one of us at a time, or based on availability we could schedule you with 2! If you have a preference for who you work with, please mention that as early as possible so we can try to accommodate your request!
Some clients prefer to not be involved at all, either due to time constraints, or just disinterest in the process. That’s okay!!
We can work solo in organizing almost any space, as long as you know that about 90% of it is stuff you want to keep. As we go through, we would set aside items that look like trash or donate to us, or maybe they look like they belong elsewhere in your home (example: a screwdriver in the pantry) Speaking of pantries, we would also set aside expired food. And, then we will either leave it for you to sort through, or before we leave we can look at it together. We will also give you a tour of the space before we leave, or in the case where you’re not there (yes, some clients leave us in their house to organize while they are away), we would send you video or picture updates and notes on items we had questions about. I also tell my clients, “If you can’t find something, please ask us and we’ll tell you where we put it”
100%! You are paying us for our time, but also for our experience in organizing, We are happy to offer any suggestions we can for systems, tools, and supplies you may want/need to make your life easier. However, we want you to know that we are frugal at heart, which means we are always looking for opportunities to use things you ALREADY HAVE. In some cases, we find things that were going to be tossed that can be useful in a new way. Again, organizing is about trial and error and CREATIVITY, we are happy to share with you any of our right-brained thoughts as we conversate throughout the consult or the sessions!
We are also happy to do research for you, and send you links of items you can buy for our time together. See more info in the section below on supplies.
Ummm, no! Almost every client we have, has at some point asked this or a similar question and we always tell them, we don’t have a “worst” space. There is NO grade or scale of organization, in our eyes. There are always improvements to be made. We tell people that even we would benefit from hiring an organizer, why? Because like I said, there are always ways to make a space better! You are not the worst we’ve seen, and we don’t want to you to have a false impression of others’ homes. We have been in hundreds (maybe even thousands) of clients spaces through our time being professional organizers, and not ONE of them stands out as the “worst”. Keeping in mind that almost every client we have feels overwhelmed, you can take comfort in knowing you’re not alone in needing support. You may see chaos and overwhelm, we SEE POTENTIAL and we get excited about your spaces.
All my life I thought I wanted to be a school teacher, I was in community college working on my Associates degree and felt like God led me to drop my classes. I did, and then I felt like He told me to go to Bible College. I spent 2 years at Charis Bible College, just for the personal growth of it. I had no plans to go into ministry or make a career out of my time there. I was getting ready to graduate and having a WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE sort of moment. My mentor at the time said, “Make a Facebook page for anything you’re good at” So, I made a childcare page, and an organizing page and within 1 month I had two friends reach out saying, “I didn’t know you knew how to organize!” One of those clients was my best friend’s Mom that I had known for 15 years. She lives in Denver, so I had an hour drive home from our session and the WHOLE way home, I was realizing… this is what I was made for. I actually had this thought during that drive “You’ve been hoarding your gift for organizing” WHOA!
I thought about my life, and how the only times I ever organized were for ME, or at my workplaces (just to pass the time, and again, because I enjoy it) But, it never occurred to me that I could help others. I also, at the time was not very aware that other people don’t like organizing, or they don’t know how to do it. The funny thing about having a natural gift, is you assume other people have it too. I started my business officially in September of 2017, and have seen the need for my services more and more. I am so grateful that I get to share my gifts, do what I love and get paid for it!
Have you thought about what you’re naturally good at lately? You may be able to share it with the world!
We use before and after pictures for a few reasons!
- To show YOU the progress made during sessions. It’s easy to forget what a space looked like before, and it’s very satisfying for you to see what your $ has paid for.
- For social media, or website marketing. This helps others see that they are first of all not alone in needing help and also shows how we can help!
- For training and reflection purposes. We are always looking to be better and these can be a great tool for us to communicate well as a team and grow!
The short answer for this question is “Any space that has stuff!” We’ve organized pantries, kitchens, garages, crawl spaces, storage areas, kids play areas, offices, junk drawers, utility rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, even cars! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re not sure if your space qualifies for an organizing session! Our answer will most likely be, “We can do it!”
In short: GRACE and FRUGALITY. We take pride in being ridiculously kind and understanding to our clients, and on top of that being as frugal as possible. In most cases, we use exclusively what items a client already has on hand to organize with. This really allows our problem solving and creativity to shine, and keeps the cost low for our clients! We do have some clients that prefer the magazine look and want to invest in supplies at a higher level, but many of our clients just want a more functional space with minimal extra cost.
We also have over 7 years of experience, and have the MOST 5 star reviews of any organizing company in the area!
We charge hourly based on what city you live in. We always require a 3 hour minimum for every session (garages have a 5 hour and 2 organizer minimum). For those in Pueblo County we currently charge $60/hour. For those in El Paso County, we charge $80/hour. That is the price for one organizer. If you want to hire two at a time, we can do this but availability is less flexible. For 2 organizers you will pay $120/hour. If you live outside of these areas, please contact me for a personalized quote!
Please note: You will always pay Grace, the Owner directly, she will take care of payment with the associate organizers you work with.
Also, we always ask for the first hour up front as a deposit to book ANY session on our calendar, and this is non-refundable.
We work with any budget on supplies! And, we are happy to figure out what works best for you based on your budget, preferences, and style. Supplies are a great way to not just add aesthetic appeal, but also it helps with maintenance over time, and functionality. We will always try to use what you already have on hand as efficiently as possible. One of the benefits of hiring an organizer is we are very experienced in many different spaces and using many different products. We are happy to make any recommendations before, during or after sessions. If you want or need supplies here are some thoughts on how we handle that below:
Please note: We ONLY accept reimbursement for supplies via Check, Cash, Venmo, or CashApp. The reason being is we are not charged a fee for these methods of payment. You also have the option of ordering supplies yourself, or giving cash or a card to the organizer who is going to get supplies during your session to avoid reimbursement.
Our typical preference is to get supplies during the session. Why? Because the first step of any project is sorting and decluttering. The best time to assess what supplies you need is after we know what you’re keeping (basically what needs to be stored).
Let’s say that you already know you’re keeping approximately 90% of the items in the space and we have seen the space prior to the session (either via virtual consult, pictures or videos) We can make suggestions for supplies that we can either order to your house and have you reimburse us with or, we can send you links for you to personally order.
Another way we can handle supplies is making decisions on what you need at the first session, and then bringing them with us to the next session. We do charge for our in person shopping time at our regular hourly rate which would be added to your final invoice. We do not charge for our online shopping time.
If we end up with supplies that were not used, we can of course use them for other areas in your home. If there are supplies that you purchased on your own, you will need to process the refunds. If we purchased the supplies, we can handle the refunds for you at no extra charge.