What Does A Professional Organizer Do?

Lately, I have been answering that question a lot as I renew acquaintances with folks that I have not seen in a number of years. One acerbic fellow said, "I have seen those TV shows. I know what you do. You go in to somebody's home and bully them into getting rid of things. You move a few things around and then you leave. I bet the place goes back to the same mess it was to begin with." I could only reply, "That's not what we do." It is not what any good professional organizer does.

The TV shows are encapsulated sound bites and snapshots of the process that give a brief look at the beginning and the end of what can be a sometimes tedious operation. Recording every hour of work wouldn't make for very good television. Consequently, some people have skewed ideas about professional organizing.

What does a professional organizer really do? The quick answer is that he assesses, plans, implements and evaluates systems that promote an organized lifestyle. While he is doing that he communicates clearly, promotes respect, maintains confidentiality and remains nonjudgmental. He also educates, transfers knowledge, and coaches through contacts with the client. That is a pretty dry description of an exciting job where you get to meet a lot of really nice people and do good for them and their families.

When someone makes an appointment with a professional organizer, he can expect an initial meeting that will be a chance for him to evaluate the organizer and for the organizer to assess the project. This is the time for the client to ask any questions he may have about the organizer, the process or the project he wants the organizer to do. This also the time for the organizer to ask questions about the project, the client's preferences, his habits and his desired goals for the consultation. If both parties agree to move forward with the project, the organizer will do a thorough assessment prior to developing a plan.

Organizers perform assessments in different ways. Our approach at Key Transitions is to find out what works and doesn't work for the client and to adapt systems to his innate preferences. We do this through an initial interview and client feedback. Part of the assessment is also evaluating the tasks that need to be done and the time it will require to complete them. Again, we do this based on the client's work pattern and the time he has available to accomplish the job.

We communicate the plan to the client in writing and review it verbally. The client decides which parts of the plan we will implement and which parts he will accomplish on his own. We then set up a mutually agreed upon schedule for task completion, contact, coaching and evaluation.

Some projects take hours and some projects take months. It depends on the extent of work to be done and the time available to accomplish it. A professional organizer will break the project down into manageable sections that create meaningful progress and help the client realize the goals he has set.

Once the project is completed we remain available to the client for questions and coaching as needed. Throughout the process we emphasize celebrating accomplishments and learning ways to maintain order--and we have a little fun as we do it.

That is what a professional organizer does!

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Questioning the Experts

My business partner called to remind me to watch Oprah. Although I am a fan, I do not make it a priority to watch the show everyday. This particular show, however, featured a nationally renowned professional organizer and I wanted to watch his methods and compare his techniques and philosophy to ours.

He did some really good work, but as I watched, I became concerned about what appeared to be a cavalier approach to people’s attachment to their belongings and a failure to include the clients in organizing the possessions once they had decided what to keep. I rationalized that those aspects might be due to the cutting that is necessary in programming. Then he said some things that I vehemently disagree with. Since I am not appearing this week on national television, this is my forum for airing those disagreements.

His first questionable utterance occurred when he linked being overweight with being disorganized. I have met many overweight folks who are extremely organized in both business and personal life and I have met many underweight and average weight folks who are drowning in clutter and living with disorganization. There are lots of different reasons why folks lapse into a disorganized lifestyle and I do not think obesity can be touted as either the cause or the effect. Generalization seldom serves anyone well, regardless of weight. Perhaps he meant that overweight people have not yet prioritized weight loss as a personal goal, but that is not what he said. I say “WRONG, fellow organizer,” and I hope you recant that statement in a national forum.

I also disagree with his advice for cleaning out kitchen utensils. He advised to take all the utensils out of the drawers and to place them in a box. Then retrieve them as you use them for a month. If you haven’t used them in a month, he says, you do not need them so get rid of them. As I thought about this, I wondered what utensils I might not use for a whole month. These came to mind:

The pizza cutter which usually comes out when a niece or nephew visits
The melon baller because I don’t get many fresh melons in winter
The crab hammer and pick because fresh crabs are usually a summer treat at my house
The ice pick because I won’t have another big party until St Patrick’s Day or Easter
The turkey lifter cause the big bird is a sometime thing
The whisk because that is to impress folks or for when a fork won’t do the job

Those utensils would be missed if I discarded them and expensive when I replaced them, as I eventually would.

The point is even the most esteemed guru is not always right and it is okay to disagree and question. When you hire a professional organizer remember the service must fit your needs. You have a right to systems that work for you. If you have questions about the process, ask them. If you have concerns about advice or suggestions, voice them. A good professional organizer will answer your questions and explain the rationale for the advice. A good professional organizer will want to meet your needs and design systems you can use and understand.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Piling, Filing and Free Styling

In their book A Perfect Mess, Eric Abramson and David H. Freeman maintain that people with messy desks are more productive than the neatniks who maintain order in their work space. I won't argue with their premise, but I do believe that there is a difference between messy and chaotic. My belief in that difference comes from personal experience. When I was Vice President of Operations of a health care company, I dealt with dozens of deadlines and hundreds of contacts every week. My desktop held a series of untidy piles of paper. I knew what was in each pile and approximately how many inches down each pile I needed to look for certain information. When the issues were no longer current, my talented (and tolerant) assistant gathered up the stack and collated it into a coherent filing system, where I could find the information when I needed it again. When my assistant was on vacation and I relied on folks less familiar with the established routine, the system sometimes reverted to chaos.

The drawback of using piling as an organizing method is that gravity gets you if you pile too high, and the stack tumbles. You also run out of surface space when dealing with a lot of different projects. But still, there is comfort in having the information you need right at your fingertips in good old solid hardcopy.

My business partner, on the other hand, is a Filer. I believe, as a child, she may have filed her toys by size and order of preference. I know that she now has everything filed in date order or alphabetical order. Even the clothes in her closet are color coded using the color wheel. All of her work is filed either manually or electronically and she pulls it as she needs it. She is a very orderly person and enjoys being that way.

Fortunately, she also understands that different styles work for different people and organization is a very personal thing. So, she allows my piles to dominate my side of the office. For my part, I don't let too many piles clutter the work space and have become my own talented assistant in filing or discarding obsolete information.

When people with different organizing habits share space, there is fertile ground for conflict. Compromise is sometimes difficult. One of the most trying situations is created by the "Free Styler". It is hard to find rhyme or reason for the eclectic mix of papers and chotskies that litter his desk. He may proclaim that he can lay his hands on what he needs when he needs it, but he seldom can.

Early in my career, I shared an office with a "Free Styler". She filled up her space and began invading mine. I scanned the piles on my desk one morning and found papers and a coffee mug that did not belong to me. It was time for a little talk with my intrusive office mate. We resolved our differences by agreeing on how space would be used and what was off-limits. She also adopted a "box method" of organization that did not work so well, but at least kept her stuff off my desk.


Whether you are a Piler, a Filer, or a Free Styler, there are organizational tools and systems that can assist you in maintaining order in your work space and efficiency in you work life. If you are a Piler, check out the Adjust-a-File at www.Levenger.com. It allows you to pile horizontally and avoid tangling with gravity. Filers might enjoy the daily organizer at www.lillianvernon.com for filing bills awaiting payment. And even Free Stylers have a chance to design a system for themselves with components of the DAILY System at www.potterybarn.com.

At Key Transitions, we don't believe there is a perfect mess, but we do believe there are ways to make the mess perfectly manageable, whatever your individual style.

Beverly and Kristen
http://www.keytransitions.net/

Too Little Time

According to a Scottish proverb, “What may be done at any time is done at no time.” In other words, if it is not pressing or scheduled, it doesn’t get done. Clutter is seldom life-threatening so we tell ourselves we will get to it tomorrow. The sad truth is that, without a plan and a commitment, our clutter-free tomorrow never comes. Some of us procrastinate and some waste time, some pursue activities that are more interesting or more fun. But there are those individuals who really do have too little time. The precious gold of their lives is spent taking care of family, holding down a job and keeping important commitments. How can they squeeze a few pennies worth of time to spend on organizing? It is not a simple task. It has to be thought of as an investment in well-being.

The first step is to find the time. Take a few minutes to start an activity log. For one week, at the end of each day, jot down everything you did. Review the list and ask yourself these questions.

Can anything be eliminated?

Is there something I could post-pone doing for a period of time (a day, a week, a month) until I get the identified space organized?

Is there anything that is more time consuming because my space is in disarray; will I gain time as I organize?

Is there anything I can delegate, at least temporarily?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions estimate the time you can gain by eliminating, postponing, organizing, or delegating. Write it down on your log.

At the end of the week add up your “found” time. Is it enough to begin a project, however small? If it is, get started! The efficiency you gain from one uncluttered space will give you inspiration to move on to the next one.

Too little time is one of the best reasons to use a professional organizer who can help you efficiently handle tasks and be the extra hands to implement a plan for organizing your home or business. Our consultants are trained in time management and can help you learn many techniques that will make your projects successful.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Too Little Space

Space-the finite frontier. No matter how much you have, it is never enough. At Key Transitions, we have had the experience of organizing garret apartments and McMansions with thousands of square feet of luxurious space. Whether the problem is a 100 square foot bedroom or a 600 square foot great room, the common theme is that the space is not large enough to house everything needed for its intended use. There is more stuff than the box can hold, but you have already rid yourself of everything that you can part with. You do not intend to alter the size of the “box” by knocking out walls or trading for new space, so what are the alternatives?

There are several options to consider:
Multiple use furnishing
Unused space on walls and under furniture
Better utilization of existing storage space
Alternate placement of furniture and appliances.

Multiple use furnishings: There are wonderful affordable furniture options for every room. Window seats, providing comfortable seating and accessible storage space, are one of our favorites. Storage hassocks also offer storage, seating and multiple use surfaces. Some have reversible tops that serve as sturdy trays to hold dinner or serve as a work surface. There are also beds, dining tables, nursery furniture that double as storage. A professional organizer will explore the best solutions for you. We always supply our clients with online sites where they can view items that might work for them.

Unused space: Unused space on walls is a great place for shelves, either hung or the bookcase variety. Another option is a pegboard for holding tools, jewelry or other suitable items that often end up as clutter. Also consider a magnetic board for messages, pictures, and reminders. Under furniture storage can be another way to claim additional space. Under bed storage accessories can be used under couches and there are imaginative ways to use under tables and counters for decorative storage space.

Better utilization of existing storage space: The space you have may be enough if you store things differently. Books can be stored stacked rather than standing, skate boards can be housed in a slotted pan rack rather than laid flat where someone can trip over them, there are custom designed and manufactured items that increase closet utilization. It is like getting all those circus clowns into the VW Beetle-the key is how they are positioned in relation to each other.

Alternate placement of furniture and appliances: All furniture does not need to hug the wall. Can you find space by repositioning the bed or pulling out the couch? Can some small appliances that are not frequently used be stored elsewhere or on a high shelf? When making these decisions think of how you live with your furnishings and put things in places that are convenient as well as aesthetically pleasing. You would never put the couch on the back side of the television set, so don’t put the reading light and chair on the opposite side of the room from the books and magazines. That is just a trap for creating clutter, not clearing it.

When you decide it is time to go where more than a few men and women have gone before and organize your space, remember to take projects one at a time and get help if you need it.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net