Professional organizing

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Basement, before professional organization
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Professional organizing is a service that helps individuals and businesses determine what to do with their items--which are generally found in a disorganized, cluttered state--then helps efficiently arrange the items and create systems to maximize the utility and visual appeal of a particular area and allow easy retrieval. A person who performs this service is a "Professional Organizer" or sometimes referred to simply as an "Organizer."

Contents

[edit] Types of organizing

There are several categories and specializations of professional organizing that the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has identified:

Ergonomics Feng Shui Office-Commercial
Office-Home Storage/Warehouse Closet
Design and Installation Closet Organizing Garages/Attics/Basements
Kitchens Office (Non-Business) Other Rooms
Information Electronic Only Financial/Bookkeeping
Inventory/Assets Control Paper & Electronic Paper Only
Electronic Only Photographs/Memorabilia/Collections Time Management
Events Meetings Moving/Relocation
Estate Organizing Garages/Estate Sales Special Services
Special Clients Attention Deficit Disorder Chronically Disorganized
Legal Offices Manufacturing Medical Offices
People w/ Physical Disabilities Children Seniors
Students

[edit] Organizing process

Professional organizing often involves the development or introduction of customized or off-the-shelf organizing systems so the client can find needed items in a minimal amount of time. The organizer's primary skill is in helping the client decide what should be done with their items, educating the client on organizational techniques, and developing strategies and installing systems so the client can maintain the organized space for the long-term. According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, a professional organizer "enhances the lives of clients by designing systems and processes using organizing principles and through transferring organizing skills. A professional organizer also educates the public on organizing solutions and the resulting benefits. Professional organizers help individuals and businesses take control of their surroundings, their time, their paper, and their systems for life."[citation needed]

The organizer may also act as a "coach" by encouraging the client to part with their unnecessary or unused items to enable them to achieve the goal of a simpler, less cluttered lifestyle. The client makes the final determination as to the status of any particular item. One of the reasons for retaining the services of a professional organizer is to have a person (the organizer) who is not sentimentally connected to the items act as a neutral arbiter, which often facilitates and speeds the decluttering process.

Usually, the process involves a minimum of three steps:

  1. Removing — the organizer will remove the items from the cluttered area so as to visualize the total space available and to start fresh.
  2. Sorting — the organizer may work with the client, or may work largely alone, and will sort the items into different piles. These piles may consist of any or all of the following: "keep", "throw", "donate", "sell", "fix/repair", and/or "give to friends." The client is usually required at some point to determine the final status of the items.
  3. Replacing — the organizer may introduce organizational products like bins, shelves, or filing systems. The goal of the "replacing" stage is to create a visually appealing area that is customized so that the client can easily retrieve what they are looking for, and can maintain the "system" with minimal effort.

[edit] Growth of the industry

There are approximately 4,000 professional organizers in the U.S. and 8 foreign countries who are members of the trade association NAPO[1]. There are several popular television programs like Clean Sweep, Neat, Mission: Organization, Clean House, Life Laundry and NeatTV as well as magazines like Real Simple, and many articles that appear on a regular basis in a wide range of media.

[edit] References

  1. ^ NAPO facts. NAPO.
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