Worth paying for a professional organiser for the children's bedrooms?

[IncessantNameChanger]

I wonder if I could have some thoughts on paying for a professional declutter and organiser. It's £40 per hour and I was thinking of paying for a full day so 6 hours.

I'm a former hoarder so my house is a mess but this service is just for my kids 2 bedroom. I do get stuck on making desisions. However I'm now wondering if for that money I could throw out lots of things myself on the rational that I could replace most of the kids causal clothes on Vinted for £6 a item.easily?

Or should I just go for it in the knowledge I haven't used this logic before and it's not occurred to me until I'm at the stage where im considering paying out for a professional organiser? I want a freh start for the kids for the new term

I don’t really see how a ‘professional’ could actually efficiently declutter children’s bedroom, how do they know what’s sentimental, what they use, what fits them?

Why not try it yourself and if that doesn't work, go the professional route. The main thing is to get rid of as much stuff as possible.

This is a really valid point. If the "professional" is going to be asking you that question about every single item in the room then surely it's just as easy to do it yourself.

But don't spend the money you save on clothes from Vinted because thats just replacing what was thrown out which defeats the object. - use it to buy better storage for those rooms.

I think it will work better with a professional because the children will decide what they want to keep. I know through experience of hoarding that lots of stuff gets kept because it either cost you a lot of money or it was bought by great aunty someone.
Kids play with what they want be it a one pound pot of slime or the latest play station and having a room full of stuff they don’t want means there’s no space to enjoy anything.
With clothes I’ve found that laying clothes out like with like so that all of the trousers go together. Then you can decide on how many you’re going to keep and pick the best ones to put away. Don’t get pulled into the cost a lot/ gift thing just decide on the number and stick to it.Do this with every category and you will use everything you’ve got and be able to lay your hands on it in a hurry.

The kids would only be involved at the end of the process.

I think it's really valid that only we can make the ultimate desision.

I wasn't planning on replacing anything. It's more the cost for cost logic that I could throw out almost all the clothes and toys and replace with what's needed for the days declutter.

Yes! People do not seem to understand the process. You don’t just turn them loose in a room, you work together.
I’ve used a decluttering person. She was invaluable. On my own I’d empty cupboards get overwhelmed and give up leaving everything worse than before. Having someone there allows you to focus and keep you on track - and having to pay them motivates you even more! Plus they will organise things in logical way and create systems so the problem doesn’t return, which does require discipline.
I think they are well worth it, and people here are missing the point. My declutterer was a hoarder herself, and now she is employed by the council to help with those who at risk to their health by how they are living. And in between she helps regular people who just need a bit of help, whether it’s reorganising a room, dealing with paperwork, or preparing for a move. If the OP could do it herself she would have done it!

I think it’s great that you recognise you have an especial problem in that area and are willing to get help

yeah I think it’s telling that you’re already quantifying the help in terms of replacing what you get rid of. Your whole mentality around belongings needs to shift.

I know how hard that is and it was only moving to a much smaller house which allowed me to get rid of about 50% of my belongings.

I still had so much stuff when I moved that I could barely walk in some rooms so have had to get rid of more since then. It’s hard but honestly I believe if you don’t do the hard graft yourself you won’t reap the benefits long term.

You need the reality check of seeing it all in piles, you need to take accountability in letting things go and you need to get comfortable with the sunk costs you’ve put into buying all this stuff. I still struggle sometimes seeing my DD putting clothes into a charity bag that I’ve spent money on, and barely seen her wearing them. But I have to just keep my focus on the fact that they’re as wasted sitting in her wardrobe unworn as they are in a charity bag. You can do it without a professional. Maybe watch Stacy Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out on BBC iplayer - it’s a great way to see how decluttering is as much an emotional issue as a physical one.

Bit of a waste to throw it all in the bin, or do you mean donate to charity. I sell all my kids outgrown clothes and toys at car boot sales and kids sales.

I have sold things on Vinted before buy honestly it's peanuts for the effort. No.nothing gets binned. It gets collected by Anglo doorstep collection. They can sell it.

I appreciare you have hiardig tendancies but could you get your dh to go in with the kids and get them to try all the clothes which are too small for them and search out broken toys. Thet woild likely get rid of plenty of stuff.

Then each week as each child to pick 5 toys and books they don't want to keep and put them straight in a bin bag. You don't check it, your dh does to see if it's bine, donate or sell. Do that every week and it will soon become more manageable

I’d pay the professional. Decluttering is a mammmoth task that even the average person procrastinates and gets bogged down in. You’ve admitted you’re not average, you’re a former hoarder and you’ve lost control again. Pay the professional and the job will be done in 6 hours.

It sounds worth a try. You might learn some tips from the experience which you can take on to other rooms as well.

FWIW I can be very much like this (ADHD mainly) and am somewhat improved these days. I would say the useful resources have been Dana K White - her Decluttering at the Speed of Life / her podcast.

Midwest Magic Cleaning on youtube is my new favourite one, I like his videos where he explains what he sees as the underlying patterns behind hoarding/clutter.

Clutterbug is really good as well.

ADHD’er here who is ashamed of how much work needs to be done in my home for me to be happy with it. I crave a clean uncluttered space but can’t seem to get there. If I manage to start I can’t seem to follow it through at all, I just end up with more piles. I’m too embarrassed to get someone in. I never used to be like this, it’s only been during the last year when I’ve been so completely stressed and overwhelmed by life that I feel frozen.

It's worth contacting a professional for a quote.

I don't think you can say "come and do 6 hours then walk away", as that might only get you part way through the project. Most professional people in whatever sphere wouldn't be happy to be hired under those conditions.

I haven't used anyone as I'm fine with getting rid and organising, but the people I know who have used a decluttering and organising service found it transformative.

Yes OP I would pay one of these declutterers in a heartbeat if I could afford to!

I think the value in it is that you have someone there who will keep you on track and actually take the stuff away for you. But it's an expensive thing to do.

I do think there is value in doing it when you have a room/cupboard of doom or loft storage you want cleared as it's just so hard to know where to start. But kids bedrooms? I wouldn't.

I'd get all the toys out and immediately take any that are broken or far too young and definitely not played with. Clothes you can take away any that are too small. Anything to the tip or charity shop needs to go there immediately or within 48 hours max. Then see where you are.

If you need advice on storage there are plenty of ideas on the internet

@StarCourtdon’t be embarrassed! ‘No judgement’ is usually on the website -really really they want to help! My friend has seen the worst you can imagine but she knows it’s not laziness or whatever.

Do you need a professional?

I'm another ADHD person who finds that body-doubling (or even just having someone else sit in on what I am doing) can help me concentrate on what needs doing. Can you ask a friend to come over and just sit on the bed drinking coffee and giving the occasional opinion?

Apologies if this doesn't work for you, of course, but I've found I get SO MUCH done if someone just sits and talks to me to distract me from what I'm really doing.

Spend the money on therapy to try to heal the parts of yourself that allowed you to get to this point. Otherwise, no amount of decluttering will help, as you will quickly fill the void with stuff. (I have worked as a professional declutter for a city council).

I think it’d be really hard for kids rooms because they can’t possibly know what tshirt they haven’t worn in months, which shorts no longer fit, which toys are played with, their favourite character bedding etc. And what’s the point if you think they might overdo it and you’ll potentially need to get on Vinted to by more stuff, is that not a slippery slope for you with the history of hoarding? I’d start with the clothes- what’s outgrown or damaged e.g. badly stained or ripped. Then toys- get rid of anything broken or obviously too young. Then the kids take the lead on what’s left and can tell you what they don’t like/play with.

I have had lots of therapy including NHS specific hoarding therapy with a specialist psychologist so I think I'm good on that front.

Like I say. I'm a reformed hoarder so I don't buy anymore and have done endless clear outs. Its not enough / fast enough. But I don't know if it's me approaching peri or I have ADHD. I just get overwhelmed. I can clear the rooms. But I'm blind to clutter. I have had my friends help me in the past but I find that they throw things out. Eg i bought a new ring. It still had its price and security tag on. So if your going to throw out a £15 dress ring, how can I be sure your not throwing out a treasured toy or a warranty?

The declutter said she won't throw anything out without checking with me. So I feel safer. It's like my mil said she would just throw everything out. But if I said to her "why are you keeping this 1970 shitty bowl? I have binned it" to find out it was her mother's. She would be upset. But because I'm a ex hoarder everyone thinks everything I own is shit. I need some kindness. I want to feel safe making procrastinating desisions in a safe space.

I do think I'm going to have to do the clothes myself. Then maybe just pay for a few hours to see if it's helpful

If you’re an actual hoarder then yes - do it. Children living in a messy home, to the point someone considers themselves a hoarder impacts on their mental health. Clearly you doing it isn’t an easy job, or your house wouldn’t be in this state where you’re considering the extremes of binning everything and just buying new clothes.

If you have gotten into this mess I don’t think you can do this alone and you’re right to want to declutter for your children’s sake and having someone help you do that. It’s admirable actually as it’s a he’s thing to do if you struggle with this.

I am a professional declutterer,and I wanted to say that no professional should judge you. There are many many reasons for us to be needed, and it's more common than you think. We all have things we do well and things we don't... It's no different than getting in say a professional carpet cleaner or oven cleaner in etc. Anyway... If you're not sure what you need you can always contact a declutterer and have a chat with them. I'm always happy to figure it out with clients if they need a declutterer or not. (and we aren't all as expensive as you think)