Cost of Organizing

In a quick survey I took this week, one of the reasons people gave for hesitating to bring in an organizer to help them was the cost.

Costs for organizers can run anywhere from $50-$200 per hour. That may seem like a lot at first glance, but it really depends on how you look at it.

I did a previous post on the Cost of Disorganization that looked at how much disorganization can cost you in wasted time - even an hour a day if you make $50/hr can cost you in the neighborhood of $12,500 per year. So even if you need a couple of days with an organizer, what's a couple of hundred dollars or even a few thousand if you really need it, if it can save you that several or perhaps many times over in just a year?

There are other costs as well if you don't get organized. Too much to do and not being organized about it can make life very stressful. That impacts a lot of things in our lives. Studies have shown that when you get too busy and too stressed your productivity diminishes - you don't have the energy to do the job quickly and well. Relationships suffer, and stress just piles upon more stress.

Part of the cost of bringing in an organizer might be an emotional one - having to admit to yourself that you need help with this. That can feel embarrassing because this is one of those things that we think we should be able to do ourselves.

But why should we think that? We don't hesitate to bring in help for our bookkeeping or technical stuff, or all kinds of other things, do we? So why not this?

Besides, any good organizer will understand that there are all kinds of reasons why we get disorganized and they will work with you. And most organizers really enjoy what they do, so why not let them do for you what you're not enjoying or getting done yourself?