You know you have a problem in your home. It’s stressful. Things are piled up here and there. Sometimes you can’t find your keys. Boxes are opened, emptied, and left. You want to do something about all of this, and you know you can but somehow you just can’t get started. Maybe you think to yourself, if only I had an extra pair of hands. Then it occurs to you that you could call a professional organizer but who do you call and is this enough of a problem to warrant such a call?
Questions such as these stop people in their tracks. Everyone knows that professional organizing is a thing. Afterall, we have all seen or heard about the television shows. There are programs which teach how to make everything picture perfect and then there are programs illustrating what happens when you have massive amounts of clutter. But what if that’s not you. What if you just want to be able to find your stuff?
Whenever I tell someone what I do, that I am a professional organizer, the immediate response is: I need you. So why is it that people are sometimes reluctant to call a professional organizer? I have some ideas which I will share with you.
When do you call a professional?
Let’s switch topics for a moment and talk about when people decide to call other professionals into their home.
When my boys were very young, we lived in a house in the country. The kitchen sink frequently got clogged up. Every now and then I would get some liquid plumber, pour it down the sink, and the sink would magically unclog. Problem solved. Until the time when the liquid plumber didn’t work. I couldn’t fix the problem myself and called in a plumber.
We know when there is a problem such that we can’t fix ourselves with an appliance, a leak in the roof, a plumbing or an electrical issue we look for a professional.
There are times when the disorganization in the home is such that you can’t figure out how to solve it by yourself.
That is a prime opportunity to call a professional organizer.
But what about routine maintenance?
We take our cars to get the oil changed regularly so the motor runs the way it was intended.
I have a maintenance plan with a heating/air conditioning company to maintain my furnace and air conditioning units. Someone from the company comes over before the summer season starts to make sure the air conditioners are running properly. They come over again in the fall to check on the furnace. I am so thankful for them as they have fixed little things before they became big problems.
Professional organizers can also provide routine maintenance and create strategies and solutions for little things, so they don’t become big problems. As an objective professional we can help the homeowner streamline their processes.
You know it’s time to call a professional organizer when:
You feel overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter if the project is big or small if you feel overwhelmed a professional organizer can help you unpack the problem. They will break it down into small manageable parts and either work with you to complete the project or set you up so you can complete it on your own.
Nothing in your home has a place to belong. Work with a professional organizer to assign homes to your belongings that makes sense to you. There is no right way to organize other than the way that works for you and your family.
You used to be organized and wonder why you aren’t any more. Organizing at work was easy but now you are working from home plus you have a family and so many things calling for your attention ALL THE TIME. Call a professional organizer in to help you regain control. Let them work with you to create new routines and habits. Then develop a maintenance plan so the organizing solutions are tweaked from time to time and continue to run smoothly.
Where do you look for a trained professional organizer?
I recommend looking for a professional organizer who is a member of one (or both) of these two organizations: The National Association of Productivity and Organizing Specialists (NAPO) and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization® (ICD).
Both organizations have a way to search for an organizer in your area.
You will probably get several names of organizers in your area. The next step is to read the organizers bios. Call a professional organizer and see if you and they think you are a good fit. You want to ask how the organizer works. Do they come in and organize for you or do they organize with you?
Think about what you want. Do you have a specific problem to solve or is on-going disorganization affecting your life in general? What does the organizer specialize in?
Just as you would want to know about any professional you hire; you want to know if the organizer can help you solve the problem you are facing. So, ask questions.
My goal as a professional organizer is to work with my clients to create a functional home and the place where they want to be to relax.
Diane N. Quintana is a Certified Professional Organizer® ,a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization®, Master Trainer and owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC and co-owner of Release●Repurpose●Reorganize, LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow Diane on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DNQSolutions
I found this blog very informative, keep up the good work. Thanks for the opportunity.
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I often get the feeling that clients either think that their home is “too messy” to be organized, or that their home isn’t “messy enough” to warrant a professional organizer. A lot of people I talk with try to minimize their problem, saying, “I mean it’s not THAT bad, but I still can’t find anything.” Like I somehow wouldn’t want to come help if their home was too messy!
It’s tough for many people to decide that they want an organizer, but once they’re on board they see the value! I wish being “messy” wasn’t such a shameful thing. Disorganization happens! Life gets too busy, you move homes, you have a kid–it’s okay to want some extra hands! When someone seeks me out I always congratulate them on taking the first step–that phone call can be hard to make.
Giving clients the metrics you have in your post as a way to sort through the do-I-don’t-I of calling in a professional is so smart. Great post!
This is such a great post! I love how you make the case for when and how we reach out for help. We do this all of the time with some things like those pesky house maintenance projects or ‘problems. For organizing, even though we are more visible than we were 30 years ago, some are still reluctant to reach out. Many times they feel embarrassed or feel guilty they can’t figure it out themselves. But the reality is that there are things we can do easily and others we can’t. So reaching out for help when we’re stuck, overwhelmed, or just need some help to figure out the next step is valuable.
I love that you mentioned that the feeling of overwhelm is a sign to contact a professional organizer. People don’t realize they can reach out to us on those smaller, more detailed projects instead of the entire house organization. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Love the way you outline the different ways a professional organizer can help, Diane. Asking questions and making sure you’re getting the right organizer for what you want done is key, isn’t it? I like to remind people who call me that there’s an organizer for every client, so no matter what you want to achieve, there’s an organizer who’s going to be perfect to work with. Keep calling and checking out websites until you find them.
I think people are finally catching on the idea that hiring a professional can be the quickest and most efficient way to solve a clutter or disorganization problem. I would never try and do the plumbing myself, that’s for sure. And by having a professional come, you waste less time and stay on track. So good!
When something is frustrating me, I try to find a solution. When I can’t figure it out for myself, I’m happy to call in a professional – whether it’s to help me organize my kitchen or office, to complete my income tax return, or something else altogether.
If you’re in Canada you can find a Professional Organizer through Professional Organizers in Canada. https://organizersincanada.com/get-organized/find-an-organizer/
This was so well put!! It’s almost like people tend to think of this as a luxury, when in reality it could be life changing and necessary! So many people live in disorganized chaos and that feeling of overwhelm. Definitely worth calling in the professionals to help improve that!!