This Influencer Wants You to Hire Organizers Instead of Movers

Be honest: How long have you found yourself living out of boxes after a move? How much time have you lost looking for something that didn’t have a home yet in your new space?

For many people, moving out is the easy part; it’s moving in that’s hard. That’s why TikToker Sabriena Abrre hired professional organizers instead of movers a few months ago. She doesn’t mind lifting boxes herself, but she says in a video that she’ll never move into a new home without organizers again.

“I literally was able to say, ‘Unpack all of this. Find a spot for all of it,’ and they did,” she says. “When I say they did everything — they unboxed, they categorized, they shopped for bins, they labeled, they styled everything.”

Abrre hired a team from Utah-based Happy Homes Professional Organizing for three days, which cost a little over $5000 for roughly 100 hours of labor.

“I could never even find 100 hours in a month or two months to organize my own home,” Abrre says. “I’m a mom of three. I work, I’m tired, I’m busy.”

Abrre acknowledges it’s a privilege to afford organizers, but she points out that you could spend the same amount of money on a team of movers and end up with a messy home. Her viewers know this from experience.

“We’re 2 years in our home and we still have unopened boxes!” someone comments on her post.

Organizers, on the other hand, help clients get settled in a new space as quickly as possible. Hannah Chytraus, founder and CEO of Happy Homes Professional Organizing, says half of the company’s jobs are helping clients with moves. There’s an aesthetic benefit to an organized space, of course, but the bigger impact might be emotional.

“It takes a lot of the mental load off because typically, your life isn’t stopping when you move, you’re just adding on a move on top of your life,” Chytraus tells HGTV. “So, when we can come in and make that safe space for [clients] again as fast as possible, it really does help with the adjustment.”

If you want to hire organizers for a move, just make sure to plan ahead. Chytraus says a common mistake her clients make is waiting until a move gets overwhelming before bringing in help.

“They call too late, and then they’re living in chaos for weeks because the organizers are booked out. If you really want to work with organizers, you should call them before the move,” she says. “It honestly ends up costing less money in the long run because it’s done more efficiently.”

But if you don’t hire organizers, you can still take steps to unpack like a pro. First and foremost, categorize and edit your belongings before you move, Cytraus advises, or make sure it’s step one when you arrive. Then, sort all of your boxes into the correct rooms before you start finding homes for everything. Finally, Cytraus recommends buying bins and other organizers to keep everything in its place, but pay attention to their measurements to maximize your space. Ill-fitting products won’t help you maintain an organized space.

For all of that work, Abrre believes hiring professionals was money well spent.

“Not to be dramatic, but it has changed my life,” she says. “I just feel like I spend so much less time trying to find things. When we moved in, everything was already unboxed and put away. It was like a dream come true. I don’t feel like I stressed over the move whatsoever.”