Tasha Valentine,  The Tidy Type, LLC

January 13, 2020

A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from a new client who was at her wits end with the clutter in her home. After a brief introduction, I asked what led her to call and listened intently as she told me her story. Nothing that she said was out of the ordinary, so I continued to go through my script and we scheduled a date for an organizing session. She asked if we could make it a few weeks out and I didn’t have an issue with it, but given her enthusiasm during our call, I was curious to know why. I asked and she said “I need to tidy up before you get here because I don’t want you to see my house like this.”

Feelings of shock and confusion entered my head and I was speechless. All that I could think at the moment was “why would anyone want to organize before the organizer comes over?” After a few seconds of silence, I let her know that organizing before I came would not allow me to effectively help her. She didn’t seem to understand why, so I provided her with a few examples:

·        When you hire someone to paint a room, do you paint before they come?

·        When you hire someone to prepare your taxes, do you prepare them before they come?

·        When you hire someone to clean your house, do you clean before they come?

If she tried to organize before I arrived, I wouldn’t be able to assess the real situation and help her truly solve any organizational challenges she was facing and it would be counterproductive to the process. I went on to let her know that my goal was to help her become (and stay) organized. Once she understood where I was coming from, she asked “well then what should I do until you get here?” I let her know that the best way to prepare would be to think through her daily routine and note all of the areas that could be improved if they were organized and be ready to share that with me when I arrived. Other than that, all she needed to do was sit back, relax, and envision what her new life would feel like in an organized home.

The Tidy Type LLC is a whole home organization company who believes that everyone thrives when they are organized! Proudly serving Southern Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia.