A lot of people ask me if it's really worth hiring a professional organizer to help you get rid of clutter or if you're better off doing it yourself.

Both are valuable options, but either way you should understand the specific steps and strategies to being more organized, making little changes gradually to simplify life at home.

Well at first glance having someone do things for you can certainly seem better than doing it yourself. But there are some big IF's that need to be considered.

Remember, you are typically going to pay by the hour (the going rate for a professional organizer can range anywhere from $35 to $250 an hour. So you have to be selective in which small part of the process they'll help you with.

Just a few weeks ago I got an email from a customer of mine who recently hired a professional organizer and paid her for a full day.

And all she did was hang pictures for 8 hours!

Which brings me to another point ... how do you know, once the service is complete, you are going to be satisfied or if you are even going to be able to maintain organization beyond a week, a month or a year from now?

Now here's the thing.

If you really, really want to make changes to the way you live in your home, you need to start living your life a little differently.

You should be able to manage your "stuff" and understand what it really takes to start enjoying the benefits of home organization.

Learn what it takes to get organized from the inside-out and discover the basic and simple rules of home organization so you can enjoy more time, more space and a better, happier life at home.

Then, even if later down the road you decide to hire someone to help you, you will be more knowledgable, you will understand the process more and -- combined with a few changes -- you will be living in an organized home before you know it.