FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Anyone can “tidy up”. Think of how much you can accomplish when you find out you have an unexpected guest arriving in 15 minutes. But this type of tidying up never lasts. There’s also more to being a professional organiser than just tossing down three bins marked “keep” “trash” and “donate”. Professional organisers are trained and skilled specialists who work with clients to create efficient spaces that suit their needs. We do this by creating order, teaching practical skills and developing custom systems so you can maintain progress and make long-term improvements.
Organisers can help people who are too busy, too overwhelmed, too tired, or too stressed to achieve their goals within the home or workplace. Just like accountants, gardeners and IT professionals, there are certain activities that people are capable of doing themselves, but that they just don’t want to spend their time on.
When choosing an organiser, it’s important that you find someone who has the skills to do what you need done. It is also important, that you relate to your organiser on a personal level and trust that they have your best interests at heart. Sometimes you need someone to dig in and get a backload of work done and sometimes you need an objective, experienced opinion to help you move forward.
Hiring a professional organiser is like having a best friend that you can invite over to your home when it’s at its absolute worse. There is no judgement, just hard work and a commitment to get a job done well.
It is very difficult to estimate how long a particular project will take. The duration of any job depends on a number of factors including how big the spaces are, how many items you have, how quickly you can make decisions during the decluttering phase, what existing storage you have and what is your ultimate goal for each space. We work as quickly and efficiently as possible and want you to get the most from your time with us. The more time that you can invest in your organising project the better the results will be.
The more time and energy you can devote to the project the better the results will be. If you are available to answer questions, declutter as we go and work with us to create customised solutions the more progress we can make and the more likely we will be able to implement systems and solutions that will continue to serve you and your family moving forward. Your level of involvement in the process is completely up to you, although we highly recommend that you are involved and engaged in the process.
This being said, we understand that most of our clients are very busy and we do our best to work with you and your schedule to complete the job.
Regardless of how involved you wish to be, you remain in control during all stages of the process. There is never any pressure to get rid of items before you are ready and you can choose what systems and storage options you want to be implemented in your home. We will never throw out or donate any items without your consent.
We have a simple 3-step booking process that allows us to collect all the information we need for your project and it also gives you an opportunity to find out more about us so you can determine if we are the right organisers for your project.
STEP 1: EXPRESS AN INTEREST AND PROVIDE ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION
As we are often working with clients in their homes, it’s not always possible to answer your calls.
To express an interest in our service, we ask that you email us at jane@sortthis.com.au or text us at 0402 794 516 with your name, address, email, phone number and some basic information about what you are looking to achieve. Once we have this information we will contact you to arrange an in-home consultation.
STEP 2: IN-HOME CONSULTATION
We like to schedule an in-home consultation with you a prior to starting your project. During the consultation, we can view the spaces, chat with you about your project, discuss your organising goals and how we can help you achieve them. We can often give you an indication as to how long the project may take, take some measurements and assess your current storage options. It’s a great chance for us to learn more about each other and discuss the project in detail. It’s also a great opportunity for us to get to know each other better and for you to determine if we are the right organisers for your project. The consultation usually takes around 60 minutes.
STEP 3: PAY DEPOSIT AND BOOK YOUR PREFERRED DATES
We ask that all clients pay a 50% deposit when they are ready to proceed. Once we have received your deposit, we can block out your preferred date and start preparing for your project. If you have a deadline or specific dates in mind, please let us know ASAP. It is not uncommon for us to be booked out 2 – 3 months in advance, so we urge you to contact us to avoid disappointment.
Our in-home practical services are available to anyone who lives within a 25km radius of Gold Coast CBD. This area covers all of the suburbs as far south as Palm Beach, west to Nerang and as far north as Pimpama, QLD.
If you are unsure if you fall within our service area please contact us for more information.
If you live outside our service area we may still be able to help you but there will be an additional travel charge. We charge a flat rate of $0.75 per kilometre for travel outside our standard travel area.
As a guide, travel costs from the Gold Coast to Brisbane equate to an additional charge of $75 – $90 per day.
We make every attempt to minimise this additional cost for clients outside our standard travel area. One way we can do this is by extending our session times so we can deliver our packages over fewer days. For example, we can do our 4-day package over 3 longer days and thereby eliminate the travel costs for one entire day. Please contact us to discuss this with us.
We also are open to considering jobs that are further afield or interstate. These would incur a larger fee to cover travel costs, travel time and accommodation. Please contact us to discuss this with us.
Payment can be made via direct deposit, in person or by credit card (Mastercard or Visa). Payments made by credit card attract a 2% surcharge unless otherwise stated.
PAYMENT FOR PACKAGES
We ask that all clients who purchase a package with us pay a 50% deposit at the time of booking. This deposit is non-refundable. The remaining 50% fee for our services (and any costs associated to products) will be issued as an invoice which is due within 30 days of the completion of the job. Please note that no products will be used without your consent.
PAYMENT FOR CASUAL OR CONSULTATION SESSIONS
If the total cost of our products and services is $750 or less, full payment is due on the day the job is completed, unless otherwise agreed upon.
See our Terms and Conditions for further information.
We respect that your time is valuable and we appreciate that you understand ours is too.
We therefore have a 24 hour cancellation policy.
Any cancellations that occur 24 hours or more before the scheduled session time are able to be re-booked at no additional cost to the client.
Any cancellations that occur within 24 hours of a session will be invoiced to you at 50% of the full rate for that session and forfeiture of any deposit that has been paid.
We ask that all clients who purchase a package with us pay a 50% deposit at the time of booking. This deposit is non-refundable. The remaining 50% fee for our services (and any costs associated to products) will be issued as an invoice which is due within 30 days of the completion of the job. Please note that no products will be used without your consent.
At Sort This we understand that your time is valuable and we make every effort to provide our services at a time that is convenient for you. For this reason we work weekends and after hours.
Not only that but we charge a flat rate regardless of whether it’s a weekday, weekend, or outside normal business hours.
Many people are embarrassed about their clutter or perceived disorganisation. Don’t worry! We’ve seen it all. There is no need to clean up or start organising before our visit and we bring all the necessary tools with us.
Sessions seem to go smoother when you feel relaxed, have eaten something prior to our session and be sure to dress comfortably. If we are organising your garage or your garden shed, you might want to wear clothes that can get dirty or dusty.
All you need to do is be ready to make decisions. We are there to do all the other hard work for you.
We can arrange for unwanted items to be bagged up and removed at the end of the day. If you have a large number of items or large items, such as furniture, that need to be removed we can arrange this for you for an additional fee.
We believe it is part of our duty to recycle and re-home items and support a number of local charities that do valuable work within the Gold Coast community.
If you have a preferred charity, please let us know!
For your convenience, we have a range of organising products available for purchase during each session, but there is never any obligation to buy.
We can also recommend a range of products that may be of use to you in your home.
Moving is hard work and can be one of the most stressful events that can happen in your life. Sort This can help you during the moving process by assisting you to declutter or downsize, categorise and sort items to be packed or left behind.
We can recommend which boxes and other packing supplies will make the move more manageable and refer you to removalist that have been recommended to us by other clients. We can help you unpack and organise your new home. We can provide our services by the hour or provide a more comprehensive quote for the entire job.
Hiring a professional organiser to help you move can streamline the process and can make unpacking on the other end easier.
Please contact us to arrange a free consultation so we can discuss your needs further and customise a package that meets your needs and budget.
When you hire us to help you with your move you receive a copy of our E-Book “25 Tips For a Smooth Move” absolutely free!
Yes of course! You can check out my “Our Work” page for some before and after photos of some of the jobs we have done.