How does a Professional Organizer organize?

Organizing philosophy and general strategy for Simply Organized.

We do not typically organize more than 6 hours a day.  You'll likely become frustrated and less efficient as the day progresses. It's much better to spend six or less hours -- on one project or space at a time. This way we all feel motivated to do more, not burned out by the process.  Walking away after six hours gives us all a chance to take a decision making break and also think about the space with a fresh perspective.  

Sometimes the first thing we do is clear out the space, assessing what containers you REALLY need.  And then we’ll buy a few bins to start. We can always add later, but you don't want a bunch of empty containers cluttering up your home or ours while we figure out where you might use them.  It’s better to buy the container that fits your needs instead of trying to fit your needs into a container.

While clearing out the space, we sort things by type and/or into “future home” categories  (e.g., toss, recycle, donate, give to friend, put in deep storage). But here's the crucial part: Once you have decided where something is going to go -- take it there, or let us take it for you.  At that point we've all done so much work getting this stuff ready to take out, we really need to complete the deal!

We create homes for what is in the “keep” category. We often categorize the keepers as hot, warm, and cold items.  “Hot” items are those things that need to be within easy reach on a daily basis.  Cold items are the opposite and are seldom used.  When organizing these items we designate homes that are logical for how you would use them, where you personally would look for them. We do this best based on what you’ve communicated to us.

Do not think that once we’ve organized your space, that you are done. You'll feel like a failure when you have to clean it up again in a month. Realize that while we have worked together to create a new, efficient, and logical system for processing and managing incoming and outgoing items, you are not done. There is no autopilot. You should expect regular upkeep (we can help with that too), but just be glad that the new system is far more efficient than the old one.  Part of the organizing goal is to make that up-keep simple.  That starts with letting go of your excess so you live a more simple life with a manageable amount of belongings.

Very few people have closets and drawers that resemble those in catalogs. Trust us. We've been in a lot of houses and apartments and even after we've totally reorganized a space, it doesn't look like an ad for The Container Store. It looks great and works properly, but it is a space that is used by an actual human being, not one that has been carefully staged by a team of stylists and marketers for a non-existent resident. You will ultimately be disappointed if perfection is your goal. The goal is to set up a space that works well for your needs. That is success and that is what we strive for.  

Simply Organized ~ OrganizeNWA.com