The Best Secrets of Professional Organizers

Let’s face it. Not everyone is endowed with the gene that my mother had for staying organized. On top of that, life is hectic and intense. Some people barely have enough time to get the laundry done, much less fold it and put it away.

Professional Organizers to the Rescue

Fortunately there are some solutions that actually don’t create more work for you.

Use a professional organizer. They can help anywhere there’s clutter. They can design an efficient closet system and actually hang up your clothes for you. They can help you figure out what to keep and throw away. They can arrange paperwork and organize files for you, then tell you where everything is. They can also help you develop the following four habits, which are the stock and trade of being clutter free forever.

Break goals into bite-sized pieces. When you start with a monster task, you want to run away and hide. Instead of cleaning out your entire closet, start with hanging up all your belts. Then congratulate yourself. Then decide to find all your jeans and fold them. Then take a break. You deserve it. Bite-sizing is the way to get big jobs done over time.

Create a home for your things. My mother’s motto has always been, "A place for everything and everything in its place." Much as I hate to admit it, I recently found myself saying the same thing to my daughter. One of the first things professional organizers do for their clients is to help them create the places for the things. If you’re doing it yourself, then break this chore down into bite-sized pieces and start with one thing: a shoe rack, a book shelf, a DVD shelf, a hair brush basket, a pile of business cards, etc.

If you don’t use it, toss it. In most cluttered homes, there are little drifts of things in the corners that have been there for a long time, like little piles of cloth from an old sewing project, a book you didn’t like, a box of dishes you keep meaning to give to charity, a broken lamp you can’t fix, and so on. Let go. The secret to living clutter free forever is letting go of stuff.

If you keep things because of sentimental value, take a picture. Sometimes our stuff is really meaningful and we’re reluctant to toss it. On the other hand, how many tarnished and broken Christmas ornaments do you need to remind you of great Christmases past? Do you really need to keep the entire wardrobe your baby wore between birth and nine months? A photo may be enough to remind you of those times without having to look at the things themselves.

Perhaps the best thing about professional organizers is that they get things done. So if you want to be organized but you’re feeling overwhelmed, put yourself and your clutter into the hands of a professional and let them direct the show.

To add more to your thoughts related to this article covering professional organizers and to help keep you clutter free forever; you may enjoy De-cluttering Tips were you can even expand that set of ideas by reviewing Home Organization Tips