What To Spend

Some professional organizers charge by the hour. Others have set fees for different tasks. A lot depends on how an organizer approaches a project and how experienced he or she is. In addition, how much you will spend will vary a great deal depending on how much time you expect the organizer to devote to your project. If you want the organizer strictly to develop a plan and then let you take over, this will obviously be much more cost-effective than if you want your organizer to pitch in with sorting through your clutter.

Also keep in mind that while more-experienced organizers can command much higher rates than new organizers, ones who have been at the job longer may be more efficient and have more-effective strategies that will ultimately save you time and money. So don’t let an hourly rate be your only deciding factor when it comes to deciding whom you will hire in the end.

You can expect to pay a professional organizer anywhere from $30 to $150 an hour.

If you want an organizer to come into your home and assess your needs and come up with a written plan that you can follow yourself, this can start at about $150 for the project. But if you want the organizer to delve into the project, one organizer estimates that a typical kitchen can take six to eight hours to complete, while file drawers run about three to four hours. So depending on the hourly rate, this means you can spend some serious money on the project. And keep in mind that any new products or organizational tools you need are usually an additional cost.

But if the expense of organizing your home sounds a bit steep for your budget, keep in mind the cost of keeping your disarray as is. For some people, the time savings, increased productivity and overall stress relief they get from taking this important step makes it worth every penny they invest.