about THE CHICAGO ORGANIZER

Clutter-free living. We can help.

The Chicago Organizer was founded by Terri Albert in 2007 after leaving her career as a corporate event planner and conference producer. After 17 years, Terri decided to retire from her role as the owner of The Chicago Organizer and she embarked on a new chapter in her life. Terri worked hard to find the right home for the business she started up herself all those years ago.

In 2024, Terri searched her network for another veteran professional organizer to transition the business and found Jamie, whom she met at NAPO-Chicago meetings 15 years ago and who has been a professional organizer since 2005. Terri is very proud of her successful, female-owned business and is grateful for the experience! We wish her the best on her new journey.

about JAMIE

Jamie has been a professional organizer since 2005 but has been organizing things, people, and events her entire life. Upon graduation from Northern Illinois University, Jamie started her career in consumer products marketing and worked for First Alert, Sunbeam-Oster, Home Products International, and Fellowes. Jamie even touched upon her future career while working as the product manager of bath and kitchen organization products.

Her organizing style centers on meeting her clients’ personalities and lifestyles to reduce their stress and help them reach their fullest potential. She believes in organizing enough to create functionality without over-organizing, which can create excessive work to maintain the system. She focuses on function first and style second, to the desire of the client.

Jamie has had life-long training as an organizer and continues her education through reading, networking, and attending events through the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. She has been featured in The Chicago Tribune, Redfin, Sierra Living Concepts, My Suburban Life, Naples Daily News, Smead Video Podcast, Glancer Magazine, and on Naperville Community Television. Jamie and her history-loving son enjoy traveling together. She also enjoys gardening, cooking, baking, wine, and all things Italy, as well as helping others find peace through organization.

Jamie The Chicago Organizer home organization

getting started

How We Work

Initial Call

Phone call discussion to assess your unique situation.

hands-on session

After deciding to work together, an in-person, hands-on session is scheduled with a member of our team.

clutter-free

Roll up our sleeves. Work productively together. Enjoy your clutter-free space.

     Excellent  
     Based on 25 reviews 
    
 
 
   
 
 
        
   Douglas Curtis 
 2024-07-03
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I had a great experience with my organizer Jamie, and with the preparation and follow-up conducted by Terri. I recently downsized living spaces, and in my new 1-bedroom apartment, I found I was overwhelmed by stuff — even though I felt like I had gotten rid of lots of things. After 5 months of feeling like I was being overtaken by things, I called Terri. With five hours of down-to-business, thoughtful and sensitive guidance — and a lot of roll-up-your-sleeves, hands-on assistance — I donated several contractor bags of things, got rid of a lot of garbage, and organized my space in a way that is logical and no longer feels like I am bursting at the seams!  I am thrilled. Thanks!
  
 
       
   T Sullivan 
 2024-07-01
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I recently used The Chicago Organizer to organize my pantry and kitchen cabinets, and I couldn't be more pleased. Scheduling was easy and Terri provided advice and links on purchasing baskets and bins that would work for our space and budget. Caroline and Gina were professional, warm and friendly and they did a fantastic job - my pantry and kitchen cabinets are now beautifully organized and clutter-free! I am thoroughly satisfied with their work and highly recommend their services!
  
 
       
   Jennifer Wagner 
 2024-06-11
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. When I thought about organizing my closet I was overwhelmed to say the least! Jamie helped calm my nerves immediately! She had great product suggestions and organization tips. I will definitely use The Chicago Organizer again!
  
 
       
   Patrick Wagner 
 2024-06-10
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Terri and her team were easy to work with, listened well to what we envisioned and accomplished our goal. Wonderful experience all around.
  
 
       
   Sara Windhorst 
 2024-02-01
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I cannot say enough good things about The Chicago Organizer. I had just moved to Chicago alone and had about 20 boxes to unpack. I have ADHD and anxiety and had no idea how where to even start unpacking. I decided to see if I could find help to get my head above water with this task. Terri and I got in contact after I saw all the wonderful reviews online, she was the most caring and helpful human to me. She went out of her way to find someone to help me THE NEXT DAY and stayed up late to ensure all the agreements were in order. She heard how panicked I was and made sure she did everything she could to help me, meeting me where I was at and ensuring I did not go into the weekend overwhelmed. This process completely saved me and allowed me to have an easier transition into this new city and new life. I honestly don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for Terri and her team, they are beyond helpful - truly my lifesavers. If you need help organizing, unpacking, or finding order in your life contact The Chicago Organizer, they will completely change your life. I want to recommend them to anyone I can because having a professional organizer help you make sense of your home truly changes your way of life. I feel more at peace and less anxious because I know where things are and tidying up is easier because everything has a place. I will be using Terri and her team again without a doubt, for a yearly refresh and if I need help organizing parts of my home as I settle in. Again I really can't recommend them enough and if you are on the fence about whether or not you want to contact an organizer just do it! Your future self with thank you, you deserve the peace and happiness this brings!
  
 
       
   Susan Elfant 
 2024-01-23
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I have worked with Terri on a variety of home organizing projects over many years and highly recommend her services. I am a very satisfied repeat customer. Whether a small project or large, Terri and her team help declutter and organize and also help responsibly dispose of items, providing a list of resale and donation organizations.
  
 
       
   Joe Eastman 
 2022-11-08
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Moved to Chicago and downsized from a house to an apartment. When moving boxes were delivered all I thought was how was I going to unpack and organize my belongings so that it would work in a smaller space. That’s when I called The Chicago Organizer. M & J spent three days with me and did a fantastic job of unpacking, organizing, disposing of boxes and taking items to donation centers.  Not only are they great at their job they are a pleasure to work with. If you need unpacking, de-cluttering and organizing services call The Chicago Organizer they will make it easier than you can ever imagine.
  
 
       
   Brittany Avery 
 2022-08-26
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. The best money I ever spent! Terri was extremely prompt and was the 1st company to call me back. She kept me on task weeks/days leading up to the move. I needed help with 2 projects declutter before a move and help unpack/organize after the move. I had the opportunity to meet 5 of the team members. I am extremely thankful for team. They made the new transition to the home a breeze.
  
 
       
   Jon Fox 
 2022-06-27
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My husband and I recently got married and hired Terri's team to come bring some order to our chaotic kitchen after receiving so many kitchen-related wedding gifts. From the moment I reached out to Terri, she was on top of it. I think she responded to my email within like 10 minutes. By the next day we discussed what we were looking for and set a date for them to come up and organize! I sent photos of our kitchen to Terri and she and her fabulous team-member Caroline sent me a list of all of the items we could buy in advance of our session. We followed their lead, purchased everything and when the day came, they worked their magic. She and Caroline created an intuitive system to maximize our space, our ability to maintain organization, and get everything that we needed in our kitchen stored properly. We were certain some things would have to go in storage. But no! Everything is stored perfectly. And the cherry on top is that it looks absolutely beautiful. Literally like something from the Home Edit or Pinterest. We will absolutely be enlisting Terri and Caroline for our next organization project and I highly recommend you do as well. It is well worth the investment! Also she and Caroline were so kind and a pleasure to work with.
  
 
       
   Drew Kowal 
 2021-12-25
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Caralyn came over to our home in the city and gave us the second opinion on how to organize our kitchen that we needed. Super friendly and suggested storing items in different areas to help the overall flow so everything worked together which we would have never considered. Very willing to listen to what was important to us to help complete our dream kitchen. We'd highly recommend this service to anyone who has pushed off organizing their living space due to time or not knowing where to start.

We hired Terri and her team to help us unpack and organize our new home. We are so happy we made the decision to do so! Our amazing team of Amy, Marcy and Caroline worked 7 hours straight to help get everything in order and looking fantastic! They listened to our thoughts and incorporated their own to help set our house up to feel like home. Terri was helpful in providing links that would work for our pantry organization and it now looks like something you'd see on Pinterest! Hopefully we won't be moving for a very long time but if we do, I wI'll hire this team back in a heartbeat. Thank you to The Chicago Organizer for making our transition as easy as possible!

Brooke W.
5/18/2023
Terri and team are fantastic. Terri is very professional, informative and helpful. She made sure she had a real understanding of our space and our organization needs before we met with our actual organizer, C, which made the day go by very smoothly and enjoyably! C helped us make the most of our downtown Chicago apartment by helping us declutter and re-organize a couple big closets -- she helped us free up an unbelievable amount of space. We have a baby (and allll the toys, clothes, etc. that come with him) and before hiring Terri, we thought we were going to have to buy a storage unit, but now we miraculously have quite a bit of extra space. Even better than the newfound space (physical and mental) my husband and I now have, Terri and C gave us the momentum and confidence to continue decluttering on our own, which has been incredibly satisfying. I never thought we'd need a professional organizer, but it was well worth the money. Our place is transformed. Thank you, Terri!!

Grace F.
10/23/2022
My husband and I recently got married and hired Terri's team to come bring some order to our chaotic kitchen after receiving so many kitchen-related wedding gifts. From the moment I reached out to Terri, she was on top of it. I think she responded to my email within like 10 minutes. By the next day we discussed what we were looking for and set a date for them to come up and organize! I sent photos of our kitchen to Terri and she and her fabulous team-member Caroline sent me a list of all of the items we could buy in advance of our session. We followed their lead, purchased everything and when the day came, they worked their magic. She and Caroline created an intuitive system to maximize our space, our ability to maintain organization, and get everything that we needed in our kitchen stored properly. We were certain some things would have to go in storage. But no! Everything is stored perfectly. And the cherry on top is that it looks absolutely beautiful. Literally like something from the Home Edit or Pinterest. We will absolutely be enlisting Terri and Caroline for our next organization project and I highly recommend you do as well. It is well worth the investment! Also she and Caroline were so kind and a pleasure to work with.

Jon F.
6/27/2022
I think this company should change the name to Organizing Angels Sent from Heaven!!! Our story- after a crazy move with an entire kitchen to to be put away, my husband emailed Terri. Terri quickly sent back an email with easy links to items from the container store we could buy, and driving to pick it all up was literally the only thing I had to do. The next morning, we got Caroline and Marcie- two of the best ladies I've worked with maybe ever. They asked how I like to use things, walked through the space with me to see how they could make it best fit our family, and then I let them do their thing... magic. Not joking, I'll just leave these photos so you can see. It looks like a wizard must have done this, but nope- it was 4 hours of Marcie and Carolyn working MAGIC! If you are questioning this service, don't. Just call Terri and then go to the Container Store and they will transform your house!!

Alexis S.
3/20/2022

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