I first learned about Straighten-Up Organizing when Nancy Rothwell spoke at our annual employee training day as one of our break out session speakers. It was the first time I had heard about a person who would come to your home to help organize and assist with making decisions on what to keep, donate, or toss.
My first husband passed away four years ago; I was still struggling with what to do with his things. Also, I recently remarried and had a lot of new gifts to organize in my home. In addition, I have a stamp and scrap book collection that will fill up one room when the organizing project is done. And I honestly had a lot of “stuff” that had accumulated over 20 years of living in the same home. When Nancy came to my house all this stuff was jam-packed in three rooms.
Nancy started digging right in as soon as she arrived at my home. I felt very comfortable working with her. I was really overwhelmed and had no idea where to start. It was literally one pile at a time. We worked in three rooms (not all at once) and methodically sorted through stuff in each room, one piece at a time. With Nancy’s help, I either placed the item in the trash, donated it, or put the item in a book pile, photograph pile, memento box, or stamp pile. We really got a lot done that day. Nancy was kind enough to take the (donation items) with her. She filled up the back seat and trunk of her car; we also filled up a large garbage bin! Nancy gave me hope for my home! Although, there is still work to be done, I have a clearer vision of (my belonging) and the space available in my home to store things. Nancy also helped me realize that organizing takes a lot of time and, if you go about it one piece at a time, you can make a great deal of progress. She gave me recommendations on bin sizes, labeling, etc. I am looking forward to her returning for more organizing sessions. Nancy Rothwell has a great service. I highly recommend her.” -Mary from Roberts, WI
Nancy, thank you so much for helping me organize my home. Before you first arrived, my husband said, “Why do you need her to come?” Then he found his answer when he came home that night. Out of chaos came order. Through numerous visits, our garage, basement, bedrooms, and home are now organized.
We can find anything and everything we need in our files within a 20-second search. Imagine the shock on my husband’s face the first time he asked for something, and I was able to give it to him (immediately). And, if it takes me a while, he’ll says, “When is Nancy coming?” Recently, Nancy helped set up our files based on a working file system and a storage file system. The working file system helped me accomplish and/or delegate tasks over the next 12 months. Well, I never took the time to follow through with this system. About six months later Nancy was back because our papers were once again in piles. She fixed it and changed the system to better “fit” me by putting them into weekly files within the months. Well, soon she was back to, once again, take care of our paper piles. Again, she fixed it and reiterated the importance of this weekly and monthly task file.
Guess what? I finally gave it a try and she was right! Thanks to Straighten-Up Organizing, I do not have piles on my desk, and I am working on the “week two” file with week one completely empty! I wish I would have listened the first couple of times Nancy fixed the files. Sometimes it takes an “outsider” to (look at things differently and) help one overcome difficulties in life. That is why I needed a personal organizer. Thank you so much for your time, patience, and lack-of-nagging policy. Persistence is the key! -Corinne from Eau Claire, WI
I am a person who has tried to be organized for many years. Before I hired Straighten-Up Organizing, I didn’t realize that I was suffering from the “yo-yo organizing syndrome”. My syndrome wasn’t caused by lack of motivation. My desire has always been to create an organized and relaxed environment for my family. Over the years I have bought tons of books, clipped magazine articles, and browsed through organizing catalogs, searching for the perfect answer to my war against clutter! I have spent countless dollars on calendars, bins, baskets, sorters, cubby systems, hooks, files, folders and other devices, with excitement and fervor! I have tried, on my own, to become more organized; but somehow, I never seem to feel finished or successful.
Nancy has taught me that I need to learn how to organize with a system and process that makes sense to me. The more I feel comfortable with a system that fits my personality and lifestyle, the easier it is to teach my family.
The scariest, and perhaps the hardest, step I made in the pursuit of organizing my home was making that first phone call. (The second step was) letting a complete stranger into my house to unearth the years of (overflowing) baskets that were hidden in the black holes of my closets. I was surprised by how many duplicates of things I had accrued! To my relief, Nancy was a very non-judgmental professional. Nothing scares or intimidates her! However, if you are fairly satisfied with your organization, perhaps Nancy has some ideas to improve your skills or systems. She specializes in time management if you need more hours in your day.
Each time that I have Nancy come to my home, I feel relieved and hopeful that, with small changes and consistency, I will create a home that radiates a sense of stability and peace. -Karen from Eau Claire, WI
The world is filled with confusion and hurriedness today. The last thing I want to do when I come home from a long day is to look at piles of papers, dishes, and other things I thought I’d decluttered—but really didn’t. The kids can’t find this item. . . my husband calls looking for that object. . . then, I can’t find what I’m looking for either! The worst thing about this scenario is that sometimes we don’t realize (or accept) that we are disorganized! Many times I’ve spent more money than necessary by purchasing an item I already had but just couldn’t find. One day I was looking through an advertisement and saw an ad for Straighten-Up Organizing. I thought “how refreshing this would be to have someone come into my house and help me.” So, I called her and just talked about my “stuff”. She was so gracious on the phone, asking me simple things like: Do you have a labeler? Have you studied your laundry room? How does your bathroom linen closet look? Do you have a lot of dishes you don’t use?
Those questions got me thinking more. So, as a gift to myself, and a secret to my husband, I took a chance and challenged her! The end result was a breath of fresh air. Not only did she literally roll up her sleeves and dig in, the most wonderful part is that she hauled away all unwanted items! I sat down that evening grinning from ear to ear! My family thought I was a real star! What’s better than that? And interestingly enough, I have never missed the items that left my house! -Tami from Colfax, WI
Top 10 Reasons Why I Decided to Hire a Professional Organizer:
1. I was programmed to save everything, just in case I needed it later. (That way of thinking turned our basement into a dumping ground for anything with an immediate use.)
2. The 1000+ square feet of storage was overwhelming. My husband and I had paths through the basement so we could access our freezer, washer, and dryer.
3. We were unable to find anything when we needed it. So we purchased “replacements” for those items.
4. After watching many organizing programs on HGTV, we often dreamed of someone coming to our house and performing a miracle with the piles of junk we had accumulated over 10 years.
5. We attempted to organize our belongings but didn’t know where to begin. We tried to store things in cardboard boxes that were overflowing.
6. Finding the time to go through everything was difficult. As the storage problem grew, the project became unachievable.
7. I was ready to admit I needed professional help. If people on the TV shows could do it, so could we. We picked the biggest problem area as a starting point in our house.
8. The disorganization added a lot of undue stress to our lives and marriage. I felt that I wasn’t doing my job as a homemaker, in addition to my 50-hour per week job, two-hour per day commute, and three young children. I blamed my husband for being a pack rat, (even though) I was part of the problem, too.
9. The children were growing; we decided that we either had to add on to our house or change the current set-up to allow for the additional living space we all craved. Since we didn’t have the funds for a major renovation, we decided that the only practical solution was to get organized!
10. Looking back at our accomplishment, this project was well worth it. The process is not done, but we set a goal and tackle it in stages.
Thanks to Straighten-Up Organizing and Nancy, we have been able to use the organization concept in many other areas of our family life. It was a very positive experience and the cost was within the price range I originally had in mind. We filled two roll-off dumpsters with trash, the back of a full-size truck with cardboard (to be recycled) and took two mini-van loads to Goodwill (a tax write-off). There are times I might not be able to find something even now, but at least I have a fighting chance to locate it by looking at labels on plastic totes that have been put in the proper storage location. -Rachel from Whitehall, WI
I have several psychiatric diagnoses that most people would be hesitant to admit in public. But, like Tipper Gore, I felt it important to bring mental health issues out in the open and give them proper respect and, hopefully, treatment. One of my problems was Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I never knew I had it before, although there were a few hints. My house was one of them!
In my early married years, I kept a pretty clean and organized home; we were just starting out and hadn’t accumulated many possessions yet. But, as the years progressed, I didn’t “downsize” my possessions. That in itself wouldn’t have been a problem to most people! Others would simply have a thrift sale or (donate their things). Well, I am also obsessive-compulsive with hoarding tendencies inherited from my dear mother; this only exacerbated the problem, year after year after year! I just couldn’t bear to part with anything!
In addition to those problems was a demanding job which took up to 80 hours a week for about 15 years. I literally became awash in a sea of clutter! My home was cluttered, my mind was cluttered, and my life was cluttered! Enter Straighten-Up Organizing and Nancy Rothwell. She never backed down from the challenge; amazingly, she figured out a plan right from the start and knew what to do to help me!
I was nearly in tears with gratitude that there was actually help available for me. Nancy had such confidence and was so professional at everything she did. . . I couldn’t help but call her my hero!
She became my “mentor” of sorts, as she’d teach me ways to organize my home. Nancy is ever patient with me; she is always coming up with custom-made ideas and methods to help me organize whatever needs to be organized. If something doesn’t work, then we try something else! We just keep trying until we find the right fit for my personality! Nancy is the most amazing woman I have ever met!
I needed a professional organizer because my life was falling apart; Straighten-Up Organizing and Nancy put it back together! I think she is the best! -Danica from Eleva, WI
I lost control of my house. This sentence could be the end of my story, but lucky it is not. A friend of mine gifted me time with Nancy. What an AMAZING gift this was and still is, as I have been keeping up my organization skills I learned from Nancy. You seriously could not walk in my basement. I learned so much about what I really did not need to keep in my life. Time with Nancy is unexplainable, it’s productive, and it is life changing. She will stay by your side every second and ask you to make decisions about every piece of everything you have. In our adventures together we found old floppy discs, seriously who still has/had those? Me. We found gift cards to restaurants that I never used, she will teach you how to not receive all of that junk mail, she will find a place for every useful thing in your home, and so much more. The best part is that I now consider her a good friend of mine, some one I trust! -Jill C. from Eau Claire, WI
First, and foremost, I am a full-time professional, a mother, a wife, and a friend to many relationships which I cherish! I want to spend the majority of my time nurturing and devoting time to these relationships. I do not want all of my spare time, which is limited and valuable, to be spent on projects like (organizing). But, they are critical for my piece of mind and for running a nice home environment. I am very capable of organizing, but my problem was that I found the whole task very overwhelming (i.e. garage, basement, my husband’s office, my daughter’s room, and my closet). I didn’t know where to start!! Items were on my “to do” list for literally years. I would get stressed out looking at the mess and chaos. It was worth every penny to have Nancy come and devote the time and ideas to get these things done in a timely fashion. The support of having a block of time devoted to tackling these areas, enhanced with her ideas for eliminating clutter, was amazing! Now, after completing my laundry room, entire basement area, and garage, I want to hire Straighten-Up Organizing for more jobs!!
Although I consider myself an organized person, there are always those areas that I just do not like to work on; the “junk drawer,” closet, storage room, garage…small or large, Nancy comes in, gets me focused, productive and makes the process fun! She is filled with create ideas and solutions to deal with my clutter. It is truly amazing how much can get accomplished in a few short hours. Her positive energy is contagious! -Dana S. from Eau Claire, WI
Nancy is great to work with! She helped me de-clutter my home in preparation of putting our house on the market to sell. She was easy to work with and made the process stress free and fun. She also gave me great ideas that I can use now and in the future. -Emily M. from Eau C