Erin is fantastic! I have wanted to call an organizer for years and at the same time had a lot of fear (some rational, some irrational). Erin came in and to put me at ease any faster would have been literally impossible. She looked around and asked me what my thoughts were and more importantly, she listened. Erin immediately dug in while gently guiding me and talking to me about her ideas for moving forward. Erin is so gentle but effective in the way she directs that I was shocked at how quickly she got me through some piles that have been sitting for literal years! I asked for homework the last few minutes of our session so I could build on our progress and Erin took me room by room to talk. I agree with the other reviews that mention Erin is an incredible value for her rate and you should book time with her now! read more

Erin Kelly is an outstanding professional organizer. She works alongside you, helping you choose between items to keep, those to donate (and she will take them away for you), and items to discard. Erin always leaves with bags and boxes for donation. She has the most energy of anyone I've known and is very efficient with your time. You'll leave feeling SO productive. I've hired her multiple times for different organizing and moving purposes. I've hired Erin for the following projects: Organizing a small space Purchasing affordable organizers for a condo Moving and packing for two people Unpacking a kitchen/setup Decluttering a garage You'll be amazed at how much you'll accomplish in 4 hours with Erin! Erin is incredibly trustworthy and has a great disposition. She is non-judgmental, compassionate, and has a great sense of humor. My partner especially appreciates her upbeat personality and says, "Wow, she makes organizing fun!" I will absolutely use her again for more jobs in the future! Erin is quite philanthropic and really helps out in the community. This is super appealing to me. Her empathic approach is welcomed. read more

Erin is an amazing value for decluttering and organizing!! I've hired her several times as I have messy tendencies.

Absolutely the best organizer for the money she charges. The money she charges is much lower than other organizers. She does not charge as much as she could. She also was recommended by CHADD and is one of the few organizers that has this recommendation. She specializes in working with ADHD and people who have disabilities. I have worked with Erin for 10 years and she has helped me organized myself and manage my time. I have an organizational system to deal with clutter, organize papers, meet deadlines, and perform well at work and in a PHD program. I have heavily research professional organizers and she is the best one I could find. Her personality is easy going and she is not a difficult person to deal with. read more

You know that pile of stuff that accumulates in the basement? Some to donate, some to sell, some to give away; who wants to deal with it? We've engaged Arranged by Erin several times over the years and she is the best! The second she walks in she is right to work, sorting, helping inventory the items for donation, packing, and giving practical advice about reusing/recycling/reorganizing. Once the items for donation are packed up she even whisks them out, drops them off and sends us the receipt. Erin works hard, not judging, steadily motivating us to free ourselves of belongings that are no longer needed. The result - ahhh - a tidy space, without energy-trapping clutter. Very efficient, very affordable, highly recommended. read more

Erin is worth every penny! My father-in-law passed away and we needed help selling his furniture and emptying everything out of his home to get it ready to sell. I had worked with Erin before and knew she would do a great job so I reached out. Not only did she respond immediately, she took care of selling furniture we were going to throw away, scheduling the haulers to remove everything, packing everything up before the haulers arrived, and connecting us with a realtor who could help us update, clean and stage the house for sale. When you're grieving, you want someone who you can trust who can also get it done quickly and efficiently without a lot of hand-holding. We had moved out of town so this was especially important to us because we were only in town for a few days. Two days after we left town, Erin had the furniture sold and house emptied. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to anyone. She cares about doing a great job and making it easy for you. Thank you, Erin, for the care and attention you gave to us and to our family's home. read more

I used Erin to help me get my office in order. She was very good at forcing me to file or throw it away. I'd try to move papers from one pile to the other and she wouldn't let me!!! She would give me a look or in a nice way ask what I plan on doing with that once I moved it. Erin was also a resource and provided me some information on why I do what I do and ways I can change my habits. She also taught me the OHIO principal. I didn't know what that was but it stands for Only Handle It Once. It works!!! I highly recommend Erin and her services if you need a little help in getting your home, work, or life in order. read more

"Why didn't I do this sooner?!?" I've used Erin twice now and both times my only regret is that I wish I called her sooner. I've had experience with other personal organizers, and she's the best, hands-down. No consultations, multiple appointments, buying a list of recommended items, etc etc etc... You call/email, explain your situation, set up an appointment, and she shows up, with no judgment for any of your crazy mess/clutter, and is focused, gets right down to business & works her organizational magic in no time. Plus she's just a delightful person (which is always nice when welcoming a "stranger" into your home :) 2 hours with Erin is honestly more productive than 2 days on my own. I recently moved and waited two months convinced I could whip my place into shape on my own... 2 months of procrastination & half-hearted cleaning/"organizing" (aka moving piles around) later... I emailed Erin, who fortunately had a last-minute cancellation so she could fit me in, and BAM! just like that my place in completely overhauled into a beautful, immaculate organized zen. Sounds nice, doesn't it? It is. If you're reading this you're probably thinking about hiring a personal organizer. Stop thinking. Just do it. And make it Erin. read more

As a professional organizer myself, I was stumped when I found I couldn't help my own mother with her paperwork. She was FLOODED with papers from her two jobs and a union presidency position and couldn't get it all under control. I felt awful about not being able to take care of the problem myself but sometimes you just can't work with family. That's when I turned to Erin who specializes in clients with ADD/ADHD. She was very helpful and understanding when we had to reschedule the appointment last minute due to a conflict with my mom's schedule. She even drove all the way out from the city to the suburbs to work with us. When Erin left my mom knew where all of her papers were by category and ended up throwing away multiple LARGE garbage bags of unnecessary clutter that was preventing her from finding the important things. She now feels much lighter, happier, and clear-headed. Thank you to Erin for helping me with a problem my mom and I couldn't handle ourselves! I will continue to recommend her to clients whose needs more closely match her skill set. read more

When my spouse and I decided to renew our lease, we also agreed that we would get organized the way we would if we were moving. Knowing that we'd never whip our place into shape if we did it on our own, we decided to hire an organizer. I'm so glad we chose to work with Erin! She spent about five hours with us, and they flew by. We aren't packrats or hoarders by any stretch, but it's easy to let things pile up a bit when you stay in a place for 6 or 7 years. Erin helped us reorganize our tiny kitchen, purge our basement, deal with a pile of paperwork, and gave me pointers for reorganizing my clothes. PLUS, she hauled off a load of our donations for us. (My fella says the best part was seeing her drive away with all of that!) It was worth every penny, and I can honestly say that I feel less stressed because the house is organized. One thing that I think is important to know no matter who you hire: our house didn't look like a magazine cover at the end of our time with Erin. Everything was well on its way to being super organized, but we still had a little work to do on our own after she left. We finished it up by the end of the weekend (we had a few containers to buy, etc.), but it was no big deal. Erin really motivated us to get it done! Erin is fantastic, and I can't recommend her enough. In fact, I've told lots of friends about her already! read more

I was referred to Arranged by Erin when I needed assistance unpacking on moving day. Erin unpacked over half of my one-bedroom apartment in just three hours. I couldn't believe it! Absolutely worth her reasonable rate. She was patient throughout the scheduling process, arrived right on time, and dove right in to the job. I would hire her again for any organizational job in a heartbeat. read more

I retired in February with 27 years worth of stuff to wade through. I needed to declutter, downsize, donate, organize, and pack in order to relocate from Illinois to Arizona. By April, I was still overwhelmed, even after help from family and friends. With a lease ending May 31st, it occurred to me that I might have to stay yet another year, so I searched online for professional organizers, and found Erin J. Kelly, Arranged by Erin, through the National Association of Professional Organizers. When Erin arrived, I asked if this was the worst case she'd ever seen (No!) and if she thought we could be finished by the end of May (Yes!). She was absolutely non-judgmental, absolutely professional, kind, encouraging, and thorough. With her help and guidance, I managed to downsize enough to fit my stuff into one U-Pack container (7x7x8), a carful, and a few boxes for Amtrak. Best money I have ever spent, rather, invested! Erin saved me money, too; a second container would have cost me $1,100. It took me awhile to write this review, but I remain thankful every day for Erin's help! Now, with the New Year underway, do yourself a favor and contact Erin J. Kelly at Arranged by Erin to help you achieve your decluttering and organizational resolutions. She is the best! read more

We hired Erin's company twice to help us with organizing our less than 600-sq foot condo. We worked with Alison the first time and Erin the second time (Alison was unavailable that weekend; we also didn't give much notice at all!), so we will write two reviews--- BOTH WERE AMAZING!!!! You cannot go wrong if you choose Erin's company to help organize your clutter. First, we worked with Alison in 2015, shortly after I had moved into a studio condo. I have many hoarders in my family (dad, brother) and I have those tendencies, so my boyfriend (now husband) recommended that I contact Erin's company. Alison went through EVERYTHING -- 8 or more garbage bags donated, more thrown away -- that day. From the closet to the bedroom area, Alison's thoroughness kept the clutter away and inspired me to be more organized! I even purchased the book, "The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up," because of her. I was trying to think like her after she left! Everything had a place with Alison. She had a very large task with my issues of "letting things go" and completely transformed me. She also had great organization tips that we took to heart and executed! Alison was really friendly and sweet, too. I had found out my grandpa passed away (at 96 years old!) earlier in the day, and I knew she was coming in an hour -- she was extremely understanding and compassionate during the entire experience. She also made it really fun as I purged some interesting clothes ;) We worked with Erin earlier today to organize my closet and our kitchen. My husband moved in with me by then, and two of my closets were gone (one to our cats/storage, and another to his clothes), so we had some tightness going on and needed a purge again! She got down to business right away and helped us organize our life. I felt like a 100-pound weight on my shoulders was lifted. Also, our kitchen is livable again! I made something for the first time this afternoon, instead of just reaching for something from the cabinet (as before) because I couldn't find the ingredients! She helped organize all our kitchen appliances and bowls and had a second sense for where everything should go. When I felt like giving up, Erin was there working hard and urged me to continue. She also was a great conversationalist and I enjoyed getting to know her and working with her! THANK YOU TO BOTH ALISON AND ERIN for their amazing organization skills! I cannot recommend them enough for all your organization needs. No task is too large for Alison and Erin :-) I am so thankful to have them as a partner in our organization tasks. read more

Erin's services changed my life! It also helped my relationship with my partner! Seriously, I can't say enough good things about her. After a phone consultation, Erin came into our home and seriously helped us organize. She was great for helping us to purge and organize our remaining belongings. We scheduled her for 4 hours, but she helped us with everything we needed in 3! We appreciated her excellent use of time and willingness to come in under the 4 hours for which we had her booked. If you have any sort of organizing project you've been meaning to tackle, turn to Erin for help finishing it! read more

My husband and I hired Erin to help us clean the basement in order to pack and move out of our house. It was so worth it. My husband was resistant to use a professional organizer, but after 5-10 minutes of working on the basement with Erin, he said he thought it was a great idea. 8 bags of trash later, I am thrilled! :) Worth every penny, and my husband is sold as well. read more

I live in the far western suburbs.. but was called upon to help clear out my in-laws home in Des Plaines. My father in law passed away at the age of 95 after living in his home for almost 60 years.. Add to that an adult child moving home with lots of stuff... 25+ years ago..then continuing to add lots and lots of more stuff for many years.. It was quickly evident to all, we needed professional help to go through the majority of items in the home.. I am not sure how to describe the sibling that lived in the home, maybe a 'closet' hoarder? This was a small ranch home with a full basement. The main living areas of the home were dusty.. but never cluttered, most of the other siblings hadn't been in the basement for years.. but when we went down there after dad passed, no one was prepared for the stacks of clutter.. none of which was the fathers. If it was up to the rest of us.. all would have gone in a dumpster.. two of us tried for a short time trying to help, sort, toss and pack..but neither of us had the patience or time to deal with the mounds and mounds of stuff. I googled organizers that had dealt with hoarders in that area and found Erin. From the first time I talked to her I had a good feeling! I have worked with organizers before, I have a friend who is a professional organizer in the western suburbs, who I hired after a move. A lot of people can help others organize stuff, but it really takes a special person to deal with a hoarding situation. Erin was kind and compassionate beyond words. When everyone in the family ran out of patience in dealing with this situation, Erin continued to help her sort, purge and pack. Two + months into this and we are just 10 days from closing on the sale of the home, and I had to call her back in for an emergency last visit, which she accommodated. Erin was truly a lifesaver to our family.. We hired her for many many hours, where she very patiently helped the sibling go through TONS and tons of stuff. It certainly was an uphill battle trying to get her to part with many things.. while we all agree she still saved way to much.. she DID part with substantial amounts of garbage and donated items. She had to move at a slower pace than usual due to the situation.. but always kept things going in the right direction, but eventually it all got sorted, tossed and packed. We could never had completed that task without Erin. . read more

Erin is AWESOME!! She really is full of energy and focus. I have had her over on two different days. Once for closet organizing and the second time she went through my tax receipts. On both occasions she plowed through an incredible amount of stuff in a few hours. Piles I had been dreading to deal with started to disappear before my eyes. I think my quality of life has improved each time she shows up. So this is worth the call. Skip a few extravagances and get a grip on your surroundings. Erin is worth every penny! read more

Erin was the first professional organizer I have hired and the only one I will hire! She tackled our master bedroom closets with professionalism, ease and grace. After 5 hours of this huge project it was like I was walking into a dream; our closets were so neatly organized that I almost cried tears of joy! I would highly recommend Erin to help you plow through a project with results better than you could ever imagine. read more

I received a gift certificate for two hours of Erin's services and I'm thrilled at the results I got. Although two hours seems like a lot of time, it really isn't when it comes to cleaning up clutter... or in my case, a gigantic bookcase inclusive of college textbooks, papers and travel guidebooks that I wasn't able to part with on my own (that is, until Erin came into the picture). Erin was able to help me determine what to keep and what to remove (recycle or donate) and I'm sure she can help me get the rest of my place in order... Highly recommend using her if you're like me and need a kick in the pants and a reality check when it comes to getting rid of things you don't need... but also if you want an expert to help de-clutter your world. read more

I hired Erin recently to clean out a master bedroom closet and assist in getting my home office organized. Erin did an AMAZING job in just a few short hours. Highly recommend her for organizing. read more

I hired Erin to help organize my (small) boys bedroom in my (small) house. From the moment she arrived it did not seem as if Erin wanted to be here. (Perhaps because I purchased her time from an email deal.) She was very helpful in cleaning out the clutter from my boys rooms, but she had very little in the way of organizing help. She kept asking if we had more space in the house, mudroom, attic, etc. No, I do not, that's why I hired her. She also kept repeating the same suggestion about putting a homework area in the basement, and did not seem to hear me when I told her that we'd had one down there for years but the kids would not use it. For someone who claims to be able to come up with creative solutions, I'm very disappointed that the best she could offer me was, buy more shelves. After an hour and a half, I told her she could go home (even though I paid for four hours.) At that point she perked up a lot and said..."Do you have any questions before I go? I want to make sure you get your money's worth." Not even a mention of the fact that she was getting paid for two and a half hours of work she didn't do! I have never written a review for anything on-line before, and I'm a friendly person who was sooo excited to have an organizer help me come up with a way to may my boys shared room more livable. She gave me NOTHING I couldn't have come up with on my own. read more

Erin is meticulous, generous, thoughtful, non-judgmental and very hard-working. She helped re-organize my art studio and office to enhance efficiency and production in both areas. She really understands what a creative business-person needs, and how to organize an artist studio. Erin quickly assessed how I worked, and came up with a organizing principle on the spot. Then, she got right to business, helping move, discard, donate, and recycle. As we worked, she suggested tweaks. If one idea didn't seem to make sense to me, she had another one ready. She helped establish an organizational structure that will work for me well into the future. She also suggested outlets for a variety of things I have for sale or to donate. I can't say enough good things about Erin. Highly recommended! read more

Everything you have read is true and thensome!!! Erin is a lifesaver!!!! I just moved back from the east coast into a 1 bedroom high rise downtown. Between starting a new job, a few challenges, hurt knee and so on....I knew I needed help unpacking my remaining moving boxes and completely reorganizing a huge hall closet. What I received from Erin in return was SO much more and surpassed my expectations in every way. So hard to describe but the relief and weight off my shoulders is enormous! I expected to have her 1 day and do only the task at hand. The process was amazing and I ended up having her 2 full days and we decluttered and organized my entire life. I mean EVERYTHING! Honestly....this turned into the best mental health investment ever!!! As someone who has moved a lot, I've gotten rid of a ton of things but never truly organized. Erin was so kind and compassionate yet knows her stuff and when to gently persuade and so on. We literally touched and reorganized every single item I own. I mean everything!! It was so over due and I am beyond eternally grateful. read more

I hired Erin's company to assist me in a move I'm making very soon. I hurt my back and needed help quickly to sort through, donate and purge all of the things in my condo. She was a whirlwind...AMAZING. We went through every closet, my storage unit and got things organized in a way that I would never have been able to get through myself in the same amount of time. Even if you are not moving but simply want to get your house in order - it was worth every penny! Her rates are reasonable. I would recommend her to ANYONE that is looking to move, downsize and just get organized. Her help was indispensable. I couldn't thank her enough! read more

Erin is phenomenal. I've had her over maybe four times now. She's helped us deal with a basement AND a garage full of stuff left over from our previous households. She's also helped deal with the changing needs of our family room and coat closet, foyer and my personal clothes closet. She is VERY CALM and NONJUDGMENTAL, ready to jump in and help, and she never causes stress. If you are on the fence about hiring her, just do it. You'll be So Glad You Did! A friend of mine used her and had just as good an experience as I did. I really cannot praise Erin enough. read more

She's a miracle worker! In under 3 hours she completely organized both of my work closets and they look a hundred times better. She had great ideas to free up space. I highly recommend her services. read more

Arranged by Erin worked a miracle on my home. I have never used an organizer before but because of long work hours lately I have been too busy to keep myself organized. I was living out of boxes; it was a mess! This is NOT something I could have done myself even had I had the time. The best thing about having someone do this was that I now know what I have. Erin was GREAT and I now see exactly what stays, what goes, and what I need to keep. This was the best money I've spent this year. read more

We are looking forward to learning more about Erin and her home organization. Her professionalism, drive, etiquette and assurance was invigorating. We have spoken to several organizers and Erin was the most encouraging with a willingness to serve! read more

Erin is ridiculous (by which I mean amazing). I mean, she came precisely at 9 a.m., as scheduled, and stayed until 11 a.m., as scheduled. She's low-key and nonjudgemental, and she is all business. I have a Purple Heart pickup scheduled for Friday morning, so we went at my foyer (5 people live here, it's worse than you'd think)-the catch-all closet, and parts of our insanely cluttered basement. We netted about 15 bags of donations, some furniture, and an enormous pile of old electronics to recycle (I'm going to the Goose Island Recycling Center with them today). I have a list of 'to do' items and a few things to purchase-like another inexpensive folding bookcase for our plethora of shoes, a Christmas wrap organizer. The amazing thing was finding multiples of things we thought we had lost-like umbrellas or measuring tapes (my husband, an architect, uses them for his work). The money I saved in 'found' items alone paid for her visit-and more-it was inexpensive because I bought vouchers via Living Social. She's coming back in a few days to finish -and I feel absolutely confident we'll finish an entire basement room (or more), my entire insane clothes closet, and probably more. I feel calmer, more confident about my home, and happier. Good job, Erin! If you are considering hiring her, you should do it and do it now! I wish I had done this years ago. She's worth every minute and every dollar. Wow. She's gooooooooood., read more

Wow! She gets it. Erin walked into my home and created a plan of attack right away. She didn't waste a moment and moved at the speed of light. We got to work and cleared out my living and dining rooms as well as my office. I have a lot of papers in my office and she helped me clear out the ones I needed as well as put together a system of organizing them going forward. In fact, she even helped me organize my closets... and they are not huge. That's how much work she did in just one session. She returned for a second session and that's when we started to go further in the organizing process. Since I don't have a big house I wanted to streamline my papers, clothes and other items such as tools and small appliances. She even helped me reorganize my pantry, which hasn't been updated in almost 100 years so she used the space I had creatively and effectively, suggesting where I could add extra storage and shelving. Then we moved to the basement, which in a 115-year-old house has some spacing issues. She found the right fits and helped create usable and accessible storage out of what I had already and gave me cost-effective and tangible solutions going forward. I was definitely impressed... again. When I am ready to tackle my attic she is the first person I am going to call! read more