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Is your house a disaster area? Do you have a job outside the home that doesn't give you time to organize your house? Perhaps you have a physical disability that prevents you from lifting or reaching up to put things where they belong.

Sometimes when you get so far behind in caring for your home that it seems impossible to find anything, it would be best to hire a personal organizer. Personal organizers are trained to look for ways that will help you get - and stay - organized.

Before you hire an organizer, you need to do some research.

1. Do you need your entire house organized or just a room or two?
2. Are there rooms that will be "off -limits" to an organizer, such as a home office or a teenager's room? Teens hate to have their space messed with!
3. Are there personal or expensive items that you will have to remove from a room before an organizer starts work?
4. Have you determined a budget for your organization project?

Now that you know what you need, here are some things you need to from a personal organizer before he/she is hired:

1. How long have you been a personal organizer? How much experience do you have? Do you specialize in a certain area of organization? (Will that area of organization be of help to me?)
2. Do you have a list of references? May I contact them?
3. What do you charge for a project? Do you charge by project, by day, or by number of hours worked?
4. Do you charge for the initial consultation? How much?
5. Are organizational supplies such as bins and baskets included in the project or will I have to purchase them extra? (This will help keep you on budget.)
6. Will I be involved in the decision making process for the project? (If not, interview someone else! It is your house, after all!)
7. Will you have an assistant or other people helping you?
8. Are you (and your employees) insured and bonded in case of accident, damage to property or theft?

If you do your homework before hiring a professional organizer, you will know exactly what to expect from him or her and he or she will know exactly what to expect from you. There will not be any nasty surprises at the end of the job.

Once the organizer has organized your home, it should be easier for you to keep it neat and tidy. Every item will have its home and you will only need to remember to take each item home after you have used it. If you let everything pile up again, you will just have to hire the organizer to organize it all for you again - and that doesn't make much sense - does it?