Frequently Asked Questions

We help people get control of their stressful living and working spaces, such as closets, kitchens, garages and home offices.

Sometimes we work independently if that is more convenient for the client, but most of the time we work alongside the client to teach and encourage as we make progress.

• How we work with spaces

  For SpaceScaping® Services, we come prepared with our normal tools and supplies. Usually you won't need to purchase supplies in advance, but if you do, we'll guide you in getting the right items before we arrive. We tour the home and assess the situation to make sure we understand how the space is used and by whom, and we quickly outline a plan to move forward. After identifying the highest priority areas, we then work with you hands-on to sort and make decisions about your items and find the most efficient ways to dispose of, store, or use them.

  We may recommend products, such as bins or shelving units, that you can purchase on your own to improve the space, or you can have us do the shopping and install the products for you. We leave you with useful handouts and resources to reinforce what we've taught you during our work together, and in some cases we'll give you assignments to work on before our next appointment.

• How we work with time, data, and paper

  For services related to Time, Data, and Paper, we will first go over our 15-point Personal Productivity Plan assessment. We help you decide what calendar, task list, and other options are best for your situation. We often use Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger® software for managing files, and we will go through the piles on your desk (and floor!) and make a system that will work for you.

  Call us if you have any questions about how we would approach your projects. We're happy to help you find out if our services are right for you, and if we're not the best solution, we'll help point you in the right direction.

Our work can indeed be very personal in nature. All of our work is done in a patient, nonjudgmental, and respectful manner. We will hold all client information, business or personal, written or verbal, in confidence. LivingOrder conforms to the written Code of Ethics for members of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers). Our Service Agreement also contains a confidentiality clause for your protection.

You can expect to pay about the same rate for an organizer as you would for an interior designer, personal trainer, image consultant, or other similar service professionals. We work by the hour, with different rates for residential and commercial work. Please call to discuss your situation and we will be happy to quote you our rates.

While hiring a professional organizer is definitely not for everyone, we can usually help people with a variety of budgets. Even if you only work with us for one session, you'll find that being organized is an investment in yourself that pays huge dividends of decreased stress and time savings. Our innovative online program, The Clutter Diet, may be a perfect match if you are on a budget—give it a try and see what you think!

We have a 2-hour minimum appointment time for all work done on-site, but for your initial appointment we highly recommend 3-4 hours minimally so that we have time to provide strong visible results for you that first day. Payment is due at the time of service. We accept personal and business checks, all major credit cards, and Paypal.

Please call us at 512-301-2426 (Austin) or 210-892-4990 (San Antonio) for additional details, or contact us using our convenient form.

We can usually give you a "ballpark" estimate based on our experience, but it is generally quite difficult to give estimates in our industry since every situation is so different. There are many factors impacting how long it will take:

• How quickly you can make decisions.
• How long you can work without distractions or interruptions.
• How much time you or your assistant can devote to the project.
• How well you follow-up on your assignments.
• How long the disorganization has been going on and why.
• What may be uncovered during our work that impacts the scope, direction, or progress of the project.
• How large the space is and the volume and complexity of items you have.
• How easily and quickly you can learn to use new systems and establish better habits.

Call us and we'll be happy to talk through your situation to find out if we are right for you. If not, we'll help to point you in the right direction.

Homeowners who want to:

• Reduce stress by organizing problem areas in their homes such as closets, kitchens, garages, and home offices.
• Save time by setting up systems for better household management of functions such as filing, purchasing, laundry, and family communications.

SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) business owners who want to:

• Set up an effective filing system and manage their actionable papers.
• Identify ways to improve efficiency and personal productivity.

Anyone who:

• Is going through a major life transition such as relocation, marriage, a new baby, promotion, or retirement and needs help organizing to adapt systems to get back to normal.
• Wants to make better decisions about their time, information and belongings.
• Wants to save time and get more done.

When your files are indexed with Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger® system, it's like having an internet search engine for your file drawer. You can think of a keyword and enter it in the search window, and the database tells you exactly where the physical file is located. It's that simple. People who start using the Paper Tiger say it's kind of like using a word processor after you've used a manual typewriter—once you file with this method, you will never want to go back to filing the old way. Taming the Paper Tiger also works very well for indexing many physical items, including books, binders, and CDs.

No, the Taming the Paper Tiger software will generate a File Index report for you to print and keep handy. This quick reference report can be refreshed as often as you wish and provides an alphabetical listing of what's in your files.

No, there is no scanning with the Taming the Paper Tiger software. It was created for organizing and indexing paper and other physical items.

The software does interface with Google Desktop®, allowing you to search your electronic files from within Paper Tiger. We, however, prefer other tools for indexing electronic files. Call us for details.

Yes. Taming the Paper Tiger can be networked on Windows-based systems. It's a very powerful way to share and manage information with multiple users.

Taming the Paper Tiger software is a PC application, but we have found that it can be successfully installed on Windows XP on a new dual-platform Mac. We do not recommend using Virtual PC on a traditional Mac configuration.

Intel Pentium or equivalent, Windows 95/98/ME or Windows NT/2000 SP2/XP, 64 MB of ram (128 MB recommended), 30 MB hard drive space for installation files, VGA or higher monitor, CD-ROM, sound card and speakers (required to hear tutorial).

We keep an inventory of Paper Tiger and will be happy to sell it to you. We will e-mail you an invoice from which you can click to pay online, and we will ship out your software as soon as payment is received. Call us to order at 512-301-2426.

Technical support for Paper Tiger software is available by phone during normal business hours at 770-446-9090.