Trees are budding just as many in the Spokane area are holing up at home due to coronavirus concerns. If there was any time for spring cleaning and organizing, it’s now. For those overwhelmed by the clutter, Cindy Vanhoff offers support and solutions through her Spokane Valley-based organizing business, Reclaimed Spaces LLC. 

The Journal spoke to Vanhoff (via telephone to preserve social distance) to find out what a professional organizer actually does, common problems she sees, and the missing piece in Marie Kondo’s organizing style. 

Journal: How did you get into organizing as a business?

Vanhoff: We moved to Spokane, and I had worked for a corporation for many years and didn’t love the way they ran things. I decided I wanted to run my own business. At that point in time, I think there were some shows on TV that were about organizing. I was like, Oh my gosh, I can so do that. I went to a class in Portland, and we did some hands-on organizing. I loved it, and the gal that taught the class said, “You were meant to do this.” That was in 2006. I’ve always loved routines. I did drafting for 10 years, so that was basically space planning and fitting things in places. I guess I’ve always liked puzzles.

When you first started, was there anything that surprised you? 

As far as working with people, nobody was overwhelming. What surprised me was how hard running a business is. The organizing part was easy, it was running the business that was the harder part for me. Being productive with my time. When you go to a job, you have set things to do and a certain amount of time to do them in, and I struggled with that, working for myself, because I’m not a very good boss. I didn’t realize how time-consuming it was.

Do you have a particular area of expertise?

It’s changed over the years. I started out working with small businesses, not just getting the business organized, but the people in the business. I transitioned from that and started working more in homes with some of my business clients. Kitchens are my specialty, but I can organize anything.

What kind of folks hire a professional organizer? Is there a specific demographic? 

It’s mostly women, although I do work with men. The average is between 35 and 55. A lot of people I work with were children of Depression-era parents, so they have learned to save everything. 

Do you ever work with hoarders? 

I don’t. I did the show ‘Hoarders,’ actually. That was quite an eye-opener. I did it for the experience. I had already known that I didn’t want to work with the hoarding community, just because it’s very specialized, and you almost need a master’s program to be able to work effectively with people who are hoarders.

What happens when someone hires you for an organizing session? 

We talk about what’s going on, so I know if I can help the person or not. Sometimes, I’ll get a phone call from a hoarder, then I’ll redirect them to try to find them some help in the community.

We make an appointment for an assessment. Basically, an assessment involves me going to their space, and having them give me a tour. Sometimes, they know exactly what they want to work on, and sometimes, they have no idea because it’s everywhere.

I get a feel for what works for them, what’s not working for them. We start working on either the part that they have picked in their space, or something that I have chosen that I think would be the best place to start. We work in at least three-hour increments … that’s my minimum session that I’ll work with people. Then I give very specific homework for the area that we’re working in.

A lot of people will get sidetracked and take something to another room and start working in that room. I give them a list of things to do until we meet again. The next time we meet, if they haven’t done that, then we go ahead and do that. It’s important to stay focused on the area that we’re working in. We do that until we’ve completed that project. I like people to take a little break between projects, just because it’s tiring, emotionally and physically.

I always suggest that they do a little celebration after each session and a bigger one when the project is done. I had one client I worked with for a long time, and on our last session, she had rewarded herself with new carpet, new drapes. She redid her whole front room because we had spent a lot of time in there, and that was her reward to herself.

What’s your price range? 

I have package pricing. The more hours you spend with me, the less per hour it’s going to come to. Part of the assessment, is figuring out how many hours I think we’ll need together. It starts at $75 an hour. The more you purchase, the less it is per hour. The $75 per hour involves the time I spend with them, and then, if there’s some organizing things that I think they could use, I’ll research those for them. I also will drop off their things at donation centers — not large items, but bags and boxes of stuff I’ll take to donate for them so they don’t have to deal with it.

What’s the most common issue that you come across? 

A common issue is not having a place for everything, and everything not being in its place. The common problem is that people don’t have a place specified for certain things, so it gets shoved in a cupboard or left on the floor.

The other common problem is having other people in your house. Everybody has a different organizing style, and some have none at all. When one person is well-organized, it’s frustrating when somebody else is not.

What misconceptions do people tend to have about professional organizing?

A huge misconception is that I’m going to make them get rid of a lot of their stuff. That’s just not true. For one, I can’t make anybody do anything; it’s always their choice. My goal is to educate people on why they have stuff and ways to deal with the stuff they have, and maybe let go of some of it. (Another misconception) is that I will judge them for their disorganization. I don’t, because I grew up in disorganization. I get it, I’ve seen it, I’ve lived it, and I know pretty much how they feel.

What’s a current trend in the organizing world?

Marie Kondo. The current trend, I think, is to get rid of everything but not necessarily have a plan in place to not have to do a huge declutter again. I sometimes think that we do this huge purge, and then a year later we have to do it again because we haven’t learned how to maintain or not buy. With the Marie Kondo thing, it’s a lot of decluttering — and I totally get that. That’s definitely the first step in getting organized, but then how do you stay that way? Systems are really important, and routines are important. One thing I require is that you don’t buy anything while we’re working together.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.