Organizing Options of Illinois

I was overwhelmed! I had my own stuff, plus stuff from my parents home that I inherited. OMG, the STUFF! Antiques, silver, books out the whazoo. What to do! Mara came in, quickly surveyed the scene and laid out a game plan. Using her recommended vendors, I did most of the work, but she handled things I knew nothing about - like how to shed silverware and antiques. What mover to use. Who was the most dependable junk hauler. A few months later, I moved. Still with too much stuff, but that was my fault. Mara is a gem and a delightful lady. Just call her and REST EASY. Her fees are very reasonable.

Mara at organizing options gave me great advice for our situation. She was extremely helpful.

We highly recommend Mara and the crew. The challenge of cleaning out my mother-in-law's home in order to get it ready for sale seemed insurmountable so we called Mara. She walked through the home with us, gave us her expert comments as to what she would sell, donate and trash. She guided us through the whole process, and completed the task very quickly once we hired her. The 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with a basement and garage full of stuff is now completely empty except for a few pieces of furniture for staging. We were stunned to see what she and the crew was able to accomplish. Thank you Mara!

Mara couldn't have been better. She was with me every step of the way through an emotional and overwhelming project. First, she assessed what we had and determined what could be auctioned, what could be sold, and what should be donated. She packed up dishes, silver, knick knacks, etc etc. She identified furniture she thought could be sold and arranged to have that picked up by an auction house and a dealer. She is very knowledgeable about what there is a market for, and what there isn't. She removed all the objects she thought she could get auctioned/sold and took them to the appropriate dealers. Then she arranged for junk removers to come and dispose of the rest. They junk removers were very careful and courteous and planned on taking our things to Goodwill. She took her commission from the money we made through auctions and sales. I felt like I had a partner every step of the way, and would not hesitate for a minute to recommend her and use her company again. For the work and effort she put in, I felt her commission was very reasonable.

We were looking for a medium-sized agency: One large enough to be efficient, but not so large that it's difficult to track progress or where items are going. Mara and her team were the perfect match for us. They were efficient, cleaning the entire house in only 5 days. This was a very large task. It was managed expediciously and well worth the cost. Due to distance, Mara kept us informed of every transaction and donation via email, phone calls and texts. She sought our input multiple times to ensure that items went where we wanted them to go. We were so pleased with the resources (buyers and charities) they had available so that there were no transportation costs for moving those items offsite. The team seemed to adopt our family and were very sensitive to family history and items. They were also sensitive to the items that could be sold or donated, so nothing that could be used again was recycled or trashed. Mara and her team has our complete admiration for their trustworthiness and honesty, transparency, and congeniality! We wish her much continued success and many cumulosic days! Phil and Ruth

Mara took great care and detail in tackling my issue, even considering we did not strike a deal to work together. I would highly recommend working with Mara for your estate needs.

The whole team from Organizing Options was wonderful to work with during the process of cleaning out my sister's apartment. I am not from the Chicago area and without their help it would have taken much longer to get her apartment emptied. They arranged for haulers to take away the donations and refuse. They personally took away hazardous materials and disposed of electronics. Mara arranged for buyers to come in and look at the items I had for sale. My sister lived in an apartment two floors up with no elevator and all items had to be carried out down two twisting flights of stairs. Mara even took a bucket of change to turn in for cash, she also went and exchanged some foreign currency my sister had. Mara was very knowledgeable about buyers and because my sister had many books related to her work she told me about a company that would come and take/buy those books. The staff that Mara brought in were extremely hard workers. I was amazed at the amount of work they got done in a very sort time. My sister had a large two bedroom apartment with many closets, bookshelves and cupboards. Everything was sorted and gone thru during 3 - 4 work days over the course of a two week period. The whole team was very sensitive to my feelings during this difficult time. Mara stayed in constant touch with me to keep me informed about buyers, haulers and work dates. By the time we were finished with my sister's apartement I felt like I had made new friends and hated to see them go. I highly recommend this company if you have the need to clean out or organize a home. The cost is going to very according to the size of your project. I paid $75.00 per worker per hour. When items were sold the money went to the company, the money brought in was split 60/40 with the 40% going to Organizing Options. My 60% was subtracted from the money I owed the company. Mara kept good records of the money brought in and went over where we were each time she was at the apartment. I felt the price I paid was very fair given the amount of work that was done.

My family had a great experience with Organizing Options! Working with Mara and Brett was a positive experience from start to finish. They were professional, fast, thorough, honest and best of all, they were extremely kind and pleasant throughout the duration of the project. Our family member's home was in hoarder's condition and Organizing Options managed to clear it in 2 days and that was no easy task! Mara & Brett kept us fully informed and updated along the way and never hesitated to answer any of our questions or address any concerns. They found a solution that worked best for our situation and gave their best effort to clearing and selling the estate's contents in record time. They also kept our budget top of mind which gave me full confidence that they really did have our family's best interest in mind. Organizing Options is truly a family company that takes pride in taking great care of other families! We could not have done this without them. If you are looking for an honest company that demonstrates hard work and respect for a reasonable price, look no further!

Mara and her crew showed up on time and jumped into the work immediately. I'm a very organized person and I was impressed by how organized Mara was...as well as her crew. They were efficient, compassionate, fast and worked really hard to clear the house out in less than a day. They did their best to sell as many items as possible, both to the buyer who came to the house and to outside buyers through Mara's contacts and on Craigslist.

I contacted the company to see if they would be able to run an estate sale auction. Mara and I spoke. I gave her some information, for which she wanted to review and get back to me. She called me back within an hour. Informed me based on her schedule they were unable to help. Since our schedules would not match up she did the next best thing, gave another company's name and phone that might be able to. Mara then proceed to tell me if they could not help, to call her back she would see what she could do. This is a company that I will keep their number handy for my future needs or my family and friends needs. I know that I would have enjoyed working with them.

The first time I used Mara and her team was when my mother passed away leaving me a house filled with two households worth of stuff. Mara was able to assess my needs and work within my parameters for what I wanted (needed to clear the basement so that I could finish it). She was not only able to clear the whole basement within a week but also able to sell several peices that were worth a sum of money that I didn't want to keep but didn't know what to do with. She was efficient and caring. She did a spectacular job and the only reason why I have her come back is my life gets so busy that occasionally I need a refresher. I would wholeheartedly recommend this team for any and all of your needs!

Finding Mara and Organizing Options of Illinois was a blessing for us. In January of 2016 my step father passed away leaving my Mom alone with an estate to settle and chemo treatments to finish. My husband and I live 4+ hours away, out of state, and were making weekly trips to help out. My step father was a man of many interests and the large ranch house and full attic were completely stuffed with the many things that he saved and collected throughout his 50+ years of living there. After Mom gave away what she wanted we moved her and her things to our home. We now needed someone to come in and sell, donate, recycle and dispose of everything in the house and attic so that the house could be sold. I contacted Mara and all aspects of the job were discussed and agreed upon in advance. There were no surprises. This was all done through email, phone, pictures and texts. Mara and her team were wonderful! We mailed her a key to the house and she took it from there. Her team accomplished in 4 days what we had been working on for 6 months and had barely made a dent. They worked tirelessly in less than ideal circumstances; high heat and no air conditioning. The attic was over 100 degrees! This was a large complex project and it was handled expertly from start to finish. Mara even dropped off a found cable box at Comcast. We highly recommend Mara and her crew at Organizing Options! Mara was extremely professional and kind. She was a true pleasure to work with. We could not have done it without her and her team! Sincerely, Judy, Lew & Charlene (mom)

I will regret for the rest of my life that I chose the fast route of clearing out my in-laws' house when I hired Organizing Options. For my family's needs and temperament, I would have been better served by the single-person professional organizer who had been recommended by a friend. I chose Organizing Options because of its great rating on Angie's List and because I was lured by the siren call of a quick fix. Based on the reviews, their methods have been well-regarded by others, but my experience left me with sadness, anger, and embarrassment. As a person who cares about sustainable living in a community of like-minded individuals, before my experience with Organizing Options it had been incomprehensible that people--especially professionals--would throw recyclables into a dumpster. By hiring Organizing Options I contributed to depositing significant amounts of paper, electronics, and textiles to a landfill. I am so sorry I let it happen. It should be a no-brainer to place paper in an appropriate recycling bin and take electronics to any of the regularly scheduled collection events in the area. In my community, the Public Works department regularly partners with the Epilepsy Foundation to collect old clothing, other textiles, shoes, belts, hats, bags, etc., to be repurposed. So basic recycling wasn't followed. Even worse, my list of instructions was ignored. I had been asked to mark with tape the items we wanted, but the reason I had sought professional assistance was because sorting and identifying what we wanted to keep (or give to people or organizations we knew would want them) was overwhelming. My in-laws kept everything, and the four-level house was full. As we got closer to the cleanout date, I started to just make a list of categories and certain specific items to keep whether they were taped or not. How I wish I had made a longer list and insisted on the opportunity to review it personally with each of the on-site staff members, instead of relying on their leadership to give instructions. Rather than taking charge of my situation, I opened myself to assistance and let the Organizing Options leader and his team ram through the house in a frenzy, doing what they do--looking for items that may interest their preferred antique dealer, offering items to their preferred charity, taking items for themselves to "sell," and throwing everything else in a dumpster. They claimed that items throughout the house were mildewed, but this was definitely not true of items on the main two levels. Many items just suffered from dustiness, while many had been packed in boxes, dust-free, for years. Organizing Options filled 2 large dumpsters (the kind that are taller than a person, that you enter from a door on one end), while representatives of a "charity in the city" drove off with a full moving truck plus a trailer loaded with metal recyclables. There were instances when staff brought specific items to my attention, and I typically didn't want them, but that didn't mean I didn't care what happened to them. I am haunted by the knowledge that after the charity had left, serviceable items that I said I didn't want went to the dumpster. I wish I would have stopped their process and taken the time to consider where items should or could go. Most of the items in the house were disposed of without my seeing what happened to them. I am haunted by the fact that antique furniture, baby clothes and many, many dishes and other treasures from all sides of my husband's family tree were things that in the swirl of the cleanout day are just gone. The fast "cleanout" was a mistake. We needed help organizing. Surely a good deal of things would have still gone to the landfill, but I am pretty sure that at least a dumpster full of items could have gone to other places--recycling, friends and neighbors, extended family members, or our preferred charities. For example, there were many, many fabrics, papers and other odds and ends that were the kinds of things that people buy at a local rummage/estate sale held three times per month by a local charity, The Economy Shop in Oak Park. Art postcards that I had begun placing in a box in the kitchen disappeared, and when I asked about them, a staff member said, "nobody wants those, so I 'eighty-sixed' them." I looked at him in amazement and decided to let it go at the time, but it still bothers me. We are a family of artists, with neighbors and friends who are artists. The postcards were new and un-faded, and the Economy Shop could have sold those cards to someone who would have been thrilled to have them, or my art-loving son could have incorporated them into a project. I myself go to the Economy Shop looking for odds and ends for Halloween costumes and other projects. There were so many people buzzing around that it wasn't possible to keep track of what everyone was doing. At some point, on top of a pile of garbage bags filled with "donations," I noticed a box and bag of cleaning supplies that I had previously stashed in a bathroom closet, which I had designated on my list as off-limits. I went to that room, and the person there said he had cleaned it out but left things he thought we would want. I saved part of that situation, but there were many little episodes like this that cannot be reversed. There were big things too--like how the leader of the crew offered clay masks made by my artist mother-in-law to the antique dealer. I didn't even get the opportunity to see most of the haul taken for $225 by the antique dealer (the leader said we needed to accept "wholesale" prices), but I saw those masks on a table and pulled them off (after they were paid for by the dealer but before the dealer's people came to pick them up). When I turned to the guy in charge, I learned that he found the masks in a box in the attic. (Art works were supposed to be off-limits.) I later learned that he threw the rest of the box of masks away, claiming that they were broken. What I needed was assistance with segregating items so I and my husband could review and make informed decisions about where things would go. I paid over $5,000 (including $70/person per hour over 8 hours) to raid my house and make decisions that were not in keeping with our sensibilities. I remind myself that it's only stuff and it could have been lost to natural disaster. I appreciate that Mara of Organizing Options has been talking with me and feels badly about what happened with our "cleanout." Our conversations have helped my moods for those particular times, but my anger remains, and I am working through it. Expressing an honest review of my experience is important in this process.

The did it in a day. A day! They were organized. They were quick. They completely cleared the house. They had a dumpster there. They had organizations that took donations. They had a buyer for all my mom's kitschy belongings. They clearly knew what they were doing. And they were fun and made the difficult job of liquidating my mom's house bearable. I highly recommend Organizing options.

Mara came into my life at a very difficult time for me. My mother had just passed and had purchased a house from a family member the year before (along with all of the stuff from that household). She was able to help me clean out the basement which had about three households worth of stuff. We accomplished this task well before our projected timeline, saving me both time and money. She was able to find value in a majority of the things that I didn't want or need as well as hauling away anything else. Mara was not just an organizer for me though, she helped me through this difficult time after losing my mother and was able to coach me through the purging process with so much caring and nurturing. I value that just as much as the organizing. I have worked with Mara several times since then and again it has been wonderful. She had been able to get my place into the shape that I wanted and with my needs in mind. She really tries to put into place plans that will work for the client and long term organizational systems that meet the needs and goals of the people she works with. I cannot say enough great things about Mara and her crew.

After my mom passed and my father moved in with me out of state, I was left with a large 3 bedroom condo in Illinois to deal with. I needed to get it ready to be sold and it was full of furniture and stuff that my dad no longer wanted or needed. I found Organizing Options of Illinois on Angie's List and contacted them. Mara was so helpful and knowledgeable on what needed to be done that I had them come to the condo to provide me with a quote. We scheduled a day for the cleanout. Brett and his crew arrived ontime and had everything prearranged and coordinated with their workers, trucks and dumpster. They started working and did not stop until the job was done. It was amazing to watch. I felt so relieved that this problem was being handled by professionals who knew what they were doing and not just by me. Their experience showed and they cared. After they were done I did not find any damage anywhere and everything was broom clean. I strongly reccommend Organizing Options of Illinois to anyone needing help with a cleanout issue. You will not be sorry and your money will be very well spent. Brett stayed in contact with me from the first call until after the job was finished, making sure that I knew what was happening and making sure that everything was problem free. I would not hesitate to hire them again. Ruta Kozinski

Four generations of my family have lived and died in that house over the last 53 years. My mothers health has forced us to move her into a senior apartment complex and try to condense and clean out 53 years of flotsam and jetsum and cherished memories. I could not do it on my own, I needed help, and Mara and her team provided it. It was not cheap, but it was worth every penny. In one day the antiques had been sold, donations made and everything else disposed of. My wife and I could not have done that in a month. Less than a week from their start the house was ready to put on the market and Mara and her team treated us in a kind and transparent manner. I would recommend them without reservation to anyone who needed help like this. One item of note: the weekend before they started my mother asked us to get her ruby ring. She said she had hidden it inside an antique cup in the buffet. We searched and searched but did not find it and were certain it was lost forever. The evening of the first day Mara's team lead called us to give a status update and told us that they had found a ruby ring in a vase and put it aside for us. THAT is professionalism and caring. I would imagine it would be easy to pocket such treasures as they are found, but the team on site put family photos, paperwork and anything they felt would be important to retain in boxes for us to take later. I feel indebted to these good people for their kindness and ethic. You will have a hard time finding anyone better. Cheaper? Maybe. There are lots of "we haul junk" folks popping up these days, but safer? More trustworthy? More transparent? I would think not. --Frank Garland

Mara took care of everything and made the project super easy. She was reasonably priced and was great to work with. I highly recommend her.

We needed to clean out a family members house. After trying to accomplish this on our own for over a year we were at wits end. In 2 days they made it painless and our lives stress free Many thanks to Mara, Brad and Brett.

Every company should be this pleasant, fair, sensitive, transparent, and efficient. The contents of my mother's house included not only her estate but everything that her children had left behind when they moved away. This was a four bedroom home with an attic, basement, and garage. Furniture, clothing, kitchen items, knickknacks, tools, toys books, records, and general detritus acquired over the years needed to be moved out as the house was being sold - too massive a project for the remaining family. Although I could have hired a trash hauler to take everything to the dumpster, there was much in the house that deserved a second life. Mara was the perfect person for this task. She was very knowledgeable as to what could be sold, charities who might be interested in donations, and only as a final resort what needed to be thrown away. In addition to her extensive knowledge of the industry and her contacts, she was very sensitive to the feelings of the family who were seeing their childhood possessions dispersed. We were left with a feeling of confidence that some of the family things would find a good home. She and her company completed the job in two days and left the house broom clean. This was one of the few times where, as a consumer, I was sure that I had chosen the right person for the job. If you use this company, you won't be sorry. As they say in Australia, "no worries."

I had, in passing, mentioned to a friend that I was likely going to have to dispose of the contents of my parent's condo sometime soon as my step-father was quite ill. She mentioned she had a friend that does that kind of work (although had never personally used this service) and gave me Mara's information. I met with Mara while the condo was being prepared for sale and was impressed with her honesty, knowledge and advice. I did my homework and contacted other firms for comparison and came to the conclusion that Mara was my best choice and I was not disappointed. Once the condo went up for sale, it sold quickly. Mara was ready to go in an instant. She listened to all my concerns and wishes and went over and above. Much had already been removed, but she brought in some buyers who took some items prior to the final clean out. The day before the move out, Mara and her staff came in and packed up everything and got it ready for donation or disposal. Additionally, she found a wonderful charity that carefully took everything that remained and left the place absolutely clean (even vacuumed the hallway). I never once felt that my interests and wishes were not being honored and Mara was always sensitive to the fact that this was an estate sale and respected the emotional attachments that existed. At the end, I felt like I had a friend at my side, helping me to navigate all the details. I would recommend Mara to anyone and only regret that I had not brought her on earlier to help me clear out the items that I ended up bringing to my own home.

I had my first meeting with Mara in November of 2014 and we toured the house together. We were not able to proceed for awhile as there were some issues that needed to be addressed first and Mara and I met again in January of 2015. Once Mara actually started on the project, it took a total of 2 weeks for everything to be completed. Mara sold everything from the furniture to books and vinyl records and whatever did not sell was donated to a charity. Whatever was left was disposed of and the house was left clean and in ready-to-move-in condition by Mara and her crew. The sales were limited, for the most part, to dealers with whom Mara has dealt with previously so there never was a crowd of people trampling through the house. Mara is very caring and compassionate but is also very focused and efficient. I would highly recommend Organizing Options to anyone who finds themselves in a situation in which they have to dispose of a property that needs to be emptied of its contents first. I cannot say enough good things about Mara and our experience with her. This has been a very stressful time for us and having someone like Mara handle this situation in the way that she did was very helpful and very comforting. She is truly gifted and I hope that she will continue to provide these services for a long time.

Mara and her Organizing Options team came to my rescue in a very troubled time. After my Great Aunt passed away and I took on the duties of running the Estate, I faced the overwhelming task of cleaning out her South Chicago building when I live on the other side of the country in Los Angeles. To add to the complexity, she was a very severe hoarder. I unfortunately mean that the building was filled, nearly floor to ceiling, with everything imaginable. I had no idea how to take care of this from afar. It was really daunting, as I wanted to respect my Aunt's home and memory, but the situation needed someone skilled enough to differentiate junk from an antique - I did not just want to trash everything. I wrote to Organizing Options, and from the very first response they were respectful and professional. We quickly arranged a site inspection at the property through a friend who had keys. They immediately realized that this was an extreme situation and would take a great deal of resources. After an initial bid that was completely acceptable, but above my budget range, they worked with me to adjust the work timetable and I adjusted the scope of the job. The started work within a week of receiving a down payment. After 3 days, and 8 industrial-sized dumpsters were filled, the Organizing Options team over-delivered on an extremely demanding job. As other reviewers have detailed, they brought in specialty resources to clean up the property responsibly - from scrap metal guys to vintage clothing and antiques buyers - the team provided me with an inventory of items and the sales prices of the items. I do want to stress that this is NOT a low-priced service. The care and professionalism that this crew delivers is in line with the cost of their professional services. I am sorry to say, but those of you who have very little or no estate budget should not look for this type of service - unfortunately, it is not a charity service. Again, they are reasonable paid for their high-quality work. I am forever grateful to this great team - their communication was fantastic (emails, calls, photos) - I felt as if I was aware of every step of the project as it was happening. This was really a gift, considering I was thousands of miles away. They did not shy away from a challenging job that many companies would have easily passed on - and they did their work with pride, and with amazing respect to my Aunt's memory and my family. I have lost a great deal of my close family, and I am so sorry that I didn't have a service like this when I had to clean out other houses. This team has such grace, and they really understand the meaning of being a partner to you through a very emotional time. I feel that Mara and her crew are actually better suited to normal, non-hoarding, situations - many of their services are actually more valuable when a loved one's home is in a "normal" condition, but a family doesn't know where to start - they can best help in that situation.

This company knows how to meet a customer's need and at the same time exceed their expectations. I thought clearing out almost 40 years of the hoaded contents of a house was an overwhelming task. Not for Organizing Options of ILL. They expertise at identifying items that can be sold and have a large network of buyers. They identified and sold things I would have thrown out. For items that weren't salable they had their charity connection come pick them up on site and leave a detailed list of contributions for tax purposes. They had a dumpster on site for trash and it was removed promptly. Hazardous items were disposed of legally. Some of the contents were being shipped to family out of state and they even took care of getting them packed and shipped. Plus they were tidy about how they left the premises. I was kept informed prior to the job about what to expect and when. During the job I was kept informed about where they were in the process. Afterwards I was kept informed about the sales. Any time I had questions they were promptly and pleasantly answered. What any customer should appreciate about this company is their flexibility to perform whatever kinds of tasks the customer wants them to do in order to accomplish the end goal. Their team works like a well oiled machine and the overwhelming job was done in one day and came in under budget. There was a lot of logistics involved with getting dumpsters, buyers, help ect. on site when they were needed and everything went really smooth. YOU CAN"T GO WRONG BY USING THIS COMPANY.

Organizing options of illinois and Mara was a god-send for me. I was a bit skeptical about using a company without a personal recommendation but after seeking out 4 other companies---Mara had her team /contacts were all that I needed and at a competitive financial outcome. After the unexpected death of my mother, I was left to empty her apartment and get rid of everything. Mara was the only company willing to come and see the unit and look at things---most other companies wanted photos to see how valuable the items and job would be to them. She traveld 25 miles to my home. Mara offered me a variety of options on how to empty the unit and dispose of everything. She was thorough, complete , fair and honest about everything. Her compassion for the process and how difficult it is to let go on a loved one's belongings made the process easier. Her's was a no pressure approach and just plain honest advise- I really appreciated this. I had no idea how much money I would make and as we often forget- it is costly just to pack up and take things elsewhere- even if to charity. I only made enough to cover my expenses - plus a bonus of $1000.00- but after a lot of leg work and research-- no other company would have done any better. All of the companies I contacted told me that I had less than $15,000 of items and that an on-site estate sale would not be profitable and a real wear and tear on me and my home. Most companies were even unwiling to deal and with and help me but mara was not only willing to assist me in the completion of my project- she made it a lot easier. She offered me many options- from doing all the work herself to a shared process that saved me a bit of money. I like the personal approach I got from mara as well as the completeness of her services and would highly recommend the services of organizing options of Illinois and Mara to any one.