Most messy spreadsheets aren't messy in one obvious way. They're usually a stack of small problem...Most messy spreadsheets aren't messy in one obvious way. They're usually a stack of small problem...
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Teagan Doherty
• Aug 28
Most messy spreadsheets aren't messy in one obvious way. They're usually a stack of small problems: dates stored as text, repeated names with different spacing, blank cells that mean different things, and categories that drift over time.
That matters because a clean-looking total can still be built on inconsistent rows.
My rule is simple: normalize what can be verified, flag what can't, and leave a change log so the owner knows exactly what moved. No invented values and no mystery edits.
I now offer that as a fixed, two-day cleanup for one spreadsheet or CSV. If a file is slowing down a report, handoff, or decision, send me the rough row and column count and the part that keeps breaking. I'll tell you plainly whether it fits the scope.
https://contra.com/s/WYNrlAZP-clean-and-normalize-a-messy-spreadsheet-or-csv
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Clean and normalize a messy spreadsheet or CSV by Teagan Doherty

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