marie,
I used to blame other people for the clutter all the time, too, and made the same dismaying discovery you did.
Oh, and wtbh, heh, glad I was able to step off the pedestal you had me on. We ALL have our personal challenges. Part of my own problem, I think, is that I get very judgmental with myself and have these battles in my head with one side yelling at me (parent-style) that I am being lazy and irresponsible, while the other side acts like a petulant teenager refusing to do what I *should* do. Instead, I need to think of keeping a nice place to live as something I am doing for ME, so I will have a nice space. Hard to make that brain-shift, though.
Anyway, I just got off the phone from my consultation with the organizer, Danielle. She sounds great--she's been doing this stuff since 2001, and focuses on working in women's homes. She also admitted that she has hired organizers, herself, mostly to deal with her computer files and photographs. We have our first appointment set for July 2 (4 hours) and also scheduled a second one for July 16. Her rate is $60 an hour (which I consider to be completely reasonable) plus a small fuel charge because she travels 47 minutes each way to my house (she is in PA). She has 14 reviews on Angie's List (more than most professionals), and all but one of them A's (the other one was a B)--and ZERO complaints. Her clients went on at some length about what a terrific help she was. As a bonus, she has connections with various thrift stores, etc., and will take donations and bring back receipts! She has a very nice, encouraging manner and I feel like I will be in good hands.
I once had a secretary who was the best organizer I ever ran across in my life. I told her that she should consider doing it professionally (though she might be too much of a germophobe to deal with challenges like MY house!
)
She is emailing me her agreement. I feel like I am doing the right thing.