When you're faced with a home full of inherited belongings—or trying to help a loved one downsize—it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But just because it feels heavy doesn’t mean you have to carry it alone.
In this episode of Organize & Cherish, Stephanie breaks down the different types of support available to help during emotional and logistical organizing challenges. Rather than just listing resources, she offers a thoughtful guide for knowing what kind of help is right for each stage—from emotional decision-making to hands-on sorting and specialized services.
Whether you're sorting through generations of family items or supporting someone else who is, this episode is a compassionate reminder that the right help makes all the difference.
In This Episode, We Talk About:
- The three types of support you might need (emotional, logistical, and specialized)
- How to match the right kind of help to your current situation
- Why asking for help is a strength, not a shortcoming, especially in the sandwich generation
Mentioned in This Episode:
- A breakdown of support roles: organizers, therapists, appraisers, and more
- Common mistakes people make when trying to “go it alone”
- Where to find reputable help when you're ready to ask for support
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Review Transcript:
Hey everyone. Welcome to this week's episode here at Organize and Cherish. This week we are talking about where to get help when you need it. And I don't mean the like just professional organizers because if you're listening to this, you already know that that's what I do. So I'm not trying to pitch to hire me and or professional organizers.
This is more about narrowing down three types of help that you might be needing so that when you're asking. For help, you can start narrowing it down because sometimes I've seen the post and I've seen the, and I've heard the calls, and I've been around many of you, and you'll say, I need help, but I don't know.
I don't know what I need. And so that delays the process because then you feel overwhelmed. So this episode is about, let me help you narrow down the three types of help that you might need. Why you need it. And then from there we can do other episodes and hopefully, at least here, you can get a base of what type of help you might be needing for either yourself and or a loved one in this decluttering and downsizing journey.
That's what this episode is all about. I'm so excited. Let's get to it.
Welcome to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the Organized Flamingo. I am your host Stephanie, your compassionate and deficient professional organizer. Whether you are part of the sandwich generation helping a loved one declutter, or just trying to simplify life, this is the place for you. Together we will tackle those overwhelming piles of stuff, uncover purpose in what we keep, and let go with dignity and care, because it's not just about throwing everything away, it's about respecting memories and simplifying life.
Sound like a plan? Let's jump in and get organized. Okay, so before I uh, get into the episode, I just wanna give you a heads up that I am actually recording this right now at a hotel room. I am at the NAPAL 2025 Conference, which is a National Association of Productivity and Organizing professionals. It's the association that I have chosen to belong to, and I'm a certified professional organizer with na o.
So if you see those credentials, that's who I've been. With, and maybe I'll, I'll do an episode on, on why I chose this association so that if you're a listener that is either interested as to like, what does it mean to be A CPO, or how can you help me when you're A CPO? I can talk about that in a separate episode.
Or maybe you're a pro organizer or fellow industry person wondering what NPO is all about. So I'm not being paid by them to say this at all. It's just more when people give me acronyms, I know, I always want to know, okay, well what does that mean and what does that mean for me? So I thought, you know, I, I would do a little bit more of an explanation.
So anyway, okay, so I'm in the industry, the Industries conference that I belong to here, I. As you can imagine, the ideas are flowing because I am surrounded by my people, my industry, people like the people that speak my language. We see the same type of clients. We have very similar personalities. We have chosen to do this as a profession, so we have a lot of similarities and some of us are also very different.
And so this topic, I had already planned on doing this topic for you, but I. I decided to move it up because as I'm talking to all of these other fellow professional organizers, I'm noticing trends, and I'm noticing that many of us right now are going through something very similar, which is there's all these amazing resources like us, like yes, professional organizers, but sometimes people don't know that there's different types of pro organizers or there's niches, or that they may not even need a professional organizer at all, especially if they are living with hoarding tendencies or.
You know, OCD or something similar to that. So I thought, let me talk about that today in hopes that this will help you figure out and start thinking about the type of help that you need. So when you are asking for help or looking for services, you can articulate where you are and what type of help you might need to start getting action on your plans.
Because when you just say, I need help. And then you get a bombardment of recommendations and maybe you need this and maybe you need that, and it's like becomes more overwhelming than what you started off with and you won't take any action. So my hope here is that we can narrow it down. I'm gonna give you the three types of help that you might need, and then we can go from there.
Okay. So the first type of help that you might need is emotional support and decision making. Sometimes you just need someone who can sit there with you in the hard emotions. Someone to maybe say, Hey, it's okay to let this go, or Tell me why this feels hard. Or maybe just be there as a body double and listen to the side commentary that may come up as you encounter and uncover memories related to the stuff that you're organizing and decluttering.
So this is someone who's probably a trusted friend, maybe a family member with good listening skills, someone else that you might need under this. Type of support. If this is relatable, then you might need a therapist or a mental health practitioner, especially one who understands grief, caregiving, or life transitions.
It's very important, not just any therapist, but one specific that can help you through a process. If you're grieving, if you're, you know, you, you haven't un unboxed these spaces and these boxes because there's a lot of emotion tied to it. A support group is great for this as well. If you don't have a family member or a friend with good listening skills, or you don't want to quote unquote bother them, or you really just don't feel like they'll understand, because if you are putting up a wall and you don't trust those people, then that is only going to delay the process and also affect it.
So not, let's not even talk about delaying, it's just. It won't feel natural, it won't feel good to you. So having a support group for like adult children or caregivers or those grieving or just are going through similar journeys as you will feel more relatable? I'll give you an example. Like I'm an only child and I actually happen to also have an only child.
So I belong to a group of only children, which, you know, has its own dynamic of family discussions and, and things that, that you have to deal with. So. I feel very understood when whenever I read or I type anything, it's just I'm with my people. I mean, I'm at a conference right now for business professionals that do what I do.
I feel very understood and that feels better than I. Talking to someone that may not be in the same situation. So if you feel like you just don't have that friend or family member that can understand or is judgemental or he's just not comfortable, you're putting up a wall, then a support group is great.
If any of those do not offer what you need. A mental health therapist, practitioner, a. Will is is a great option for you because they're trained to do this and they understand the psychology behind what you are trying to talk about, and they may be able to have some great solutions for you. Hi, cherish friends.
Life can get overwhelming, especially when you're juggling caregiving, clutter and everything in between. That's why I created the Organizing Cherish Weekly email that goes out every Wednesday straight to your inbox. To help you keep the momentum inspiration going with tips and reminders of our upcoming events, all you have to do is head on over to organize and cherish.com and sign up for the email newsletter.
It's free and you can up subscribe whenever you'd like. It's my way of helping you simplify your life and respecting memories along the way. Now back to our show, the second type of help that you might need. Is logistical and organizing physical stuff type of help. What that means is that sometimes it's about moving the project forward.
I mean, literally moving it forward because there's physical stuff that needs to be taken care of, so you've got too many boxes and maybe there's no system and you have no idea where to start. But because of the physicality of it, you're not making any progress because you can make a plan on paper all day long.
You might be the best project manager. And you are the family planner and organizer, but if you're not actually moving the stuff, taking care of the stuff, then that project gets halted. Right? So if you are in that place of, of a obstacle, you might need a professional organizer. Yes. Just like us or, and many others in your area.
A move manager and or someone that can like, like moving company manager, but it's more specific to the logistic. So they just need to be able to help you organize the physicality of like where things will go from one place to another. Especially for seniors downsizing because they help with, they have like aging resources, they have resources specific to senior living that might be a little bit different.
Especially if they have like special care from just your everyday moving company. So look for a move manager that specializes in what and where you're trying to move to. Maybe there is a friend who's great with checklists and doesn't get distracted by the story. So if you are going to resource kind of within your group and, and you're trying to keep the cost down, or maybe you know, someone that is really good with moving, just make sure that this person is able to lift things up.
Can help you with the physicality of it, not just creating more plans, not just helping you throw everything away. I mean, maybe that ends up what has to happen, but this person is just looking at the bigger picture, the plan, and then actually doing something about it. So if you're in that place where you just haven't done anything about it, you might need the logistical and organizing type of help that requires the physical movement of the stuff.
The third type of help that you might need is specialized experts. Okay? So what this means is that if you have a very specific task as part of your decluttering and downsizing project, then you might need someone that has a specialized service. So you may also be turning, like if you have a need for appraisals.
Or you want to see what something is worth. You're not sure you need something repaired or digitized, donated or sold, and you're not sure what to do with it. You might need a specific, specialized type of expert, not just a generalized type of help. You're looking for estate sale professionals, like an antique dealer, an art appraiser, a donation center, or junk haulers that can specifically take that stuff like electronics.
Like if you have a lot of electronics, then they may need to take it to, yes, the dumpster or recycling center, but that fee is going to be a little different than if you were just throwing stuff away in the trash. Um, because in most. States and areas, those fees are required for larger items and or like, uh, very specific type of items like paint and, and cables and things like that.
So that's like specific type of help. Uh, maybe you need tech savvy folks who can scan photos or digitize V-H-V-H-S tapes if you're looking for specific task instead of asking for generalized help on decluttering my closet. You need someone to help you downsize, declutter, figure out what to do with your specific item that you're talking about.
So art, maybe you have sculptures, maybe, um, you need specific help with that. And those, those are specialized. And that's what I want you to ask for help for like, I need someone specific too, and then fill in your blank. That's the three types of help that you might need. So if you need a starting point, I've got some resources for you.
Let me know by emailing us by [email protected] if you need additional resources or come to one of our organizing cherish chats. The next one is on April 16th at 10:00 AM Mountain Time. It's for about an hour and you can ask me all the questions and see, you know, where you fall in into these three categories.
If though, we can start. Getting some help, assistance service for you, whether it's paid or not. I can give you ideas on how to get local resources as well and get that ball rolling so that you're not halting and making excuses for not doing something about it. Okay, so hopefully this helps you see what's possible and if you're helping someone else, this is also applicable.
A hundred percent. This list and this discussion might help you get better ideas. To give to your loved one or the person you're helping so that you don't have to do it all alone and feel the overwhelm of not knowing what to do. Okay? So remember, this is all about giving you some peace of mind and letting you know that you're not alone and not everything has to cost a lot of money.
Sometimes it you'll have to pay for the service, sometimes you won't. Maybe the local resource is something that is already being offered to you, and we want to tap into that, right? Come over next time to the Organizing Cherish Chat, and if you have any other questions, email us.
[email protected]. Until next week, happy organizing. Thank you for listening to the Organized and Cherish podcast with the Organized Flamingo. If you enjoy today's episode, I'd be so grateful if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps others discover our show.
For full show notes, resources, and more organizing inspiration, visit www.theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast. Until next time, happy organizing.
