A thumbtack fairy came to my room and saved my life.
I own a beautiful $800K condo. Had a mental breakdown two years ago, and it just got worse and worse. Found someone on Thumbtack who took one look at my room and said, "Oh, I've done jobs like this all the time." Motivation to get up and start my day has increased tenfold.
Next up, I already deep-vacuumed and plan to shampoo my carpet tomorrow.
Then I'll treat myself to some interior design so my room doesn't look so bare.
Edit:
- Thumbtack is a website where you can find people to do any sort of job you need. I liked it more than TaskRabbit because you can share photos with multiple professionals right away, so they know what they're getting into before they choose to take on your project. I also like seeing reviews with photos and the price range attached to what the customer paid. I used the uncluttering topic.
- I wasn't in the room, and honestly, I didn't want to be. It was like she just looked at the room and got to work, while I stayed in the living room and did my own thing the whole time. It's also nice that you can discuss that beforehand, but I think you know they're real professionals when they say you don't have to be there. I told her that either something is trash or not, and if she didn't know, to keep it just in case.
- She threw out all the trash and organized all my things into labeled storage baskets/bags for bathroom, office, items, etc., and clothes. Total bags of trash came out to like 15 bags
- Since she had a minimum policy of 6 hours for all her projects, her total was $475. She did all of this in 5 hours and 30 minutes, and I tipped her $100, making the total $575.
My advice for people who want to hire professionals for this sort of thing (sorry this is so long, lol)
- Thumbtack was the best service for me to use, rather than reaching out and emailing a bunch of uncluttering businesses or using TaskRabbit (where you share details after you connect with a person, not before). You know exactly what you're paying for, so there are no hidden fees. After looking through your photos and reading what you need, people who want to take on your project accept because they're genuinely interested. Remember, this is their income. I got replies from people who were really passionate about helping, but I chose this person because her reviews showed she does an amazing job uncluttering spaces. My review was honestly the first one to show a before photo with a shit ton of trash. I think that's because most people might have been embarrassed about sharing really bad before photos. But their reviews talked about how some life event left them feeling really down, they couldn't manage to clean, and this person came in and saved their lives, and that did it for me.
- If there is one question I would ask, it would be: "Have you done this kind of work before?" If you don't want to be in the room making choices for them, tell them. If they're really experienced with this, they won't need you there. I know I made the right choice because she told me she's done a bunch of rooms like mine before, and it was no problem. Two hours in, she peeked her head out and said, "Everything is going really great," which astonished me. She even came with her own labels to put on bags. I realize that people who work in these rooms know their clients are going through something, so they're extra sensitive. You deserve to ask as many questions or make as many requests as you want about the project to feel better. In the last hour, I went from wanting to hide in my living room to happily chatting with her about online shopping while she finished up my bathroom. That's how comfortable she made me feel.