Finding and Organizing with a Professional Organizer

Greetings. I thought I’d pop in to talk about hiring a professional organizer. I get to work with people in their homes or offices to get organized. I often learn that this is the first time they have worked with someone to do this. If you’ve never worked with an organizer, you are not alone. Despite this career being around for several decades, many people are just learning they can get help organizing.

Here are some tips if you are thinking about hiring an organizer:

How to Search for a Professional Organizer: A simple Google search of the name of your town and the words professional organizer should reveal who is working in your area. If nothing shows up, try the nearest larger community name. Many organizers are willing to commute to neighboring towns. You can also look at the National Association of Professional Organizers website at www.napo.net. Many organizers are members- but I also know very good organizers who don’t participate. NAPO can be one more search tool for you.

Considerations on Who to Hire: Sure money is important. I’m a homeowner and I always want to know what it will cost. But, in organizing, it can’t be your primary decision factor. You need to consider how experienced the person is you are thinking of hiring. Do ask how long they have been in business and if they have experience in handling what you need done.

Business License: A qualified organizer is going to be a member of your community’s business people. Do they have a business license to work in your home?

Insurance: Just like a contractor you hire to work in your home, an organizer needs to be insured. Ask for proof of insurance.

Confidentiality: All of the organizers I know offer written confidentiality agreements. This means no matter what you tell them about your family or your disorganization, it remains confidential. This is especially important if you’ve asked them to handle files, papers and financial documents.

Fees: There is no right way or wrong way to be billed for organizing help. Some organizers simply charge by the hour, which is what I do. Very simple- I work for four hours and you pay for four hours. Others offer some kind of package, such as you buy a certain number of hours and the cost is $xxx. Finally there are a few that charge by the project, they may say “It will cost you $xxx to have your garage organized.” They don’t tell you how long it takes- you just pay that fee and they get it done in whatever time it takes. I’d say it is most common to be charged by the hour. Feel free to ask your organizer how they keep track of the time spent.

Payment: Typically, organizers expect to be paid on the day they do the work unless other arrangements are made ahead.

If you are emailing or calling to discuss organizing, here is a basic checklist you can follow:

• I need ______ organized. (Or describe your situation.)Do you have experience with that?
• How long have you been in business?
• Do you have a business license with (city or county name)?
• How do you charge for your work?
• Would you be able to provide me with proof of insurance and a confidentiality agreement at our first appointment?
• How do you prefer to be paid? (This way you can learn if they take cash, checks, credit cards and so on.)

If you didn’t find an organizer in your area to come into your home, consider virtual or online organization. This means you get advice via email, phone, share digital pictures or even Skype with an organizer. I offer that service for people who do not live hear me through my Organize Online program.

Organizing Your Laundry Room

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 Laundry rooms! Such a necessary space, yet a space that sees so little attention. People seldom think to organize their laundry room until it has accumulated enough clutter to explode.

If you are lucky enough to have laundry room cabinets, then maximize their storage. They are great for household items such as cleaning products, light bulbs, sewing supplies and more. Don’t let them become a hodge-podge. Make that space work for you so you can find what you need when you need it.

Here are some laundry room organizing tips:

Remove everything from the cabinets or shelves. Sort by like item. Put it in a group with things it relates to such as screwdrivers with tools, stain remover with laundry soap and so on.

If you have lots of things- too many for the space- decide what you seldom access. Store those items in a garage or storage area.

Keep things sorted by using inexpensive baskets or plastic bins. Label both the shelf and the bin.

If you like to keep your laundry soap and stain remover handy, like I do, then choose a container to sit on top of the dryer or a near-by shelf to hold those items.

Have a spot to hang things. Adding  coat hooks or Shaker pegs to the wall is a great idea.

Building or buying a shelf to hold baskets of laundry is one way to get piles and piles off the floor. If you have a large family, it is likely you are constantly washing and stepping over piles. A shelf measured to hold baskets is a life-saver. In one home I organized some years ago, we had inexpensive shelving built that the homeowner painted white. White plastic baskets were purchased and labeled for each family member. The cubbies were also labeled. The baskets were kept in each child’s room as their hamper. At laundry time, the child put their basket in their cubbie. When the clothes were clean and folded, the basket of clean clothes wa sin the cubby for the child to return to their room. Older children found their clean clothes unfolded and did that chore themselves. PErhaps a system like that could work for you?

Organizing Your Briefcase or Tote Bag

Pictured is a Grid-It by Cocoon Innovations LLC. It’s billed as the ultimate organizer. I have to agree. I got one for Christmas from a fellow organizer and as the first photo shows, there are many uses.

Made over over-lapping elastic bands, the Grid-It can be adapted for many uses. I’ve got mine in my briefcase holding the many loose items including pens, markers, sticky notes and a stack of business cards. But you could use it for tools, electronic accessories or anything. It is very versatile. There are many sizes so you can find one to fit your needs.

Got to love new ways to organize!

Disclosure: I have no connection to this product or company. I did not purchase the one I am using as it was a gift from a friend. Thanks friend.

Organizing Kids’ Rooms

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You might be surprised to learn that kids like to be organized. They love to be able to just go in and have room to play and find the toys they want. They also love to get dressed for school without anyone fussing at them or stressing over being late because they can’t find things.

Here are some pictures from a young lady’s room that I organized. Along with those, let me share a few tips for kids’ rooms:

• Label: Label the closet bar so that school clothes are separated from play clothes. It also makes it easy for them to put their own laundry away. Label the dresser drawers. Label the shelves.
• Think tall: Kids are not tall. Think tall and provide them with a safe step-stool so they can actual reach AND put away things.
• Be Open: An open shelf system,like this canvas ”sweater keeper” are great for kids because they can see what they are looking for. We used it to divide jeans from capris, slacks, leggings and winter hats.
• Book Shelves: I think these are essential in every child’s room. They need a place to put books, games, sports trophies or toys. I believe if you give them a home for things that is easy to use, there is a lot more chance that they will use it.

If you are looking for more ideas to organize your child or your child’s things, then please check out my book on Amazon.com. Growing-Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide is chock-full of the news you need.  Or, get a download for your ereader on my website. Thanks!

Organizing: Keeping Your Clutter-Clearing Promise

Just because you haven’t fulfilled your New Year’s resolution … yet… don’t give up! Think of it this way. You have a whole new year to do it in

If you promised to clear out your kitchen clutter, you are in good company. From those that want to save money by eating at home to those that want to eat healthier, lots of folks want an organized kitchen.

There are some really simple ideas for transforming your kitchen into an orderly space- and none of them cost very much. You can check out my ideas in my monthly column at WhatsCookingAmerica in my article Clear Out the Kitchen Clutter!

Organizing Projects

This rolling tote, picked up at Office Max, has saved the day for any number of projects. I have an older version that I take organizing with me. This new one is great as it has an outside pocket to keep papers safe and a lid to keep things dry and clean.

Do you have to lug things in and out for meetings or groups? Get organized by creating a master checklist of what goes with you. Use the cart to keep it all contained. Nearly everyone who sees my cart says “Hey, I need one of those for __________,” Fill in your own blank- scouts, school, committee meetings, sales, helping tote in groceries for elderly parents and more.

Disclosure: I have no connection with this product nor retailer. The opinion is my own.

Organizing Toy Clutter

I’ve been there. You say “Clean up these toys” and you’d think you’d said “I will now torture you!” I guess that the author of the comic strip Baby Blues finds this true as well. Check out the 12-4-11 comic. Those kids thought they were tortured as well!

Really, children should learn to clean up their toys starting at a young age. You’ll have to do it with them, encourage and praise them. When toy clutter gets overwhelming and leads to melt-downs, there are a couple of things most likely going on that you can change. You need to look at long-term changes or melt-downs will occur at every clean-up time for years.

Here are some suggestions. You’ll find more in my book Growing-Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide. (Amazon.com)

1. There are too many toys out. Your child is over-whelmed by how to sort and put them away. Make adult decisions they can not be expected to make. Begin by removing any toys that they have out-grown, never liked or are not in good condition. Donate those you can. Throw the rest away.

2. Divide the toys. They do not need them out all at once – as witnessed by your most recent melt-down over clean-up time. Get some tubs and store away half of the toys. Every two weeks or so, swap out the toys to keep play time fresh.

3. Get rid of toy boxes! They get dumped because that is the only way to find the various parts you want to play with- the bottle for the baby, the logs for the truck, the people for the village and so on. Get small tubs, just the right size for each group of toys.

4. LABEL! Take pictures of the toys and use the pictures as labels. Children can match balls with the bin with the picture of balls. Easy! But once dumped and scattered, if they are not labeled, they simply can’t invent a system to know what goes where.

5. Create a regular clean-up time. Waiting until you are frazzled by toy clutter creates tension and heads you all to a melt-down. Decide what you can and can’t live with in the way of mess. For some houses, it might be daily, before dinner. For other’s it might be once or twice a week. No matter what the story, stick to it! When you clean up at the same time each day or week, it is routine, not something to melt-down over.

6. Be sure to praise a lot. Praise what is done right before scolding or fixing what is done wrong. Work together to clean up until you are sure they can handle. it.

Check out Growing-Up Organized for more ideas on children and chores!

Photo Credit- Sunny child’s room copyright Haligard-fotolia.com

Organizing: Class on How to Keep Your Resolution to Get Organized

(Not in Pensacola for a class? You can take many of my classes as audio downloads!)

Lunch and Learn

Keeping Your Resolution to Get Organized Class

Call it a goal, a promise or a resolution. It’s all about a new year and a fresh start. You can deal with your too-much-stuff once and for all! 

 

Join Professional Organizer Lea Schneider as she teaches you to tackle clutter, chaos and more as you learn the why and how behind your clutter. A nationally recognized organizing expert, her advice has been seen in many places from Family Circle to Woman’s Day to Better Homes and Gardens’ magazines.

 

Find out how to pitch the excuses that keep you cluttered and ditch the obstacles that keep you disorganized. Plan the attack, pace your projects and find motivation to create a calm space. Learn what to keep, what to let go of and how to store the rest.

 

Date/Time: Wednesday, January 18^th, 2012, 11:30 a.m.

Location: Sanders Beach-Corinne Jones Community Center, 913 South I Street, Pensacola, FL. You are invited to bring a brown bag lunch if you wish.

Cost: $20

Registration required: Register with Organize Right Now at http://shop.1asecure.com/prod.cfm?ProdID=348105&StID=8042   or by phoning 850-477-2582.

Registration deadline: January 17, 2012

More information on this class or other upcoming organizing classes: Visit www.organizerightnow.com or call Lea Schneider at 850-477-2582.

 

Organizing: A Quick Garage Makeover

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Like many garages, this one just needed a quick makeover. It got put-off because it seemed like a daunting project when it just needed a bit of rearranging.

Here are some tips you can use that we used on this garage.

• Make good use of existing storage. There were built-in shelves, but they were disorganized and had a lot of wasted space. Start by clearing off shelves or clearing out cabinets so that you can really use that space.
• Get rid of clutter. Arrange for a charity pick-up or load the unwanted items right into your car. Ask yourself if you love it, use it or need it. If you don’t love, use or need it, get rid of it!
• Sort by like item. Put gardening together, hobby together, tools together- you get the idea.
• Clean as you go. Wipe shelves, sweep the floor and bag trash as you move through each area. You’ll be done in no time!

Organizing: Tubs of Holiday Decorations

 Here’s a couple of quick tips for making decorating next year easier.

1. Label those tubs! Digging through a dozen tubs is no fun. Label!

2. Theme the tubs. Put outside things together. Tree decorating things together. Things for the den together…you get the idea.

3. Label garland and lights with tape indicating where it goes- and mark it with good explanation. For example, the garland hanging on your front porch rail might be labeled. “Front porch Rail.” Then use some tape to mark Right (R), Left (L), Center (C) or Loop 1, Loop 2 etc. This way, you don’t have to figure out where exactly to hook each section and then run into the yard or yell out your spouse to say “Is this even?” If you mark it while it hangs this year. next year you can just hook it exactly the same.

A few seconds organizing can make life easier down the road.