Your Office - Process, Services & Fees
Improve your productivity. Streamline scheduling and billing clients. Stop buying duplicate supplies. Find storage.
"Stuff" management, time and stress management and space planning are all involved.
I enjoy structure and organization, and combining functionality and form, and I can put that to work for you. I can find the exact photocopier with the smallest footprint to fit the only space in the office with a grounded electrical outlet.
I get huge satisfaction when I am able to guide people on a deeply personal, highly collaborative level. I constantly need to be creative and think on my feet to develop solutions with my clients. There are very few people who are "traditional" file-cabinet-and-folder thinkers. It's fun to help people explore out-of-the-box ideas and methods for resolving their problems. And it's wonderful to help people regain comfort and peace in their offices.
I want this process to be fun for you. I will use humor at every chance to make this work easier. I am also able to work in what some people see as a very informal environment - with the phone ringing while we work, the deliveries arriving at the gate, and the staff knocking on the door.
I will always listen to you. I enjoy hearing my clients' stories, getting introduced to their history. It's critical that I teach my clients the skills they need to eventually continue on their own, which involves a lot of give-and-take and experimentation. The process and work of getting organized, if well-done, makes people more self-aware.
Call me at (425) 947-3976 to schedule a one-hour walk through. Or email me at lauren@casualuncluttering.com.d
Lauren knows business
I'm Lauren Williams, Certified Professional Organizer®, the founder of Casual Uncluttering.
I have a professional history in a variety of settings, from think tanks and small non-profits to Columbia University. I've worked with nuns, doctors, lawyers and other demanding specialists as well. I refined my organizing skills while subscription manager for scholarly publications, office and records manager for fundraising departments, senior administrator for a university dean - a jack-of-all-trades with a mind for details. I am openly bisexual, out since 1982, and with equal pride, I can point to service to my community, at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of NYC, during Pride Parades and in membership in various queer organizations. I once founded a two-person company producing gay greeting cards, several years before they were fashionable. I'm also familiar with and comfortable in the leather community.
I've been heavily involved in three office moves. I was the third person hired into a brand-new department (and the only reason I wasn't the second - No. 2 had already been hired, and was getting fired for incompetence!). I've brought order back to several offices which had lacked staff for months. I have a BA from Bryn Mawr College, and an MBA from Baruch College of the City University of New York.
I count my organizing clients in the 100s.
Services, Terms and Fees
Initial Walk-Through (on-site and virtual)
Free for one hour
Personalized, one-on-one service on-site, hourly
$100/hour;
Assistants are brought on at $60/hour/per assistant, without discount.
As of 7/1/2021, Washington State requires me to charge sales tax on services and goods my company provides to all clients located in Washington State, including services provided by my subcontractors. The tax rate will vary according to each client's location.
Personalized, one-on-one service on-site PACKAGES
8 hours, 3% discount
16 hours, 5% discount
24 hours, 10% discount
Assistants are brought on at $60/hour/per assistant, without discount.
As of 7/1/2021, Washington State requires me to charge sales tax on my services and any goods or services, for example the assistance of subcontractors, I add to my services on behalf of a Washington client. The charge will depend on a client's location: current rates vary from 8.4 to 10.4% of my rates.
Virtual Services
$100/hour
As of 7/1/2021, Washington State requires me to charge sales tax on services my company provides to all clients located in Washington State, including services provided by my subcontractors, and on all costs I pass on to my clients. The tax rate will vary according to each client's location.
Gift Cards
I offer gift cards BUT ONLY if the gift isn't given as a surprise.
Payment
Check, PayPal or credit card:
Invoices will be provided for all transactions between Client and Casual Uncluttering, and payment is due upon receipt of each invoice or unless the invoice is disputed or alternative arrangements have been made in writing. Payment may be made via check, money order, credit card or PayPal, with checks made payable to Casual Uncluttering. Any dispute or claim with respect to an invoice must be raised in writing within fifteen (15) days from the date of the invoice or the dispute is waived, at which time payment in full will be due and owing. Late fees of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month will be applied to all invoices that are more than 15 days outstanding. Payments that fail to process will incur bank fees, an administrative fee of $50, and one and one-half percent (1.5%) late fees on the outstanding balance.
Service Area
I am best able to work within King County, but will consider other locations on an individual basis. I work some weeknights, some weekends, and of course weekdays. I can often begin as early as 8:00AM or start as late as 6:00PM. I will offer virtual services whenever my client and I can get time zones to cooperate.
Process
I help you declutter and arrange your work environment. I guide you through discovering the systems and the approaches that work for you in your surroundings and for your day-to-day operations.
In the process, you might discover anything from an uncashed and valid check, to the heavy-duty stapler you misplaced, to materials for a marketing campaign that you thought had promise.
I work on any and all areas of an office including:
- Garages
- Staff Rec Rooms
- Supply Closets
- Mail Rooms
- Offices
- Reception Areas
I work with physical items such as:
- Supplies
- Equipment
- Furniture Placement
- Lighting
- Paperwork
I pledge that I will always act with discretion and confidentiality concerning a client's business.
Call me at (425) 947-3976 and let's talk. Or email me at lauren@casualuncluttering.com.
Remember, the first one-hour walk-through is free! Answers to Common Questions
Virtual Uncluttering During (and After) COVID
I'm conducting safe, socially-distanced organizing sessions with the teleconference tool of your choice (Zoom, Teams, Duo, Facetime.)
One-on-one teleconferenced organizing meetings, also known as "virtual" or "remote" organizing, are usually shorter than a "regular" engagement, focus on well-defined projects even more closely than side-by-side work, and can have some powerful advantages over efforts where I'm hands-on with you.
Call me at 425-947-3976 or email me at lauren@casualuncluttering.com.
In the meanwhile, reach out to someone you fought with, call that college buddy, mail a letter to someone.
Be safe, be well.
Testimonials
I had Lauren help me organize my office - I'm a band director who has over 300 students a day and am in my 30th year of teaching, so there was a LOT of hard work to do. The techniques she taught me in the process of streamlining my office have been easy to maintain, created a space where I can function quite well, and carried over into other areas of my life. I can't say enough about how her involvement in teaching an old lady new tricks has fundamentally changed my life! I save at least an hour a day that is no longer spent looking for things, and I FEEL so much less cluttered in my mind, too. That is priceless. If you are stuck in a rut, can't figure out how to get started, or need a fresh perspective, call Lauren and let her work her magic. You'll wonder why you waited so long! Lesley Moffat, Henry M. Jackson High School, Mill Creek, WA
It was a brief but successful journey, captained by Lauren Williams!
I had four hours in which to spend on tackling my office space in the classroom. I had moved classrooms at the beginning of the school year, and hit the ground running. I had my own materials to incorporate into what was left by the previous teacher. What ended up happening between September and April is there wasn't a good organizing system and my work space kept growing out of control.
Within the allotted time I had scheduled to work with Lauren, she facilitated my realization of my vision for my space. Some professional organizers have a set way and show you their way. While I went in to this experience needing direction, I got that direction, but customized to me. She cheered on my efforts, letting me know that I was making great progress. She also kept me on schedule, as well as encouraging a timely break or two.
Lauren even encouraged me to use my own terminology for the different organizing zones - give away, donate, share, let it go to a colleague, don't want any more.... And 'to file' was narrowed down to more specific terms, such as really considering what type of filing was ultimately needed - 'to file' was revised as we went. As I realized how I wanted my system that would make me more efficient would look, the categories were revised.
Lauren was responsive to my style, like only a pro can do. Her flexibility in adapting to what I needed was spot on! She also came fully prepared with resources to support the process, her own trash bin to haul away what we collected, clips and binders, cardboard boxes at the ready to move clutter to storage if needed and blue tape to set up organizing zones. This clearly wasn't her first rodeo.
I'm excited to get back to work after this spring break and put to use the new efficient systems that we created together! I am now clear about how I will use my newly defined spaces.
All this, in only a four hour journey! Thank you, Lauren :) Phoebe T., Burien, 4-9-2019
I've been meaning to contact you every day since we've been back from spring break.
I've kept the desk clear, except when it's being used for the intended use.
The filing is working ouy great! When I come back from meetings, I know exactly where every piece of paper or document should go! What a relief to feel so efficient! Phoebe T., Burien, 4-30-2019
I found my home office getting more and more cluttered as the years went on. Piles of paper, un-sorted business cards/leads and general clutter in the work environment. I hired Lauren and she helped me think differently about the space and flow. She was not a 'throw this out or keep this' kind of mindset, rather asking questions to help evaluate a plan that would best fit my needs. I'm happy to say after a couple three hour sessions my office is under control and it's liberating to see carpet again! We all seek professional help when it comes to health care, taxes and such...why not seek the same kind of professional help if you've been struggling to get your home office in shape? Now I need to work daily at keeping my new systems in place and keep my office clutter free. Jim L., Marysville, April 2015
- Certified Virtual Professional Organizer®
- Certified Professional Organizer(R)
- National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals
(NAPO) Member since 3/22/2011 - Volunteer BCPO Exam Development Committee Subject Matter Expert March 2020 -
- NAPO Seattle Area chapter member since 3/22/2011 (Board of Directors May 2013 - May 2016, Board of Directors May 2018 -)
- Institute for Challenging Disorganization Member since 7/1/2017
Earned all four available Specialist Level II Certificates of Study from the Institute for Challenging Disorganization:
- Earned all 10 available Institute for Challenging Disorganization Level I Certificates of Study
- Registered service provider with the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington (BIAWA), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Sound Generations, a social services agency for seniors.
- Member of the Northwest LGBT Senior Care Providers Network since 6/2014.
- Member of the Greater Seattle Business Association since 2/2013.
- Certified by the Institute for Professional Organizers™
- Certified by ProfessionalOrganizers.com, Professional Organizers in Canada
- Bryn Mawr College A.B. English
- Baruch College of the City University of New York M.B.A. International & Comparative Business