Streamline Your Move: Tips from a Professional Organizer
Posted by Ryan Renner on Thursday, April 1st, 2021 at 8:27am.
Few people can claim to enjoy the hectic moving process, with all of those pieces of the puzzle jostling around simultaneously… Changing your address. Getting WiFi hooked up. Packing, cleaning, unpacking, then more cleaning. Oftentimes, the organization of a home prior to moving can help make that transition to a new space much more pleasant. To ease that burden and learn more about services offered right here in the Omaha area, we chatted with Lisa Tonjes Moritz from HOPE Organizing. Since 2019, most of the business has tightened its focus on the niche of photo and memorabilia organizing, with some general home and office organizing sprinkled in.
HOPE helps families and businesses organize, preserve, share and celebrate their memories. That includes digital photo organizing, printed photo organizing, memorabilia organizing, preserving, digitizing old photos, and more. Tonjes Moritz even determines the best way to share images with friends and family, based on the particular client. She explained, “We try to research and use many of the ways to share the photos so we can recommend what is best for each client.” It is not a one size fits all approach, with choices like slideshows, photo books, gallery walls, and all types of photo gifts in the mix.
Courtesy of HOPE Organizing
The business woman shared that it’s a great idea to hire a professional, especially before a move, because they don’t have a personal connection to your photos or stuff which allows them to have another perspective. Plus, many things you may be able to do yourself, but an organizer can do it much faster since that’s their entire purpose. Tonjes Moritz explained that the best time to hire someone is when you are ready to get organized, but don’t wait until you are forced to hire someone; you didn’t fill up your house overnight and you can’t declutter an entire house in a day. She added that your time is valuable, stating, “If it is a task that you don’t want to do it may take much more time that you expect and take away time from work or family.”
Courtesy of HOPE Organizing
When asked if she had any organizational tips for those preparing to move, the pro shared the following:
- PURGE – don’t move things that you don’t need or use.
- Create a checklist for everything you need to do. Changing over utilities, changing addresses, scheduling movers, etc. If there are multiple people moving, make sure that everyone has access to the checklist so something doesn’t get missed or done twice.
- When hiring a moving company, get recommendations from family and friends.
- Set up a Moving Tool Kit. A few things to include are markers, labels, bubble wrap, newspaper, packing tape, screwdrivers, box cutters, and basic cleaning supplies.
- Give every room in the new home a number. Create a chart that shows that number. Label each box or bin with the number of the room at the new home. Post that number on the door to each room and/or on the wall within the room, since a number makes it easier for everyone to get on the same page.
- If you have movers doing the packing – pack up anything you know you will need the first week yourself, like the remote for your TV
- For moving day, pack a suitcase like you are going on a trip (a few days of clothes, toiletries, phone charges and one set of sheets for each bed plus a towel for each person). This way anything you NEED you don’t have to find.
Courtesy of HOPE Organizing
Tonjes Moritz summed it up and explained that there are general principles that apply to organizing but there is no one right way to do many things (including organizing). “I always try to find out what is working for a client and that is a big part of the solution I create for a client.” Be sure to follow up with these helpful tips from an organizer extraordinaire to remove some of the friction for your next move.