With the popularity of shows like “Clean Sweep” on TLC, it’s no surprise that eliminating clutter and organizing homes is a popular trend among homeowners. A July 2007 survey by the Riedel Marketing Group for the International Housewares Association found that more than half of the participants had completed home organizing projects in the previous six months and had bought home organization products such as plastic storage boxes, closet storage or organizers and craft storage products.

Another helpful resource? Professional organizers who can help you navigate your organization issues with practical solutions and objectivity.

Lauren Alvarez of Mooresville launched The Organization Lady after realizing that she had organized the offices and created systems in every position she held in the insurance field. “Organizing is inherent in me. I realized I could go into people’s homes and help them with this. Professionally, the end result is really satisfying,” Alvarez said.

The same realization came to Carol McIntyre, a professional organizing consultant who owns Harmony Services, and Melinda Smith, a certified professional organizer who owns Balance and Harmony, both in Denver.

“I was visiting my daughter, and I organized her kitchen. She was so excited, she mentioned it to her friend, who said, ‘do you do that professionally?’” recalls McIntyre. “I thought, ‘People get paid for this?”

Now, each woman runs her own business, helping area residents tackle their organization needs with a careful approach. Clients who call any of these organizers first spend some time on the phone, explaining their challenges and needs. “I try to focus on what the client is really needing and finding out whether or not my structure of services fit that need,” says Smith. “I try to instill in them that if they want a different result, they have to do things differently.”

After the initial phone assessment, each organizer does an in-home consultation – she walks the home with the client to better understand the challenges and needs. “One of the key questions I am asked before I come is, ‘Should I clean up for you?’” says Alvarez. “I tell them, ‘No.’ I want to see how it really looks.” She adds that most people perceive things as being far worse than they really are.

During the in-home consultation, the organizers come to better understand the situation and begin to visualize solutions. At this point, the client can select how they want to proceed. Each organizer is prepared to create an organization plan that allows the client to implement the solutions single-handedly. Clients can also book the organizer for blocks of time to help sort through and organize particular areas. Some simply need direction on how to store things after they eliminate items. Others want guidance, or even permission, during the de-cluttering process.

“Anyone who decides they have an overabundance of stuff for whatever reason and is ready for the big “sort and purge” can benefit from working with a professional organizer. We are not emotionally attached to the client’s possessions. Most clients are so relieved when I give them permission to donate the awful vase Great Aunt Millie, who lives in another state, gave them for Christmas 10 years ago,” says McIntyre. Some clients enlist her help only for the sort and purge because they are then left with enough space for their possessions.

A new outlook
Part of the process is psychological. “There are so many people out there who say, ‘I am so disorganized,’ and you become what you think,” Smith says. “You have to retrain your mindset.” In addition, “Different people think of different things as sentimental. I encourage them to realize that the memory and association is in their heart. It doesn’t matter if the item is there. What is the bigger issue? What is all this stuff doing to you? Do you want to transition to less work and less stuff?”

A tendency to collect stuff is often at the root of the organization conundrum. “A lot of people feel better when they have more stuff around them. Most of them came from places where they didn’t have much. As they became older and were able to buy things, they hold onto it because they perceive it shows their value. Once you start helping them clear out their stuff, and they can enjoy their home, they are happier,” says Alvarez, who has her clients separate items into “keep,” “trash,” “donate,” and “needs to go to another room” piles. She often finds that after doing one initial pass through everything, her clients want to go back to the “keep” pile and eliminate more items.

Along the way, organizers like Smith educate their clients on how to maintain the structure they create. “It’s not a one-time fix. People truly want to make life changes, but there is a process to it, and I try to incorporate the educational side to what I do. I want to teach people to have a balanced and organized life,” she says.

McIntyre agrees, recalling how the urge to have a balanced life brought her to organizing her home deliberately when she was newly married. “I read this article about a woman who had cancer, and her first goal was to get her house really organized so that it would just run itself. It got me thinking, ‘that makes so much sense,’ ” she recalls. “I started organizing so that I wasn’t a slave to my house, and I could just enjoy my family. I want people to have time to come home and be with their family, to pursue their interests and be creative.”

Helpful Hints for mail and closets

Mail — When you pick up your mail, go through it immediately and get rid of all the flyers and junk mail. Next, have an area where you put the mail you need to process. If you have bills to pay, do it right then, if you can. If not, put your bills in order of due date in your bill basket and look at it every day. Want to reduce your junk mail? Try www.catalogchoice.org.

Clothing Closets — Go through your clothing and keep the most flattering items. Store everything that doesn’t fit – but you wish would – into in a box, and keep it for a year. If it doesn’t fit in a year, donate it. Take care of anything that needs to be altered or cleaned right away; then organize in a way that makes sense for you: by seasons, clothing items or color. When you buy something new, challenge yourself to donate at least one item.

Toys — Be deliberate about donating toys as your children outgrow them and encourage them to help you chose what should be donated for another child to enjoy. Resist the urge to save everything for your grandchildren, as toy trends change quickly. Instead, if you must, store one or two favorite items from key points in your child’s development.

Want to know more?
Learn more at www.organizationlady.com, www.harmonyservices.biz and www.balanceharmony.com.