Why You Should Hire A professional organizer

  • A professional organizer has the credentials and the experience to serve you better
  • A professional organizer can help clients cut expenses by ferreting out processes, activities, or tools that are no longer serving their purpose.
  • Certification conveys my standards of competence and ethics.
    It also conveys that I am current in my organizing practices
  • Being Certified validates my knowledge and experience based on the highest industry and psychometric standards
  • Being Certified demonstrates my self-confidence, professional commitment, and personal initiative in a professional environment governed by rigorous standards.
  • If you don't understand why you accumulate, it will come back again
  • Professional Organizers serve as holistic "clutter doctors"
  • Remove the cause of disorganization, as well its symptoms
  • Create a lasting change in your home environment and your organizational habits
  • Organizing is more than just cleaning out
  • Gives you a fresh perspective and keeps you motivated and focused
  • Acts as a counselor and a coach with an objective point of view
  • Guides you in making space for the life you want to live now
  • Helps you realize the key to letting go. Keeping too much of the past makes it hard to find room for the future.

Requirements for Success

  • Acquire and learn to use the appropriate organizing supplies
    Containers, shelving, racks, desk accessories, drawer dividers
  • Learn practical, useful, concrete information
    Easy to understand organizing techniques that you can implement yourself
  • Set up proven, effective, easy-to-use organizing systems
    Standardized methods for handling paper, workload, and daily activities

Common Principles

  • The simplification of daily responsibilities
    Reducing the amount of time and energy spent on routine activities
  • The reduction of all forms of clutter
    Getting rid of anything that wastes time, space, energy, or money
  • The creation of systems that make everyday tasks easier
    Developing effective routines and standardized procedures

What Does a Professional Organizer Do

  • I can help you change a disorganized environment
    Re-organizing storage, home or office layout, cleaning out the "clutter"
  • I help change behaviors that cause disorganization
    Procrastination, failure to plan ahead, accumulation of "excess stuff"
  • I monitor and encourage your ongoing progress
    Through follow-up visits, phone calls, coaching, "homework" assignments
  • I teach organizing techniques -- also keep clients motivated and focused
    I wear many hats -- educator, resource, coach, cheerleader, project manager

The Role of A professional organizer

  • Cultivate: As a professional organizer I not only set up systems, I am there to affect, develop and nurture the change process.
  • Set in Motion: As a professional organizer I need to help set in motion the transfer of skills and help move the organizing project forward.
  • Support Change: They Want: As a professional organizer I need to understand my clients’ goals and the change they want to achieve, not necessarily the change I think you need.
  • Discover the Challenges and Barriers: As a professional organizer, I am there to understand the challenges, barriers and constraints that have gotten in the way of your organizational success. More importantly I must address those barriers in our sessions and provide options and solutions.
  • Confidence: As a professional organizer I need to have faith, belief and confidence in my clients so that they can be successful in the organizational process
  • Champion: As a professional organizer I need to be my clients’ champion and support them in the organizational process.

Here are some answers to questions you may have:

  • My fees are based on the hourly rate with a 6 hour minimum for all sessions
  • All organizing work is done in your home, however I can go shopping with you or without you for supplies.
  • I will supply the labels.
  • It takes time to organize so don't expect the entire house to be done in one session, see page "How Long It Takes" for more information.
  • I work solely with you. No other people come with me.
  • Half of the focus is assisting you on learning how to maintain the systems we develop together.

Why should people organize their lives?

When you're not organized, your time is filled up with trying to find things. Being organized lifts the stress automatically out of your life-it’s fantastic. Once you're more organized, you can spend more time enjoying life, having fun and doing things you enjoy, instead of playing catch-up all the time. You will also have the confidence to attack tasks that you would never think to do. It is very empowering.

What feelings can people expect when they’re first getting organized?

People get stressed, and they may feel fear and guilt. There’s a lot of, "I can't do this," "It’s too difficult," or "I’m afraid." Obviously they are very overwhelmed!

How do I help them move beyond these fears?

I try to be very calm and nonjudgmental. I get to know my clients, so I know when to push them and when to be delicate, based on their situations. I help my clients get over their fears by getting them started and finishing the project which is very gratifying for them

If:

  • You are overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ you need to do and therefore aren’t doing ANYTHING
  • You don’t have systems in place
  • You are unclear on how to get started living a more productive life
  • You don’t know where to begin so you've procrastinated the process of getting organized
  • You’ve started the process of getting organized but got stuck and quit
  • You are feeling anxious about the clutter in your home and dread the unexpected house guest
  • You’re a ‘yo-yo organizer’ - one week the house is organized, the next week it’s complete chaos
  • The clutter in your life is affecting your relationships, health and overall well-being
  • You used to be more productive and then "something" happened
  • You were never taught how to setup effective systems in your home and daily life
  • You were never taught effective time management habits because face it, the schools don’t teach this stuff and it’ll be a cold day
  • When your employer spends money to help you become more productive
  • You are feeling stressed out and praying this feeling magically goes away
  • You don’t really have a plan of action or idea how you will meet your goals. In fact, it’s likely you don’t have goals
  • You can't find things and chances are it’s not under your bed, it’s not at work and no, the kids didn’t take it.
  • I’m sure you have heard all of this before and maybe you've even worked with a professional organizer in your past but were still left feeling unclear and uncertain about what you need to do TODAY to start living a more productive life. In fact, most times when you hire a professional organizer, they do the work for you without explaining what was done. It’s not your fault, you didn’t know…

Take another deep breathe because all of this can change... just give me a call or e-mail me and we can start the journey of learning and getting your Life Organized once and for all!

How can I become a Professional Organizer

We get a lot of people who ask us how to get started as a Professional Organizer. We would say that the first step is to become a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.NAPO.net). This organization will provide a major stepping stone.

Then we would suggest joining a local NAPO chapter (NYC or local neighborhood group POLI- Professional organizers of Long island which I founded in 2002). The chapter’s or groups monthly meetings are open to the public for anyone who is interested in becoming a Professional Organizer. They allow an opportunity for education, networking and fellowship amongst women and men who are proactive in the organizing industry.

Cynthia Braun is a certified professional organizer for Palm Beach County, Florida