It’s been awhile since I documented my day as a professional organizer. As always, I wish I could share more details about the clients and the sessions but I need to keep all of that confidential. This post sums up what my day looked like yesterday, enjoy!
6:45am: I start most mornings checking emails on this chaise lounge in our bedroom. You might recognize it from our living room, it used to have a navy cover on it but when we bought new furniture for that room I bought this tan cover. It is a nice spot to snuggle up and read and Chris loves to pile his clothes on it, ha!
Harper is always the first one up in the morning and you can find her wedged between the sliding doors and the curtains hunting for squirrels. She is going to daycare today for a much needed haircut, she smells like the combination of a farm and a tuna can most days so I am really looking forward to a fresh pup.
7:45am: Finish getting ready for work, I am loving this eye shadow palette from Lorac, it is called Unzipped.
8am: Today I have a maintenance session with a regular client to I am bringing bins and products that I know we might need. I always have a stockpile of clear bins and shoe boxes in my store room. This client saw the rocking chair in the photos from my last estate sale so asked me to pull it from the sale so she could buy it.
8:15am: I stopped at Starbucks for my morning coffee. There is a couple that sits outside with their dogs every morning and they totally cracks me up. They bring dog beds for their pups, their own coffee mugs, and based on my extensive Starbucks research they are there every morning between 7:45am and 9:30am. I had to sneak this picture of one of the dogs on a dog bed. I know I am a dog lover and I do crazy things for my dog like send her to daycare but these people kind of cross the line for me, isn’t there a point when you should just buy an espresso machine and stay home?
8:45am: Random rainbow spotting on my way to work…
9am: I arrive at my client’s house and she isn’t home (she was running late after dropping the kids off at school) but these sweethearts happily greet me. My client is a wild and crazy woman and I have been looking forward to this session all week. She loves to move at a fast pace but I have to keep her on task and focused so her energy can be put to good use.
9:15am: My client schedules and appointment with me every 8-12 weeks. We tackle new projects during some sessions and do maintenance during others. Maintenance is just as important as setting up a system and my keeping regular appointments with me she is able to stay ahead of the pile up and save money in the long run.
Today is a maintenance session for her wardrobe/closet and garage. Our last wardrobe session was in December, you might remember seeing the before and afters on my blog. Back in December I set up a system in her closet and we did a small purge but this time around my client was ready to get rid of more. I really pushed her to thin out all of the drawers, shelves, and her closet because I knew it make her life easier and more efficient.
Here is a piece of our conversation while sorting through her pajama drawers…
Me: “When do you where these pjs?”
Client: “Never!”
Me: “Really? Why are you keeping them?”
Client: “Just in case I need to be hospitalized, they are my nicest set.”
Me: “Seriously? If you don’t wear them now why do you think you would want to wear them in the hospital?”
Client: “Good point!”
It is SO important to clean out your closet every season and now is the time to get your closet ready for summer. A tune up will help remind you of what you already have and what items you need to add to your shopping list.
Here is an after shot of the closet, you can see all of the extra hangers lined up on the top shelf and now there is enough room to really move the clothes from side to side. We got rid of 10 bags of clothes, crazy!
12:30pm: We quickly tackled the coat closet and filled up another 2 garbage bags..
1pm: Devin and I organized her garage in December but today she wanted to tune it up. (By the way, did I tell you all that Devin is interning for the San Francisco Giants? So exciting for him!) There were some straggling Christmas decorations that needed to go in bins, luggage that needed to find a home on the shelves, and other misc. tasks.
2:45pm: On my way home from work I had to make my daily stop at my local Post Office. I love the ladies who run the counter, Doris, Jean, and Grace. They are all so friendly and it is more convenient for me to stop in quickly that print off labels and postage at home.
3pm: I got home and unloaded my truck, did I tell you that I have magnets on it now? I figured I should take advantage of the days that Chris drives it to work, the magnets are like little billboards in the Google parking lot.
3:15pm: Lunch! I never take a break for lunch and usually eat a protein bar between sessions in my truck. Because I had one longer session today I was able to make it home to my Greek quinoa salad. I made a big batch earlier this week (sans red onion) and have been enjoying it all week. Most days I am greeted by Harper when I am home but she is at daycare so the house was SO quiet. I really didn’t know how to handle eating without having her try to steal my lunch.
4pm: My Grandma Orr called me and left a message, she thought that I had called her and that I had an emergency (I didn’t call and there are no emergencies right now). She is easily confused so I had to call her back to put her mind at ease. When she answered the phone she asked me if I was coming to visit soon and it just broke my heart, I really miss being able to see her a few times a month. She gave me the updates on all of her friends and her life and slipped the detail that she drove to the nearby town to go to McDonald’s. She is not supposed to leave town with her car but she likes to break the rules, I reminded her that she isn’t supposed to drive out of town but she said she wanted to get her burgers, ha! I asked her to come clean about what she got from McDonald’s and she said she brought home 2 cheeseburgers and a big box of nuggets, oh boy! It was great to chat with her and I wish I could see her soon.
5pm: A perky lady named Summer ( perky is an understatement) stopped by to buy this picnic basket for $30 that was listed on Craigslist. My client will be glad that it is gone!
When I opened the front door to sell the basket I noticed a big box on the doormat. Inside was this cute monogrammed tray, it didn’t have a card or a note saying who sent it but I assume it was my mother in law, she is always sending something fun.
5:15pm-6:15pm: Start laundry and clean up around the house. I bought this coffee table for our living room last week at Salvation Army. It was a deal, only $24.50 and the glass pops out so I can easily freshin it up with some paint.
I was originally thinking that it should be the same orange color that is in the pillows but now I am thinking of a distressed beige or grey blue. We’ll see. By the way, how do you like the new living room? We bought a leather sofa and a cute swivel rocker, it needs some accessories but it is getting there.
6:30pm: The beauty queen (and Chris) are home for the day. Harper looks much better and she knows it, every time she gets a cut she prances around the house.
7pm: Nothing fancy for dinner tonight! I was going to make gulash but poached eggs on toast sounded better.
Another day in the life, thanks for letting me share it and I will see you again on Monday, happy organizing!
April was in CT now CA says
What a great post! You have my dream job, if only I were better at it. LOL Thanks for sharing.
Pam says
Good buy on the table. It looks like it is a pretty good size for your room.
Mark and Ashlie says
Poached eggs on toast…Mark and I just had that last week. Audrey is hooked on them too! Yum!
Classic Hymns says
Great job on that closet! Very inspiring!