About us
Business highlights
16 years of trusted experience
Services we offer
Services we don't offer
Amenities
Free Estimates
YesAccepted payment methods
Photos of past projects
Reviews
5.073 Reviews
Showing 26-50 of 73 reviews
Julia D.
11/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol is very easy to work with and efficient. She gets right to the heart of what needs to be done, all the while being very sensitive to personal attachments (to things). She tailored her services to our company (design and communication) helping us maintain clean lines and a pleasing visual aesthetic. To top it off, Carol is fun, has a great sense of humor and loads of common sense. We will definitely continue to engage Carol as part of our company efficiency team.
Description of Work: Carol helped organize yearly financial papers and our company design samples so we can now actually find things! Over time she has help rein in the explosion of paper, inherent in what we do, print communications. She has come in regularly to help us maintain our space.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$320
martha M.
11/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol made contact promptly and arrived punctually (guess we'd expect such a person to be organized!). She is friendly and approachable, unfazed by substandard organizational habits and quietly intent on sorting things out. I liked her focus on process as much as her determination to leave my filing system in premium order. She gently empowers better future practices which have already taken effect in the two weeks since her visit. Since you are letting someone into your home and, essentially, into your life through files, I was relieved to find Carol a fully professional and appropriate person, down to earth and funny. The time flew by and I am much the better for it. Carol charged a special rate through Angie's List for this first visit; her regular fees are higher but well worth the service she provides. We will work together at my office next month. I am delighted to have found such a key service in the hands of a wonderful person.
Description of Work: Carol worked with me for three hours on thorny paper problems, both how to handle paper as it comes into my home, how to most effectively set up files, and then the actual sorting and filing.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
ELIZABETH B.
11/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreIt went well--Carol was timely, professional, and friendly. She was able to show me what to do and get me motivated to do it! I would definitely use her services again.
Description of Work: Carol was a big help in getting my workplace more organized. I would recommend her to anyone who needs support and a good eye for organization!
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Angie H.
11/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreIt's a big job that will take more than the 3 hours, but I feel like I can continue it now. It's really nice to see some clean spaces.
Description of Work: She helped me get organized and continue my cleanup of closets, bookshelves, file cabinets.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Rena H.
11/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol arrived on time and wanted to get a sense of my overall goals for our 3 hour session. She looked at my office layout and made som great suggestions of moving things around to open up and create more space for all my stuff. She helped me sort through the papers and supplies and organize them efficiently. Although we did not get through everything in the short time, she did provide a game plan for attacking the other areas in my office. I will certainly have her back again to finish the office and work on other cluttered areas of my house. Also, it was nice chatting with her while we were working together. She is a very pleasant person with helpful ideas.
Description of Work: She helped me clear through the clutter in my home office and begin the process of organizing it best for productivity.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
SHELDON L.
10/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreThe service was exceptional, under very trying circumstances.
Description of Work: Optimal Organizing sorted, organized, packed and moved the entire contents of the home, prior to selling.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
Sarah N.
10/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol was fantastic! She was very respectful, inquisitive, and helpful. She really tries to understand your needs and then presents a focused plan from which to work from. I learned a great deal about organizing my house and would recommend her to anyone!
Description of Work: Carol helped me reorganize the closets in my house and offered multiple suggestions for shelving units and file cabinet organization.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Lynn M.
07/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreIt was excellent. She was timely and got a lot accomplished. I felt she gave me a new start as far as how to reorganize. She was also very friendly.
Description of Work: I bought a Big Deal for 3 hours of organizing services.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
KIM W.
04/2013
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreShe was very professional and helpful. She was not judgmental about my disorganization. She was firm about what I should toss out, but not overly pushy or critical, as I had with another organizer. We made a lot of progress in the short time she was over. I am definitely planning to use her again.
Description of Work: Organizing papers- home office
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
Sue L.
12/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol's down-to-earth approach allowed me to sort out what was worth keeping, what I could give away, and what I could dispose of of. In fact, she helped me create order out of chaos. I never felt that Carol was critical. She was just straight forward and matter of fact. As a result, I could take direction from her, and we worked together to eliminate clutter and make my space more serviceable. It is so much more pleasant to be in my home, it is hard to express the value of Carol's service.
Description of Work: Carol helped me organize several areas of my home. We worked on clearing surfaces, organizing kitchen cabinets, sorting through bookcases, including cook books, and organizing and consolidating bedroom clutter.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$500
Laura M.
12/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol is awesome! I really didn't know how she would start or that we'd be able to accomplish anything in just a few hours but it was amazing. Not only was I able to see my desk, but the floor as well. She helped me focus and make decisions as we went along. Definitely recommend using her if you have any organizational needs.
Description of Work: Carol came out to help organize a room that had been my office, as well as a catch all for everything that didn't have a home somewhere else.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
Jennifer P.
12/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreShe came, was on time and got right to work. She first talked to me about what my goal was. After that she assessed what needed to be done and the best way to go about it. We went through papers, organized them and filed them. She was excellent and I would deffinatly recommend her to other people.
Description of Work: She came to my home and helped me organize my office.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Chuck S.
12/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol was great and we plan to use her again. We had hoped to use her to organize my office, but instead my wife asked her to help organize our daughters bedroom. They organized book shelves, dresser, furniture in the room, etc. It was a great experience.
Description of Work: Organization services for our home
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$300
CHRIS H.
11/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreI have a long list of organizational projects and decided to take advantage of Optimal Organizing's Angie's Big Deal offer. At $99 for three hours, I figured it was a great way to get me started. Carol Woodworth was extremely flexible and accommodating. She was very pleasant to work with and kept me on-task. I had so much to do, that I was overwhelmed. Carol helped me to identify key areas to start with and she guided me the whole time while offering helpful strategies to keep me going and prioritizing areas to work on after our session was over. I am continuing to pick at my projects but will definitely be calling Carol again to help me get more done.
Description of Work: Three hours of home organizational assistance.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Vicky D.
10/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol was great! She had some good recommendations for containing small items in laundry room. A very good value - highly recommend her service.
Description of Work: For 3 hours, we re-arranged cabinets and closets.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Susan S.
09/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreFor me, some of her solutions could have been more creative. She was punctual and pleasant and I think that she is great at helping people who are unorganized get organized. But, I feel like I am pretty organized already and wanted some suggestions on new, out-of-box ideas for organization.
Description of Work: She gave me some advice and help on organizing my office as part of a Big Deal..
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$99
brian F.
09/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moregood she was on time, knows her business, and is a pro beginning to end
Description of Work: Carol did a great job helping me set up my new office. thanks!
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$120
Mary C.
09/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol came in and got to work right away and assessed the project. She kept me on task and gave me my office back with great suggestions on how to improve space usage. Also gave me permission to throw things away by offering to donate the items and send me a receipt. As soon as my kitchen is ready I will have her back to help me with that project.
Description of Work: 3 hours of organization services for my home office area.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
SHERI A.
07/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreIt has been about 3 months since we did this, and I really like how functional my kitchen is now. A huge improvement over the way I had it. Carol is easy to work with and knows what she is doing. We will use her again.
Description of Work: We recently moved and wanted help reorganizing our kitchen. Carol spent 4 hours cleaning out our cabinets, helping me decide what to get rid of and where to put things. She suggested that I get some additional containers, so I went out and got them and we used them right away.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$133
TOI H.
06/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreIt was a great experience!!! Carol made it painless. I didn't regret my decisions on what to keep and what to get rid of. It was liberating not to second guess myself and "take one more peek, just in case." Once Carol and I looked at the item, it was gone. What one will appreciate about Carol is that she doesn't make you feel guilty or like a horder if you decide to keep something of sentimental value. She recommends how to maintain the item which ultimately makes it easier to recognize items that are not of as value as you once believed. Carol doesn't push, nudge, or coerce. Everything you decide to keep or eliminate is your decision, not Carol's decision.
Description of Work: I wanted to focus on one room which has been used as a dumping ground in the house. Carol was wonderful!!! She went through everything with me including papers. I had no problem ridding myself of "things" with Carol there. It was also great because she took items for donation to worthy causes and later provided receipts for these items. Carol made suggestions on how to effectively organize photographs as well as "gently" advising how to maintain the memory of my daughters old pictures, clothes, etc while eliminating the clutter. She even recognized my suggestions regarding the mountain of "stuff" and encouraged me to follow through with these ideas - which I have. Carol also gave solid suggestions on what to do to prevent being overwhelmed by the de-cluttering process. I have tackled other rooms, but will definitely call on her to tackle larger projects in the future. Thank you, Carol!!!
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$125
Susan Z.
04/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreI was very nervous about having someone in my home, especially in the "bad" room. I even told her when making the appointment that I felt I had to clean up the clutter before she came, like cleaning before the cleaning lady comes. She told me no, not to worry. Hard to imagine that she's seen worse. Anyway, not only did she give me strategies to deal with the incoming mail and bills, which was a great big help, she cleared a space for me to continue working. I appreciate her work and value it very highly. I got a great deal!
Description of Work: I never ever thought I would hire an organizer. Even after I purchased a discount organizing session with Carol from Angie's List, I thought about ways to keep her out of the "bad" room. I wanted help organizing my bills and paperwork. Carol just asked me to "show" the "bad" room to her, and two hours later 75% of the clutter was cleared out of the room and my desk, which had been stacked three feet high with a broken computer tower and stacks of paperwork, was completely cleared off and neatly arranged with a desk light, monitor, keyboard, and pencil cup. We didn't take before-and-after pictures because I didn't think she would even be in that room. She started gently, just taking one thing off of a packed shelf and querying "Do you need this?" Before I knew it, two hours had gone by and not only could I see the top of my desk, but there was an empty (empty!) shelf in my bookcase. It was a pleasure laughing and joking with her while we dug through piles of stuff so quickly I still don't know exactly what happened to it! Oh, and she did give me strategies to deal with bills and paperwork that so far are working, as long as I work her plan. Smartest thing I ever did.
| Rating Category | Rating out of 5 |
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$99
Carole H.
03/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreI had been putting this off for years. Actually, I was dreading this. I saw the coupon offered, and that Carol, the Organizer, lived in the city, and I decided to just do it. I was so happy that I did. Carol was here 3 hours (I was totally exhausted by the end of this time), and I feel we made a great start, and I can probably do the rest from what she taught me. It was a great learning experience, and Carol is a great teacher, as well as organizer. She talks you through the process, offering suggestions, great ideas, and moral support. There is a large psychological aspect to culling out your stuff which Carol totally gets, and is extremely patient in making sure that you want to get rid of things. She will even cart the stuff away. She made excellent suggestions on how to continue the process. I was very impressed with her skills, and professional, friendly manner, and would highly recommend her services.
Description of Work: Organizing office/photo studio. Needed help clearing space in bookshelves, organizing CD's, and filing systems.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$150
JENNIFER D.
03/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreDuring our three hour work-session, Carol kept me focused on the task at hand. (She was able to keep me from moving to new tasks before actually completing the one we'd started.) She helped me sort through several boxes, clear off my desk, file important documents and establish a plan for finishing the process after she left. We attacked each area...one at a time...until we'd cleared it. Then we moved to the next area. At the end of the session I had a plan for shredding sensitive material, donating a couple of boxes of unused "gifts" that I'd never managed to give away, countless books and recycling paperwork that I'd moved from my old much-larger home in Ohio. She was respectful of my privacy and of me. She spent the first couple of minutes getting a sense of how best to work with me and once we started going she was steading in guiding me through the process. I'd contracted for 3 hours. During that time I was able to accomplish more than I'd been able to accomplish on my own over several days. I wish I'd had her come sooner. I am recommending her to my family members and friends.
Description of Work: Carol Woodworth, of Optimal Organizing, came to my home to help me remove all the clutter, boxes and papers that were keeping me from actually setting up my office. She helped me transform the room into a workable space.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$100
Carolbeth S.
02/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreI cannot say enough good things about Carol. I determined early on that working with a team of organizers wasn't for me since the job involved personal decisions. In a total of six hours, we were able to clear out two rooms which were used to dump anything I didn't know what to do with.She arrived on time and we started by setting expectations for that work session. We worked in three hour clips. She challenged me in a supportive, healthy way to re-think my approach to holding onto paper and objects gathering dust. Respectful of my wishes and non judgmental about my clutter, Carol helped me identify what I really wanted to keep (which was everything) versus what I really needed to keep. It was a difficult but highly freeing experience. Carol went the extra mile to dispose of batteries and unneeded but still useable objects. She has a talent for being patient, supportive, focused, and persistent without being pushy. Carol was was enthusiastic and a joy to work with. There is much more to do and I will definitely hire her again.
Description of Work: Emptying out a bedroom in preparation for painting. Sorting through papers. Sorting through 80 years of stashed photographs and finding a "home" for them. Sorting through objects from my parent's estate.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$200
Jennifer P.
01/2012
home & garage organization
+ -1 moreCarol arrived at my house on time. We went over what needed to be done and we got to work. She was extremely efficient and clear on what she could get done in the time we had. I showed her other areas that would need organizing and she came up with a plan including length of time for each job, materials needed and what each of would need to do to accomplish my goals. Her fee's are fair and I would highly recommend her.I will continue to use her as needed.
Description of Work: She organized my pile of bills and papers and created a wonderful filing system that is easy to use and keep up. We cleaned out the old files and placed them into labeled file folders and boxes, making them easily accessible. This also cleared room to add 2012 files as they come in.
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Yes, I recommend this pro
$200
Contact information
unknown, Chicago, IL 60625
http://www.optimalorganizing.netService hours
Sunday:
9:00 AM - 12:00 PMMonday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMTuesday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMWednesday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMThursday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMFriday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMSaturday:
9:00 AM - 3:00 PMLicensing
No License Required for Trade
Eco-friendly Accreditations
LEED Accredited Professional
No
Energy Star Partner
No
EPA Lead-Safe Certified
No
Use Green Products or Work Practices
Yes
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our State Contractor License Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.
Service Categories
Home and Garage Organization,
Moving Companies
FAQ
Optimal Organizing is currently rated 5 overall out of 5.
Sunday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Monday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Optimal Organizing accepts the following forms of payment: Check
Yes, Optimal Organizing offers free project estimates.
Yes, Optimal Organizing offers eco-friendly accreditations.
No, Optimal Organizing does not offer a senior discount.
No, Optimal Organizing does not offer emergency services.
No, Optimal Organizing does not offer warranties.
Optimal Organizing offers the following services: Organizational Services
** NOW OFFERING.....VIRTUAL ORGANIZING SERVICES**
If you have a home organizing project or a personal business project, I will work with you virtually using Zoom, FaceTime or Skype. For more information or for an initial consult, contact me at carol@optimalorganizing.net or call me at 773-612-5898.
NA
Contact information
unknown, Chicago, IL 60625
http://www.optimalorganizing.netService hours
Sunday:
9:00 AM - 12:00 PMMonday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMTuesday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMWednesday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMThursday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMFriday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PMSaturday:
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM