Services
Janine offers several types of services:
Personal consultations
If you know that your life isn’t as organized as you’d like it to be, but you don’t know how to go about changing that, Janine can help with a personal consultation, known as an Eyes of a Stranger™ needs assessment. During the consultation, you and she will walk through your house, discuss what’s working (and what’s not working), talk about what’s bothering you and why, see what equipment and supplies you have and what you might need to buy and, most importantly, identify where you want to go with your organizing—and how to get there.
At the end of this session (which takes up to three hours), Janine will create for you a personalized plan of action to achieve your goals, complete with a prioritized project list, a task list for each of the projects, and a shopping list. She’ll leave you with a 24-page booklet that contains, in addition to your plan of action, a variety of handouts on common organizing challenges.
Janine is a licensed consultant for the Eyes of a Stranger Method™ of client needs assessments and has learned from one of the best, Kathy Waddill, author of The Organizing Sourcebook and creator of the Eyes of a Stranger Method™. Kathy created the handouts in the booklet that Janine will leave with you and has trained Janine (and many other professional organizers) to use them effectively.
You can take your Eyes of a Stranger™ plan of action and implement it yourself, or get family or friends to help you. Or you can hire Janine to help you turn the plan into a reality through her hands-on organizing services.
Hands-on organizing services
If you already know exactly what you need to do (or if Janine’s already done a needs assessment for you), Janine can come to your home and help you get organized. She’ll work side-by-side with you (or, in rare cases, on her own) to help give you the peace of mind that goes along with having an ordered home.
Often the first step is decluttering (sorting your belongings and deciding what to let go), though your situation might be different. At the end of your first session, you and Janine will decide whether you want another session and when it will be. Janine will make return visits to your home as many times as it takes to complete the job, or until you feel that you can finish on your own. Janine is also available for occasional or regularly scheduled maintenance visits, should that fit your needs.
During the month following any visit, you will have unlimited email access to Janine, in case you have any questions or concerns.
A team approach
If your clutter has accumulated to an overwhelming level, or if you have time constraints (such as an impending move) that make speedy deluttering a priority, Janine can put together a team of top-notch organizers to work with you to complete the job quickly. While this is not an inexpensive approach, if you’re able to make decisions quickly without feeling too overwhelmed, it can provide much faster results.
It’s important to note that excessive clutter is often a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself. If the root problem isn’t addressed (whether it’s a tendency to over-acquire objects or an inability to let go of things or a combination of both), a quick decluttering will be only a temporary solution.
As president of the St. Louis chapter of the National Association of Organizers, Janine is acquainted with most of the area’s professional organizers. She can put together a cheerful, nonjudgmental and, of course, well-organized team that works well together. She’ll supervise them to minimize the stress on you.
Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are available for an Eyes of a Stranger™ needs assessment or for hands-on organizing (minimum of three hours). Please be sure that the person you wish to give the gift certificate to is open to working with a professional organizer. Janine can’t help if the client doesn’t want to be helped!