If you need a personal organizer, I’ll bet you have a lot of questions.
Whether you’re looking for Residential or Small Business Organization, help with Relocation Organization or suffer from Challenging Disorganization, we hope the following FAQs will provide you with much needed information.
Hopefully you’ll give Agent Yes a call and we can help you lead a more organized, less stressful and happier life! Or get started now by contacting Agent Yes.
General FAQ
- Someone who has struggled to organize the same space over and over again and keeps getting the same result
- A person who has read many books and articles about organization and doesn’t feel like the systems mentioned work for them.
- A person is who is overwhelmed by a recent event (death, divorce, move) and needs help.
- Someone who is Chronically Disorganized. For more information on what constitutes being chronically disorganized, click here.
- Someone who wants an accountability partner to keep them on track.
- You or someone you know could benefit from a personalized plan of action.
Call (303) 819-5862 or email Agent Yes to schedule a free 30 minute phone consultation to answer any basic initial questions.
After an initial phone call, the next step is a personal on site assessment. However, Agent Yes can also use Skype or view your photos via email if an in person assessment is not practical. This helps Michele to determine the scope of the project and provides you with the opportunity ask questions about the process to achieve your goals.
Some sample questions include:
- What organizing methods have you tried in the past?
- Do you prefer visual or hidden storage spaces?
- What do you want the end result to be?
- What are your priorities in terms of organizing tasks?
- Is there anyone in your household who objects to the idea of getting help with organization? If yes, can you explain in more detail?
- What is more important to you – aesthetics or function- or are they equally important to you?
- Are you willing to do assigned homework to help complete this project?
- Have you thought about or established a budget for help with this project?
A typical assessment costs $60 per hour (billed in 15 minute increments) and usually lasts up to an hour in length. The meeting can take longer for a large project with several rooms or more. Agent yes will ask questions you are free to ask questions as well. It is important that you feel comfortable with having Michele in your home. You’ll be encouraged to share your hopes and any fears or concerns you might have about organizing.
Payment is due at the end of the assessment. You will be provided with a definite plan of action via email after the assessment. If you decide to move forward and work with Agent Yes within three months, then the assessment fee is applied toward the first working session together.
After an assessment has been completed and the Plan of Action has been discussed, we will agree upon and sign a contract, prior to the first session.
Yes! Agent Yes offers Personal Concierge Services and Virtual Organizing Services. I also offer to drop off donations (typically ½ a car load (sometime a full car load if there is space) at one Boulder donation center of your choice at no extra charge after each in person organizing session.
Yes, Agent Yes is an LLC with full liability insurance.
As an professional organizer, Agent Yes works one on one with clients to facilitate change and a transference of skill. Teaching, talking and hands-on organizing occurs simultaneously. There is more than one answer to any organizing issue. Michele will work with you to find solutions that fit your needs, your aesthetic and your lifestyle. For example, we will explore how much maintenance you are willing to do to keep your systems in place.
Agent Yes offers services that are not directly related to Organizing, like performing tasks as a personal concierge, but housekeeping tasks are not something offered. We can recommend several excellent cleaning services and can help identify the best fit for your needs.
Agent Yes serves all of Boulder County, Colorado in person and offer virtual organizing worldwide, assuming virtual organizing is a good fit for the desired tasks. There are mountain area clients, as well as clients in other states. There is a fee for travel time, and the client pays for airfare or driving costs, as well as lodging.
The à la carte rate is $75 per hour and payment is due at the end of a session. Prepaid packages are also available:
- 9 hours = $630 ($70 per hour)
- 12 hours=$780 ($65 per hour)
- 18 hours=$1080 ($60 per hour)
- 24 hours=$1320 ($55 per hour)
These packages are prepaid and the hours are good for two years. In most cases, the hours are non refundable but they can be transferred to a family or friend.
Find out more about Personal Concierge services and pricing here.
Find out more about virtual organizing services and pricing here.
Some clients are quite motivated and ask for assigned homework at the end of a session. I am happy to give homework tasks for clients to tackle in between our working sessions. Unlike school, there is no penalty if homework is not done before the next session but rather, the homework is meant to be a cost-saving measure and builds confidence.
- To do business with Agent Yes, a contract must be signed.
- There is a three-hour minimum for each session. Most sessions are four hours in length, however longer sessions can be scheduled. Just remember, the work can be physically and emotionally exhausting. As a rule, a small project (or a task within a large project) can be started and completed within four hours, so your space isn’t messy at the end of the day. Payment is required at the end of each session, unless pre-paid. Checks and Paypal are accepted.
- Virtual sessions can be as short as one hour and must be prepaid.
- The client determines how often we work together.
- There is a 48 -hour cancellation policy, but exceptions are made for a documented illness or emergency.
Yes and no. Gift certificates are available for Personal Concierge services. Brand new moms, newlyweds and those who have recently moved love Agent Yes gift certificates. However, we discourage anyone from “surprising” someone with organizing services unless we can talk to the recipient in advance and can confirm that it is something that they want.
Agent Yes is one of the few Boulder area organizers that is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and also a subscriber to the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD), the premier resource on chronic disorganization. She is currently earning her credentials as a Certified Professional Organizer through the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers. These credentials, combined with her years of experience and passion for helping people claim a more organized life provide clients with peace of mind that they have made a choice they can feel confident about.
If you have a general questions that have not been addressed in this or other FAQ categories, email me. I will get back to you within 48 hours.
Residential Organizing FAQ
No, I don’t make anyone do anything they are not ready for. However, I may ask questions about why you are keeping something. These questions do not come from a place of judgment rather it is more about having a client think about WHY they may be holding onto something they no longer love or need.
I can work fast or very slow. I tend to match the pace of the client as needed.
Since every client has different needs, there is no typical session. Some clients are just plain overwhelmed so part of the process is getting them to start small as big change takes time. Often sorting and decluttering is involved. Many clients do tend to talk about their papers and belongings and this is an important part of the process. Talking can help in with the decision making process and is often cathartic for the client and problem solving and coping skills is a common topic that comes up as well.
Yes. Even with effective systems, there are times when life gets busy and there can be stressful events that cause us to lose interest in maintenance. The good news is that once effective systems are created, it should not take long to restore order to these systems so that a client can get back to maintaining the systems themselves if they desire.
Situational Disorganization is a sudden occurrence of disorganization brought on by stressful and often life changing events. These include things like a new job, job loss, marriage, new home, death of a loved one, birth/adoption and divorce/separation. The resulting clutter and scheduling difficulties can last for longer than one might expect, but doesn’t have to go on indefinitely. A professional organizer can help you regain control and be organized once again. Professional organizers are calm, compassionate and non judgmental and can help to alleviate a client’s sense of overwhelm.
The first step is identifying whether you even know who is in the photos or whether you even recognize some of the places in the photos. Once you have determined which photos are important to you (either solo or with other help), we can discuss storage options that work for you and your space at hand. There are also organizers who specialize in doing photo scanning and creating customized storage options (such as albums) and I am happy to connect you with another organizer who specializes in this area.
Small Business Organizing FAQ
Chances are high that I can learn about your business (even underwater tie dying) through research of my own time and dime. If you have a business that involves ISO standards or needs a particular structure that I am not familiar with, I am happy to refer you to another organizer that has more experience with your type of small business.
So far, all the businesses I have helped have been under 20 employees. I am new to small business organizing so there are have been several company inquiries that needed more expertise than I can currently give.
In a word, no. I am familiar with Quicken and Quickbooks and several applications that help with money management and I can help you set up a filing systems to keep track of your financial papers but I do not consider myself as a true financial organizer or daily money manager. However I do know Colorado organizers who specialize in financial organizing so I am happy to refer you to them.
I would suggest that you call or email at your convenience. I would like to know more about the current challenges at hand. A few immediate questions that come to mind – How many people and systems are involved in keeping your business running smoothly? What is your timeline/deadline for being organized? ? What is working versus what isn’t working? I would respond promptly to any questions. Then we would set up a time to meet and talk and do an on site assessment if it has been determined that I am a great fit to help.
As we know, finding and training employees costs money. I am more than willing to help an employee if they are open to the idea. If they are not open to change, then unfortunately Agent Yes is not a great fit for this task.
Please call or email as I would like to know more. First, It is important to know how it got the way it is so that it won’t just end up the same way again. It is also helpful to know how many people access the messy area and who is responsible for maintenance once organizing systems are put in place.
Chronic Disorganization FAQ
The Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) definition of Chronic Disorganizaton uses these three criteria:
- Chronic Disorganization is having a past history of disorganization in which self help efforts to change have failed
- An undermining of your current quality of life due to disorganization
- An expectation of future disorganization
The Institute for Challenging Disorganization has organized very helpful, public fact sheets that explain more in depth about what Chronic Disorganization involves. Please see them at www.challengingdisorganization.org/content/fact-sheet-public
In a short answer, yes I do. This is a detailed subject so please contact me directly to find out more about hoarding and who/how I can help. If I am not the best fit for your needs, I do know other organizing contacts who may be a better match for what is needed.
No. Professional Organizers can listen and work with problem solving and coping skills but they are not qualified to act as a therapist. This is a detailed question and deserves a better answer so please call or email and I can answer in more detail.
Artists/Creative Services Organizing FAQ
Absolutely, art studios are an intimate space and I don’t wish to overstep or make unwelcome suggestions. Some artists set up their spaces and then discover that storage solutions need tweaking if they can’t find what they are looking for when they need it. Some artists just want a creative solution for a particular issue that has been bothering them. I do encourage reuse and recycling and repurposing items for unconventional solutions. As an example, It doesn’t matter to me whether one uses a fancy caddy for their paintbrushes or old coffee cans to store brushes as it is completely up to the artist’s taste. What is important to me as an organizer is that they can find the brush they need when they need it while still keeping the overall design preferences of the artist in the process.
Great question! I hear this all the time as I think people are afraid that I will turn their space into a natural neatnik’s dream space. Not true! I only want artists to be able to find their supplies so their inspiration can come to life. I admit that , depending on the type of artist, I can be suspicious of artist work spaces that are TOO neat (what are they creating in there?) which are different than gallery spaces. Ideally, every working studio needs a space to be able to make a mess and leave it there while a creation is in progress. Some studios serve as both a work space and a gallery and so sometimes my job consists of creating a cool but functional division between those two areas.
I can help both creative professionals and hobbyists. As to what types of art – anything goes. Musicians, fine artists, mixed media, textile artists, sculpture, photographers, florists, videographers, writers, graphic designers and the list goes on…
Virtual Organization FAQ
I found that many of my clients moved and still wanted organizing support so I started providing virtual organizing services. I am not on site for virtual organizing rather we work together via computer or phone through Skype or email.
Find out more about virtual organizing services and pricing here.
I found that many of my clients moved and still wanted organizing support so I started providing virtual organizing services. I am not on site for virtual organizing rather we work together via computer or phone through Skype or email.
Virtual Organizing works best with clients who are truly motivated for change and are ready to start . One hour at a time does allow for flexibility however since I am not there in person to keep a client on task, progress can be slower if a client has difficulty with staying focused and avoiding disruptions.
Personal Concierge Service FAQ
I often get asked about organizing as a concierge. My personal concierge services are separate from organizing. I do not provide traditional organizing services as a concierge which is why I have the two separate rates.
Find out more about Personal Concierge services and pricing here.
For a task you are not sure about, please go ahead and ask. Chances are that even if I cannot help with a task that is legal, moral and ethical, that I know someone else who can.
I do not offer organizing maintenance at my concierge rate. Organizing maintenance is provided at my organizing rate. The difference is that as a concierge I just do a task for you, there is no teaching or transference of skill. For organizing, I want to teach a transference of skill. I do offer maintenance organizing (once systems that work are in place) but at my organizing rate.The idea is that I am teaching clients how to do the maintenance themselves but should they choose to pay my professional rate to maintain their systems, they can.
