Too Much Clutter at Home? - Page 2

"Whenever I go to someone's home, they have all the books on how to get organized on their shelves," says professional organizer Thalia Poulos in the CA-Modern story. "They've tried to do it on their own, but it often doesn't work. People would rather be playing golf or spending time with family than organizing their own belongings."

That's where a service like Clutter Inc. can come to the rescue. The Culver City-based company was formed in 2013 and currently serves most of the Bay Area and Southern California, New York, and New Jersey. Specialists like Gordon will come to one's home, help determine what to store and what to toss, document it, pack it, and take it away to secured storage.

To aid documentation, Gordon said, they photograph the contents of every box, "Then we take a picture of the label of that box."

Items and boxes can be summoned for delivery back home within 48 hours by a dial of the phone or a click of the mouse.

"When it's in storage...you have more room to breathe," said Gordon. "We store so many different things for people. It kind of depends on what their life looks like."

The Clutter Inc. specialist said common items include seasonal things like decorations and camping gear, but also things like building materials, including one contractor for whom "we're storing dozens of doors."

"If we can get it in our trucks, we'll store it," said Gordon confidently. The only things the company does not accept are liquids, perishables, hazardous materials, and illegal substances.

It may be the cure for the common hoarder—and so is the information in 'Cleaning Up Your Act,' your sneak preview of the new summer '16 issue of CA-Modern.