11 Things Pro Organizers Say NEVER to Do

Everyone has their way of organizing, both in their personal lives and their professional ones. This is especially true of creatives, like home interiors experts. For example, pro organizers have their unique processes and style preferences; the finished methodology will always reflect a client’s taste and make sense for how they move through everyday lifes, but that doesn’t mean the road to getting there won’t be a little rocky, especially if the pet peeves that drive pro organizers crazy come up along the way.

In the name of professionalism, experts tend to hold back when an organizational system or client behavior rubs them the wrong way, but we asked six professional organizers to share the pet peeves that silently irritate them to no end. From how a client behaves to unorganized chaos that needs a complete overhaul, we break down their biggest eye-rolls below.

The Idea That Shopping Is The Answer

Read that again. Put the credit card down. According to Elena Navarro, professional organizer at Sparkly Maid Austin, buying bins and containers will not solve your clutter issue. "You cannot shop your way to an organized home," Navarro stresses, noting she's seen it all: Fancy storage, cutesy labels - the intention is there, but so is all the stuff. "The clutter is there—it has just been hidden better."

Procrastinating Pile Clean-Up

How many times have you dropped yet another thing on the catch-all table or sofa chair and thought to yourself, "I'll get to that," but never actually did? Navarro's golden rule is that if it's been sitting for six months, it's a pile, not a project, and it needs to be taken care of ASAP. "I’m not judging anybody for their life getting busy," Navarro clarifies. However, when we act like clutter is temporary, she says, "we hinder ourselves from making real change."

Junk Drawers Galore

Another major pet peeve of Navarro's? The dreaded junk drawer. It's one thing to have a drunk jawer, maybe two, but if there's one in every room—the kitchen, the living room, in your home office—"I start twitching."

When Decluttering Comes Second

According to Gerrit Jan Reinders, a storage organization expert and CEO and founder of BOXIE24, organizing before going through what you have and getting rid of what no longer serves you is a mistake—one, he says, that really gets under his skin. "You just end up with neatly arranged clutter," Reinders says of his pet peeve. "The important first step is always to sort through everything, and then consider storage solutions.”

The "Just In Case" Collection

Reinders urges homeowners not to fall victim to this kind of "just in case" behavior that involves hanging onto every little thing on the off-chance you'll (eventually) need it. If something hasn't been touched in years or, more specifically, used in the last 12 months, Reinders says, definitively, "you probably don’t need it.”

Close-Minded Clients

It’s natural for people to have different tastes, but bringing in a designer and proceeding to ignore their advice is the founder and principal designer of Liz Williams Interiors, Liz Williams's biggest pet peeve. This is more than understandable; if you hire a designer, the least you can do is be open to their ideas - after all, they’re the experts with years of experience and a trained eye. Williams’s rule of thumb: “Trust the process, stay open, and you’ll probably end up with something better than you ever imagined.”

The Keepsake vs Clutter Debate

Most of us have probably kept items well beyond their shelf life because of sentimental value, but Reinders would like to gently remind us that keeping something solely for its memories doesn't serve you. "There is a wide difference between keepsakes and clutter disguised as sentiment," he says. Learn the difference, and declutter accordingly.

 

An "I Can't" Mentality

You can—that's why you hired an organizer in the first place. Professional organizer Barbara Brock, founder & CEO of Barbara Brock Inc., says too often she's worked with clients who said they can't do something, when, in reality, they could (and eventually did). "A client who refuses to purchase a suggested organizing bin or box, which will make their space run more efficiently, or a client says they can’t afford to do organizing, even if they are given options to pay overtime, or organize in chunks of time" are just two examples of this, says Brock. "It's their attitude that holds them back."

 

Plastic Bag Pile Ups

Consider this a PSA from Bereika: Plastic bags from the grocery store are not organizational solutions. "The bags aren’t clear, so you can’t see what's inside, and items just get forgotten," Bereika says - not to mention, she adds, they look messy. "When I see bags like this in a client's home, I am eager to go through them!

 

Plastic Drawer Organizers

These types of bins, often found in craft rooms and garages, are the bane of certified professional organizer and owner of Sara Jane Organizing, Sara Bereika's existence. "I can certainly see their appeal; they provide a quick and inexpensive fix when organizing items and keeping them accessible. However, they rarely hold up to the task," Bereika explains, citing their poor durability as the main issue. "I would much rather see a client spend a few extra dollars to buy a wood or metal solution, or avoid the quick fix altogether, and consider the bigger picture when organizing."

 

Scheduling Conflicts With Your Cleaners

Scheduling your house cleaner and organizer on the same day is a major faux pas because cleaners and organizers do the opposite work of each other. "[Organizers] are taking things apart and making a mess before putting them back together. Cleaners are tidying and cleaning," explains Meghan Cocchiaro, founder and lead organizer of Organized by Meg. Ergo, this is Cocchiaro's biggest pet peeve, and ignites a domino effect of irritation. "The cleaners get frustrated with us, and I get frustrated with the client," she says. Fair.

 

Kids and Pets Abound

Listen, we get it: Childcare is expensive and often hard to find, and sometimes pets don't do well in a cage or blocked off in a room. However, when children and/or animals are roaming free in the space you've hired a pro organizer to tackle, Cocchiaro warns people, pets, food, ladders, and fragile items coexisting in one area can become a hazard. It's also distracting, Cocchiaro adds, and can mess with the process.