Frequently Asked Questions

The length of a full home organizing makeover will depend on the size and complexity of the spaces, the amount of clutter you're starting with, and how much time you have to invest in making progress. There are always variables that a pro organizer who is working side-by-side with you cannot control, such as your decision-making speed. Those variables always play a factor on final timelines. A single small space (120 square feet or less) that needs only a little decluttering and simple organizing with existing products can often be done in under 8 hours. If more decluttering and planning is required and you need to add cabinets, shelves, and storage containers need to be purchased and installed, it can add another 3 or more days to the project. We can provide an estimation of hours for our involvement when we review the details of your specific project. 

Although many of our clients are over 50 or are preparing for a downsize, we do work with most people who reach out to us regardless of age,  stage of life, or unique circumstances. During our initial consultation call, we will determine if there is a good fit between our skills and your decluttering and/or organizing needs and goals. If we do not have expertise in a particular area, we can often find someone in our network of pro organizers to whom we can refer you. 

The Groomed Home charges primarily by hourly rates or service packages. Please refer to our Pricing page for details.  Some services may need to be quoted after we determine the scope of work needed during an initial service or onsite assessment. For people who aren't ready to commit to longer term project but want initial or occasional help, a basic 3-hour in-home session is a great starting point. 

You may need boxes and large garbage or yard waste bags to start the decluttering process. Whether you need additional organizing trays, drawer dividers, bins, furnishings/shelving, organizing systems and so forth will depend on what you already own, your style preferences, and your budget.  Together we will determine what, if any, organizing products would be of benefit. The goal is to help make the most out of the storage you already own or have built into the house, so in many cases you won't need to buy anything. 

Absolutely! Even though we encourage whole-home organizing ("GROOMing") and focusing on organizing by content categories rather than only the rooms you want to organize, it's completely fine - and sometimes best - to focus on individual spaces. 

Home Organizing is not the same as Interior Design, but there is a lot of overlap. Just getting your spaces more organized will improve the look and feel of your home. We often move furniture around, possibly remove excess furniture that impedes organizing, and we'll "shop" other rooms in your home to move storage solutions (like bins and baskets) that work better in another area of the home. But with home organizing we don't come up with a cohesive plan for colors, new furnishings, new fixtures or decor. If your walls are a color you don't like or your design style is undefined or no longer suits your tastes, home organizing won't directly address that. But it will clear the spaces - so you may find that your interior design aesthetics start shifting and become more refined, more you, as a result of organizing.  

In 2013 Vicki was trained as a consultant in Form School Feng Shui by Dr. Shan-Tung Hsu of the Blue Mountain Institute. This approach to feng shui focuses on the flow of life force energy in a space. It is especially intuitive, practical, and complementary to most home organizing approaches.  

The aspects of feng shui that are evaluated as part of any home organizing project include:

• clutter and cleanliness
• functionality and operability of items in the home
• furniture placement
• the form, flow and feeling of a space
• use of scale
• light and natural elements
• overall balance

Although we do not offer a separate consulting service for this, the method of feng shui practiced by Vicki is seamlessly interwoven into her approach to home organizing.