Top-Shelf Organizing

Jill is the most organized person that I know. She has found her ultimate calling in life! In our time together, she instantly prioritized the most needed disasters. She is easy going, yet always on task. Jill has also taught me a bunch of tips and tricks to keep our messiest areas in check. As a disabled mom of 2 young children, her compassion is remarkable. It’s amazing the stress relief that comes with organized, clean living areas. She will definitely be involved in our next project of organizing our next big move – I can’t wait! Thank you, Jill!

Thanks to 15 hours of work with Jill and Top Shelf Organizing, I finally feel like my home affairs are in order. After getting married in 2008 and starting a family, all the paper that constitutes being an adult was starting to overwhelm me.. . Tax stuff going back 15 years, medical records going back 20 years, property records, appliance manuals, notes from college, paperwork related to two careers and a home based business…it was in piles and boxes that took up most of the space of our attic home offices. A stressful mess that I would tackle and fail to organize several times over the years.
Just before the new year 2016, I told a friend how overwhelmed that I felt about all the paper piles, and she recommended Jill. I saw on her website that she has seen it all and that my messy office wouldn’t faze her. I’m so glad I hired Jill!
Jill is a calm, trustworthy presence who can help you to achieve a peaceful, organized home. I’m already pretty good at organizing and clearing out my stuff — objects and clothing and toys do not overwhelm me. *Paper* is the bane of my existence, and I hate it and it sucks the life out of me.
Jill helped me conquer the paper in a room that I could barely even dust or vacuum because there was too much paper.
I’m so happy now because I have an easy filing system, with neatly labeled file folders, and I’ve reduced more than 100 pounds of paper — the records of our lives — to just what is necessary or the most sentimental, all fitting in one small filing cabinet. The rest is shredded or recycled.
Honestly, if you’ve tried to get organized for years and have failed, it’s not your fault — you probably need professional help. (Being disorganized is probably a sign of brilliance, I have conveniently counseled myself! Seriously, just hire help and get on with it. :))
I like how Jill just jumps in and starts working, helping make decisions and getting organized. Also, she has a nice attention to detail where she knows where to place things to maximize space. I joked that she is OCD in a good way, lol!
I’m so relieved to have an organized home office that I’m now going to paint the room and remodel it, something that wasn’t possible before because there was too much paper everywhere.

Thank you, Jill!
I do not know why it is, but I seem to need to have someone support me when I try to organize my home. It might be that I simply need extra hands, or someone like Jill, who has a better sense of what works and sees my vision better. For example, why didn’t I think to put that thing there-​it makes so much more sense! She streamlines my rooms as she lends me her insightful suggestions as to how to maintain the new look that we’ve done together.
Answering the front door was the hardest part! My thoughts were around my concern of any judgement she might have …‘What is she going to think of my messy, unorganized home’?
While working through hours of non-​stop organizing, I got to where I didn’t want to stop because it was fun & exciting to see my rooms come together. I really appreciated her friendly manner. She has no judgements, especially when I am turning beet red with embarrassment as to ‘Why, might I need to keep this’? It’s hilarious in hindsight, because sometimes I had no clue as to why I have thought I needed to keep something. After it was removed from my ‘piles’, I never missed it!
You’ll be equally pleased to work with Jill — in fact, she helps on an emotional level as well. When the excess ‘stuff’ left my home, I could breathe better & feel lighter, when I go went back to those finished rooms, I love, love, love my new spaces.
Can’t wait to see her again. You’ll be very pleased when you do work with Jill. The best!
Thank you, Tina M.

After some debate about the practicality of hiring organizational services, we retained Top Shelf Organizing and could not be happier with the results.
We hired Jill’s services to assist with helping us post-​move essentially unpacking and moving in. My wife and I work throughout the week which brought unpacking to snail pace, really only getting out necessities.
Jill is an exceptional professional and helped us completely turn our post-​move, unusable kitchen and downstairs office/​spare room into organized, enjoyable spaces. She was able to force us to focus on the areas we needed help with and apply creative strategies for storing and/​or removing our items. She won’t judge or push you to do things you don’t want to do, but was able to help my wife and me create large post-​move donation piles and even offers to take them herself.
It’s incredible the emotional weight that releases to have well organized, functional spaces.
My advice is if you’re in a similar situation, and skeptical if you really «need» this service to get it done, is yes, you really do. It’s worth every penny.

— Do you feel so guilty about what a mess your place is, you hesitate to invite anyone over?
— Is it hard to walk in a straight line inside your home, because some «stuff» is in your way?
If you answered «Yes» to the above questions, you’re not alone. That was us before we worked with Jill.
My husband and I are… often buried in work day, night & weekend (on our PCs). One of us (me) is physically limited/​considered disabled, but was raised by a hoarder and is a recovering shopaholic. The other half is an absent-​minded professor/​engineer/​artist type; smart but housework is not his strength. Combine these two people + moving from a bigger house to a 636-​ft condo + almost 10 years of not getting rid of much, you can end up with a disaster on your hands. (Then there are also 3 cats. But their messes are mostly biological.)
When I think about it, our «stuff» consists of an awkward mishmash of our past lives and some things from our present life. I almost wrote «mosaic,» but it’s not always that pretty. Both my partner and I have carried around mementos from our childhood, since before we met. Some Christmas presents from family decades ago, which we may not have touched for years. Magic the Gathering cards, circa 1994 – 1996. Old Bön Appetit magazines with then-​favorite dishes. Rocks and seashells from our trips. Various hampers we each collected.
We were able to purge and part from computer files that were filling up our PCs, but we were not focusing on «What makes us happy right now?» in our real life.
In the past, we’d sometimes sit down and cite to each other the need to tidy up. We may each look through some mail — but rarely all of it — and by the time that is somewhat «done,» our focus would shift, and the next day, nothing had changed.
Or I may psych myself up to clean one area one day, and would clean — let’s say the bathroom countertop. The bathroom countertop would be clean for a week, but nothing else changed. Dealing with other areas was too overwhelming. I sighed.
I felt we needed some drastic intervention, so I contacted Jill to book a 14-​hour Organization package. (Being both INTJs, by email.)
I was nervous she may turn us down once I showed her our current state, but even after sending some snapshots, she remained upbeat and optimistic about the potential outcome. I was impressed and encouraged.
Then she came to our rescue. (Superhero music here.)
Organizing was hard work — because we only have so much decision-​making muscle capacity in our brain, especially on a Saturday after a long week.
But we treated it as a special occasion: a «present and future» party, to decide what we want to live with *now* and for years to come.
Because so much of our belongings consisted of what served us well in the past. Not what we needed or wanted in our current life.
Jill reminded us of this, and furthermore, worked the hardest of us all. I’m not sure when or if she got to take any breaks.
As she kept chipping away at our what used to be a giant tangled mess, the living room started to look like a spacious, peaceful sanctuary (esp. considering the «before»). There were some homework items, but now I felt — for the first time in years! — I could have someone over. (We did!)
So much was accomplished in one session, we were very much encouraged for our second session. At the same time, as the time approached, I admit I was once again scared. What do we do with bigger messes? Would she get upset we haven’t kept it up as it was?
Well, we just had our second session. I didn’t need to be scared — Jill was just as nice, supportive and practical, not forcing our decisions in one way or another, but mostly helping and being a positive catalyst.
It’s hard to explain, but Jill has a way of empathizing with you so you don’t feel guilty at all, and at the same time she is incredibly helpful in guiding you to the right direction.
And the result is superb. Now we feel peaceful in two additional rooms. (Our results may be slower than typical, as I cannot move very much. To us it was miraculous.)
If you want to enjoy living in your space, I highly recommend working with Jill. She’ll help you find a place for your stuff and yourself, so you can feel happier in your home.
Thank you Jill!

I’m so pleased and excited about my newly organized pantry and kitchen cabinets. Jill is truly organized from start to finish. First, Jill was quick to respond to my emails. She also gave me a high level overview of what our day would look like since I had purchased a 7 hour package; this was very helpful. It is important for new clients to be there so that Jill can work with you on how you use the space and what items you use most frequently. She wants your input and will help you maximize the potential of your space. The day went by very quickly and we were able to get a lot accomplished! Jill actually took the items that needed recycling out of our home and took the items that we wanted to donate for me! She even put labels on the cabinet shelves (optional) which were wonderful surprises! It is a very thorough service for money well spent.

When Jill arrived, we admitted that we were both excited and worried about the work ahead of us — something we had put off since moving into our home. Jill calmly and patiently helped us unpack and sort through the many boxes in our storage area and the other piles that had accumulated in our basement. The hours flew by and we were left with storage room to spare and an amazingly inviting family room that’s open and airy. At the end of the day, Jill left us feeling empowered and inspired to attack other areas around the house. Working with her was an amazing experience — she has a gift for organization and makes the insurmountable seem manageable, if not fun. We can’t recommend her service enough and look forward to working with her again in the future!

Thank you, thank you for your help. It was huge! I love the fact that I can now go into my office/​project room and have a clear surface for the many projects you helped me peg down. It feels great to be more organized and I am more energized to tackle these things. You were awesome to work with and it was nice for someone to see my mess, not judge and help me plow through it. A great gal, providing a great service. Loved it!

Jill did an absolutely magical job, to say the least! My partner and I had many rooms that needed Jill’s assistance. She was extremely patient and helped us prioritize «our mess» and went straight to work. I am really impressed by how hands-​on Jill was. There was nothing that was «off-​limits» for Jill. She was tremendously useful and made sure all bases were covered at all times. Our closet went from a room where you can barely see the carpet, to a beautiful place where it feels peaceful to enter. Most importantly, it just makes us smile seeing the neatly organized result. Jill rocks and we are definitely going to be working with her regularly!

We hired Jill in the early stages of house hunting. We didn’t want to waste precious time or energy moving items we didn’t need/​love/​want, so Jill’s assistance with going through our house (room by room!) over the course of about 6 months was one of the greatest gifts we could have given ourselves. We purged and organized 6 full rooms and there were countless trips to donate our unwanted items. Once we found our new house, packing was a dream. I thought to myself many times how glad I was we had purged and gotten rid of the things we didn’t want BEFORE we started packing, because doing that while packing would have been a nightmare. And now our beautiful new home is filled with items we truly cherish, not junk we threw in boxes.
Jill was excellent and patient as well as highly organized. She was fun to be around and we look forward to ongoing visits with her (not only is she great at helping you before you pack, she’s amazing at helping you unpack and organize!). I highly recommend hiring Jill under any circumstance, but especially if relocating is in your future. Give yourself the gift of organization before you get to the point of moving and you will be so glad you did.

«If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.»
– Paulo Coelho
Sometimes one needs a bit of encouragement to be brave. I’ve lived in my apartment for 4 years now. It’s a one bedroom, affordable, and located in a great neighborhood. It’s not the most modern apartment but it’s what I’ve called home after my transition post divorce. I am a single mom and I had to cram 10 years of stuff from a failed relationship (7 years of which I was married) into this tiny apartment. My daughter and I share the bedroom and for years, I joked that my apartment was her playroom. As much as I had wanted to spend time to sort and organize my apartment, it was hard to find the time and energy to do so while working full time and raising a young child.
Hiring Jill to help declutter was worth every penny. Besides being so easy to work with (she’s kind, nonjudgemental, empathetic), she helped me with the most daunting project that I’ve been dreading for years and that was to purge the walk in closet that was filled with tons of clothing, old files, documents, etc. She also helped me organize and clear out some of my daughter’s books and toys (trust me, I still have more to do) but for now, it’s nice to not feel as if I am living in a storage unit.
What I found helpful is that having someone like Jill to help declutter is that she keeps me on task and really helped me evaluate what items to keep and to rid. On my own, I know that I could obsess for minutes on whether or not to keep an item. I really appreciate all the reminders to keep only the clothing that you really love and wear. I had over two carloads filled with clothing. books, toys, and shoes to donate and there will undoubtedly be more.
There are still other rooms but I feel that Jill has provided the momentum and mindset to keep my consumption at bay. Thank you Jill. You’re truly a delight!

Super impressed — it was way less painful than I thought it would be, and after our session I felt inspired to tackle some other sections of the house. I would highly recommend Jill and the only thing I regret is waiting so long to book the appointment!