Getting and staying organized can be difficult for anyone of any age or stage of life. It is especially challenging when you have a family and work full-time or manage a business. Here are 6 Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer for the job!
6 REASONS TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER
A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER CAN OFFER A TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED PERSPECTIVE AND PROCESS THAT HELPS TO ENSURE SUCCESS
A Professional Organizer can offer a trained and experienced perspective and process that helps to ensure success, especially if he/she is a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. NAPO members bring order and efficiency to people’s lives.
Clutter and disorganization in our homes and lives causes stress, frustration and anxiety. In our work, it leads to a lack of productivity, lost revenue and higher costs. Getting professional help is okay! It is no different than hiring an accountant to do your taxes or a personal trainer to help get you in shape. A Professional Organizer has the expertise to advise you and help you meet your goals.
Organizing and Productivity Professionals not only help you get organized, but they can also help you stay organized, providing you with knowledge and tools that will help you obtain long-term success. They can teach you how to break down overwhelming tasks, declutter your living and workspaces, manage your time, and put easy-to-maintain systems in place that will help you become more productive.
Members of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals value education and professional development. They stay current on trends and advancements in the industry, adhere to NAPO’s Code of Ethics, which encourages fair and equitable practices, in working with clients and colleagues, handling client confidentiality, and assessing fees and expenses.
Trained members of NAPO have learned from experts in their field with on-demand training and annual conferences. Some have obtained NAPO Specialist Certificates in areas such as Residential Organizing, Life Transitions, Workplace Productivity, Household Management, Brain-Based Conditions and Team Productivity.
Organized Haven’s Professional Organizers are trained members of NAPO who collectively have obtained all six specialist certificates.
Find a NAPO member near you here: www.napo.net
YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START
One thing that all our clients have in common is that they are overwhelmed with their organizing/moving project and don’t even know where to start.
Usually, that’s because they feel like they are drowning in “stuff” throughout their home. The stress caused by the clutter that surrounds them is enough to stop them in their tracks before they even begin.
If you can relate to this, bookmark one of my prior blog posts for future reading: https://organizedhaven.com/how-to-get-organized-when-you-dont-know-where-to-start/
On this note, I’ll leave you with this little bit of inspiration:
“The secret to getting ahead is GETTING STARTED.” ~Mark Twain
A Professional Organizer will not only know where to start, but he/she will be your motivator and your accountability partner to get you to the finish line with less stress.
YOU ARE FACING A LARGE DOWNSIZE OR MOVE
Seniors, busy professionals and families facing a large downsize or move in their near future should know that they don’t have to go it alone. Oftentimes, they do because they’ve never hired a moving company for their packing or unpacking. Possibly not even for their move.
Take Ross here, for example:
We all know the kind of day it turns out to be when we buy pizza for our friends or family to help us move: 😂
Professional Organizers who specialize in packing, unpacking and setting up new homes (who are properly insured for your protection) can relieve the burdens of this normally overwhelming life transition.
If you plan to do your own packing and preparation for an upcoming move and you want it to be anything besides exhausting and chaotic, read this first:
https://organizedhaven.com/packing-tips-sure-to-prepare-you-for-move-day/
Or you could hire a professional organizing team to completely settle you in on move day, like we did for this Lakeland client:
PAPER MOUNTAINS ARE CLUTTERING YOUR HOME OR OFFICE
Did you know that the average American adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year? Americans spend over 8 months of their lives opening junk mail, but a whopping 44% of unsolicited mail is never even opened!
Where does all of that paper go, you ask? PaperKarma wrote a jaw-dropping article about paper’s impact on the environment here: https://www.paperkarma.com/blog/how-junk-mail-impacts-environment/.
But how long does it stay in your home before it ends up in the ground? What negative effects come from the mountains of paper on your desks and other flat surface areas, not to mention file cabinets and boxes?
Clearly, too much time is wasted processing junk mail and organizing paper. Whether it be sorting and filing or shredding and digitizing, a Professional Organizer will be able to tame those paper monsters and teach you how to prevent them from coming back (or staying long WHEN they do.)
Finding a Professional Organizer who is a NAPO Specialist in Household Management or Workplace Productivity can help you turn this months-long project to complete in only a matter of days.
WELCOMING A NEW BABY
Is there a transition more difficult than welcoming a new baby into your home and life? Coming from this mama of two, I don’t think so! Even a Professional Organizer who is having a baby needs a Professional Organizer to help her prepare for and manage life after baby!
I say this now, but did I take my own advice? No, and I have the emotional scars to prove it! Even if only for one day a month, imagine the help it would be to have professional support from an expert in Life Transitions for all those “prepare for baby” and “household management” tasks:
- Spring cleaning – dusting, sanitizing, renewing
- Downsizing – clearing clutter, storage room reno, other children’s rooms, kitchen cabinets
- Safety and security – baby proofing, monitoring, furniture setup
- Organization – baby essentials in every room, functional systems in place, creation of schedule
- Health and rest – care for baby and mom, meal plan / schedule, food prep, house cleaning support
Does it not sound like all of these are necessities for a mom having a baby? I wish more moms knew this professional support existed!
COMBINING HOUSEHOLDS
We’ve already covered two of the most stressful things you will do in your lifetime, but what about combining households after a marriage (and possibly a prior divorce)? When you have at least two of everything to merge together, downsizing has to be a key ingredient of the process!
Combining households is one of my 6 Reasons to Hire a Professional Organizer because stresses are high in a transition like this. In this scenario, a detail-oriented plan and tough conversations are necessary to limit the amount of clutter and stress that builds up.
A Professional Organizer who has experience in a project like this might help you overcome obstacles before they even arise.
Don’t ever be ashamed to ask a professional for help! A true Professional Organizer will not judge or shame you for living in clutter. They’ll do everything in their power to meet your organizing goals, and help you maintain them if needed.
If you’d like to hire a Professional Organizer for your home or office organizing project, find one near you by going to www.NAPO.net. If you are lucky enough to have a Certified Professional Organizer® in your area, consider him/her to be dedicated to professional organizing and the absolute BEST the industry has to offer!
PIN IT to remember it!
Your Central Florida Certified Professional Organizer® and Certified Senior Move Manager®,
💙
Nicole
By: Nicole Ramer, CPO®, SMM~C®
(Certified Professional Organizer® & Certified Senior Move Manager®)
© 2022 Organized Haven. All rights reserved.
Great post! Many of my clients don’t know where to start, especially when they are getting ready to move.
Thank you, Sabrina! With moving being one of the most stressful things a person will do, it’s no wonder why Professional Organizers are called upon for help!
While many of the reasons you listed coincide with why clients have hired me, now that I’ve pivoted my business and only offer virtual organizing, there are other reasons too. Many clients hire me as their accountability partner. When they know we have a session scheduled, it incentivizes them take action. Then we can discuss what worked, what didn’t, and figure out the best way forward. Other clients use our sessions to organize their thoughts, time, or priorities.
YES!!! Whether organizing in person or virtually, we are definitely accountability partners! 🙂
So many people have no idea all the ways that a professional organizer can help tame the wackadoodle out of an out-of-control life. I love that you referenced paper piles (my favorite area) but blending households, downsizing for a move, and welcoming a new tiny human are all excellent reasons. We are partners in crime, accountability buddies, sounding boards, sources of expertise, and unbiased eyes, all things most people need at some point.
My favorite part of your post had to be the Ross/Chandler “PIVOT!!!!!!” gifs! Without any audio, I could still hear it in my head.
All excellent points, Julie. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this! And the Ross/Chandler “PIVOT” moment never gets old. So funny!!! 🙂
Great list! I’d also add “If you just plain don’t like organizing!” I have clients who prefer more of a maintenance-based plan when it comes to organizing. We set up the system and show them how to use it, they use it, and when it starts to get out of whack we come in and touch it up!
Thanks, Katherine! We love it when our clients are able to maintain the systems we create with/for them, but life certainly does happen for all of us! So long as when we return for that touch up we are determining if a change to the system is needed, we are all for recreating that “Organized Haven” for them. 🙂