Change is all around us – you don’t have to look very hard to notice that the leaves are changing color and dropping to the ground, days are getting shorter, and people have switched from shorts and T-shirts to jackets and long pants. (I realize this may not be the case where you live, but please indulge me…) And this fall, lots of changes are happening right within the organizing industry!

At its annual conference in September, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) announced that, effective January 1, 2011, it will be changing its name to the Institute for Challenging Disorganization. As Katherine Trezise, CPO-CD®, CPO® and president of NSGCD explained,

The name Institute for Challenging Disorganization better reflects who we are as an organization: the premier resource for education, research, and strategies for overcoming challenging disorganization. It also better reflects what we do: benefit people whose lives are challenged by disorganization.

Not long afterward, the NAPO Board proposed a name change from the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) to Organizing and Productivity Professionals International (O.P.P.I.). According to a position paper distributed to NAPO members,

A name change addresses the reality that the industry clearly includes organizing and productivity. In addition, globalization has expanded the use of organizing and productivity professionals. NAPO conferences have long attracted attendees from other countries and sister organizations have formed worldwide. The proposed name change is intended to convey that organizing and productivity is an international industry.

From what I’ve seen on Twitter and Facebook, some members are fully in favor of this change, while others feel it is unnecessary or even a very bad idea. Someone has even created a Twitter account, @antioppi, to voice their opinions on what is turning out to be rather a contentious issue.

What is worrisome in this situation is that a move that was intended to strengthen the association may end up weakening it, by causing division amongst the members and possibly leading some to leave altogether.

If you’re up on the ins and outs of this proposed change, please feel free to use the Comments section as your platform to share your opinions and fill in those of us who aren’t in the know.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Change is in the Air!.

Time sure is funny sometimes. It seems like POC just announced their 10th Annual Conference was being held in Montreal from November 5 to 7, 2010, but in reality, it was several months ago, and the Conference is now only six weeks away!

This year’s theme is Communication, and there will be two inspiring keynote speakers as well as a wide selection of breakout sessions for professional organizers at all levels.

At 3:30 PM on Friday, November 5, I’ll be conducting a workshop on Social Media Strategies for Professional Organizers, which I’m very excited about. It’s a huge topic to cover in only 75 minutes, so I’ve prepared some great worksheets you’ll be able to take away and work on after the Conference.

If you go to Montreal early, you can also take the Professional Organizers.com Comprehensive Training Program, attend some POC Trained Professional Organizer Credit Courses, and write your POC Trained Professional Organizer or NSGCD Exams – not to mention a chance to explore one of Canada’s most exciting cities!

I’m really looking forward to the Gala Dinner on Saturday night for networking, a great meal, comedian Franco Taddeo, and finding out who will receive this year’s Harold Taylor Award.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out all the details on the POC website, where you can also download a complete Conference Program. Members of NAPO and NSGCD get to pay the same reduced rate as POC members, and early bird registration rates are in effect until October 3. That’s just around the corner, so don’t wait too long!

I can’t wait to meet some of my readers for the first time, and to reconnect with people I haven’t seen since I last attended a POC Conference in 2006. If you’re going, please leave me a comment below or contact me personally so we don’t miss each other in the crowd!

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Meet Me in Montreal.

I’ve often said that if one wanted to, it would be possible to attend a seminar, workshop, webinar or teleclass on a topic of interest every single week, if not every day! Most of us don’t have quite that much time (or training budget) available, but it is important to keep on learning. Here are a few events taking place over the next couple of months that you just may want to consider.

The Organized Child
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 – 10 a.m. (Eastern)
Teleclass

7 Secrets to a Successful Workshop
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 – 10 a.m. (Eastern)
Teleclass

Comprehensive Training Program for Professional Organizers
September 13 – 15, 2010
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

2010 Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO) Conference
September 13 – 14, 2010
Christchurch, New Zealand

Innovative Closet Organizing
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 – 10 a.m. (Eastern)
Teleclass

Organizer’s Boot Camp
September 21 & 23, 2010 – 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Comprehensive Training Program for Professional Organizers
September 22 – 24, 2010
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

NSGCD Fall 2010 Conference
September 23 – 25, 2010
Austin, Texas

Professional Organizer Training Institute™ program
September 27 – 29, 2010
Lake Oswego, Oregon

Orvention 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Gelderland, The Netherlands

Mid Atlantic Regional Conference for Professional Organizers (MARCPO)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Bethesda, Maryland

Organize In Your Own Learning Style
Wednesday, October 4, 2010 – 10 a.m. (Eastern)
Teleclass

Addressing Hoarding Through Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Thursday, October 7, 2010 – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Comprehensive Training Program for Professional Organizers
October 11 – 13, 2010
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

This is by no means a complete list, so if you know of other classes or conferences that are taking place soon, please leave a comment below.

I’m thinking about adding an event calendar page on this site – is this something you’d like to see here?

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities.

Since it was formally established in 2001, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) has been a valuable resource for professional organizers and related professionals searching for ways to assist their chronically disorganized clients.

In addition to their annual conference (which will be held in Texas this September), NSGCD has an extensive offering of teleclasses throughout the year, and new programs are developed on a regular basis.

The following is a list of new teleclasses being offered in the coming months:

Wednesday, July 7th
Knowing Me, Knowing You – An Organizer’s Dream Come True
Steve Zanini

Wednesday, July 14th
Depression in the Elderly CD Client
Katherine Anderson, CPO-CD

Wednesday, July 21st
Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It.
Phyllis Flood Knerr, CPO-CD

Wednesday, July 28th
Motivational Interviewing
Dee-Dee Stout, MA, CADC II, MINT

Wednesday, August 4th
Listening for Professionals
Lisa M. Orick-Martinez, Ph.D.

Wednesday, August 11th
Updated Review on the NSGCD Clutter Hoarding Scale
Sheila Delson, CPO-CD

Wednesday, August 18th
Strategies for Success: Effective Communication Skills for Working with Students with ADD/ADHD
Jennifer McDaniel Wolfe, CPO-CD, CPO, NSGCD Master Trainer

Wednesday, September 1st
Advanced Hoarding
Mindy Godding, CPO

Wednesday, September 14th
Basic ADD
Denslow Brown, CPO-CD

Wednesday, September 15th
Should I Report This or Not? What Every Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Abuse, Neglect, and Other Potential Harms in the CD Household
Tiffany deSilva, MSW, LSW, CTACC

Wednesday, September 29th
Bipolar Disorder Session I
Julie A. Fast

There is no charge to register for the teleclasses, but you must be an NSGCD member (or “subscriber”) to participate. Membership is open to professional organizers who are already a member of NAPO, POC, or AAPO, or who can provide documentation verifying that they have been in business as a professional organizer for at least one year.

Visit the NSGCD website to download an application or to learn about the other subscriber benefits.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on New Classes on Chronic Disorganization.

Teleclasses, webinars, and live workshops take place throughout the year, but nothing can compare with a professional organizers conference. Spending entire days hearing expert speakers in the company of like-minded professionals is something you must experience, if at all possible, so grab your planner and decide which conference(s) you’ll attend this year!

April 21 – 24, 2010
NAPO 2010 Annual Conference & Organizing Exposition
Columbus, Ohio

September 13 – 14, 2010
2010 Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO) Conference
Christchurch, New Zealand

September 23 – 25, 2010
NSGCD Fall 2010 Conference
Austin, Texas

October 1, 2010
Orvention 2010
Gelderland, The Netherlands

Fall 2010
Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference for Professional Organizers

If you really like to plan ahead, mark these dates as well:

April 6 – 9, 2011
NAPO 2011 Annual Conference
San Diego, California

March 21 – 24, 2012
NAPO 2012 Annual Conference
Baltimore, Maryland

List Planit posted some great tips this week about preparing to attend an out-of-town conference. Be sure to read right through to the end of the post, where you can download a free Conference ePlanner.

I would love to go to all of these events so I can share the information with readers who aren’t able to be there, but unfortunately, neither my schedule nor my budget will allow it. If you’re attending a conference this year, and you’d like to be my eyes and ears in the field, please contact me about being a guest blogger.

This list is not complete, but is all the information I was able to locate at this time. If you have details for this year’s POC or POAA Conferences, or know of other events which should be listed here, please note them in the Comments section.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on 2010 Conference Schedule.

There have been quite a few major events for professional organizers this fall, and since many of you can only spare the time and funds to attend one (or maybe not even that), I’ve recruited some special people to let you know what you’ve missed. We’ve already heard about the POAA and AAPO conferences, and today Janine Adams is here to tell us all about the recent NSGCD Conference.

I had the brain on my brain after attending the annual conference of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization in sunny Los Angeles, October 1 to 3. I’m a conference junkie (this was my fourth organizers’ conference in the past year) and NSGCD is always one of my favorites. This year’s conference did not disappoint.

One thing I love about the NSGCD conference is that it’s relatively small: there were 115 folks in attendance. That’s small enough to really get to know people. NSGCD subscribers are such smart, compassionate, fun people. From the very first one I attended, I always felt like I was among friends. Another bonus: The food at NSGCD conferences is always great (and plentiful). And the meals are included in the conference fee.

So why was the brain on my brain? Mostly because of the presentation called, “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life,” by renowned brain researcher, Daniel G. Amen, M.D. He spoke about keeping our brains young by avoiding certain behaviors (including smoking, drugs, excessive caffeine, sleep deprivation—he says that at least seven hours of sleep each night is essential) and embracing others (like a healthy diet, vitamins, fish oil, new learning, sex and exercise—he recommends table tennis). For me, the talk was enlightening and I gleaned information that will cause me to change some behaviors. And I’ve already spoken with some clients about what I learned from Dr. Amen.

But Dr. Amen wasn’t the only great speaker on the agenda. The two-day conference was full of them. In her lively presentation, Catherine “Ross” Roster, Ph.D., NSGCD Research Director, gave us an update on the association’s current research projects and encouraged NSGCD subscribers to get involved in two new projects: one with artist Corinne Botz, who will create art from objects of significance donated by people. The project, titled “The Secret Lives of Objects” can use the help of 20 to 25 NSGCD subscribers to identify clients who might wish to participate. The other project is to create a new Clutter Quality of Life Scale (CQLS), a self-assessment tool designed to measure the impact of clutter on an individual’s life and the consequences of clutter. Dr. Roster pointed out that the CQLS will be a great way for POs to engage clients in discussion of the impact of clutter, as well as quantify progress with their clients.  If you’re an NSGCD subscriber interested in participating in NSGCD research projects (you can earn service points!), email Catherine Roster at roster@mqt.unm.edu.

Also on the program was Tracey Greene Mintz, a social worker who, in a surprisingly entertaining presentation, advocated for the elderly in her talk on mitigating relocation stress syndrome in elderly clients. On the second day, Nancy Schlossberg, Ed.D., a vibrant 80-year-old and expert on change and transition gave two enlightening sessions on transitions. Because of a personal obligation, I had to take an early flight, so I missed Mark Odom’s talk on “Overcoming Resistance: Understanding and Engaging Reluctant Clients.” I was also sorry to miss the panel discussion on collaboration that ended the conference. In my opinion, one of the hallmarks of NSGCD is its reaching out to other disciplines to offer us different perspectives on our work. This particular panel included Tammy L. Chalmers, CFO of Crime Scene Steri-Clean, whose company specializes in clean-ups for hoarders; Marie K. Lee, Ph.D., a cognitive behavioral therapist; Margaret Riley, Neighborhood Improvement/Code Enforcement Manager for the City of Buena Park, California and the co-chair of the Orange County Task Force on Hoarding; Sheryl Vito, a Senior Social Worker with Orange County Adult Protective Services; and another social worker for older adults, with the City of Huntington Beach, Senior Services. To me, that’s an exciting panel. I truly wish I could have heard them, but I can always purchase CDs or DVDs of the conference sessions.

If you find yourself working with chronically disorganized clients and don’t feel equipped with the tools to make progress with them, I strongly recommend investing in NSGCD. The teleclasses throughout the year are great and the conferences truly rock. Mark your calendars now: Next year’s conference will be September 23 to 25 in Austin, Texas. Keep your eye on the conference page on the NSGCD website for more information as it becomes available.

Janine Adams, CPO®, CPO-CD® is owner of Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis, Missouri. Together with life coach Shannon Wilkinson, she’s the co-creator of the e-course Declutter Happy Hour. On Twitter, she’s @janinea.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on The NSGCD conference: Learning and networking and great food all rolled into one!.

Here it is once again – time for the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! This monthly feature is a chance for you to share your best blog posts and learn from your colleagues in the organizing industry. We have a few new contributors this month, including a very special guest. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, so read on and enjoy!

Let’s begin with the 10 Best Reasons to Get Organized, in which Lelah Baker-Rabe shares some familiar and not-so-familiar reminders about how getting organized can improve your life.

Next, a few Organizing Products and Systems you may wish to recommend to your clients, or use yourself:

Jodi Granok has the solution for Fixing Our Food Storage Container Clutter in a photo essay, and Jeri Dansky answers a Reader Question: Organizing the Adult Toys.

Margaret Lukens describes Three everyday uses for mind-maps, and Jacki Hollywood Brown blogs about The King of Classification:

This Professional Organizer built an easy to understand, simple to apply, easily modified classification system for all life on Earth over 300 years ago!

The value of Professional Organizer Training, Certification and Credentials are discussed by Geralin Thomas in Working with Hoarders:  Training and Experience Highly Recommended and Janine Adams in Why training and credentials matter

Business Strategy is a topic that’s important to all of us, and Lisa Montanaro shares some great ideas in Time is on Your Side: 10 Ways to Reinvest in Your Business During a Slow Economy. Lisa says,

If business is slow for you, this may be the perfect time to do some of the business-building activities that you never have the time to do when you are too busy working in the business. This may also be a golden opportunity for professional development, reflection, and brainstorming.

Angela Esnouf states that:

To get change you need to make changes.  This holds true for our clients as much as it does for our businesses.

Read her post Different Actions Get Different Results for an example.

Since a carnival is all about having fun, we’ll close this one with Dave Gary‘s light-hearted way of presenting both sides of the organizing coin (at least through the eyes of one PO’s spouse) in Top 5 Reasons You Should Marry A Professional Organizer.

Thanks for stopping by, and a special thanks to everyone who contributed to this month’s Professional Organizers Blog Carnival! Be sure to read the above posts, leave some comments, and get to know one your organizing colleagues. If you didn’t participate, I do hope you’ll join us next time!

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Professional Organizers Blog Carnival – October 2009 Edition.

There are so many interesting options for professional organizers in terms of specialization, training, and certification, it can be challenging to figure out which ones may be beneficial to you, your clients, and your business. One of my goals with this blog is to provide you with information to help you make those decisions, and with that in mind, Sue West is visiting today to tell us about The Coach Approach for Organizers™.

“I wonder if he’ll/she’ll really experience a difference. Will she keep up with the organizing systems we collaborated on?”

How many times have you finished a client meeting and had a whisper of a thought like the one above? You know you’ve done the best you can with the skills you have. Is there more you could do?

Or how often have you thought: “I’d like to stay in touch and support her, even if we don’t organize together. But how can I support her in a way that would work for her?”

Or the client you worked with a year ago on her home office. She told you she’d act as a reference; she was on top of the world. You did the best you could at the time, educating with new skills, a systems focus, collaborating on ways that would work for him/her and the situation. Recently she admitted things are still better than before you assisted. But she’s feeling out of control again.

What can you do? You believe you’ve already done your best. Is there a different approach? A deeper way for the client to experience and engage in organizing with you?

Yes. I’m a Certified Professional Organizer®, in business for nearly 6 years, and have felt every one of these experiences, as some of you have. There’s a new credential in our organizing world which may be just right for your business practice.

You may recognize the name Denslow Brown, The Organizer Coach. Denslow won the 2009 NAPO Founders’ Award for the body of her work. If you’re in the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD), you’ll recognize her name from her many classes about working with clients with ADD, and other classes on processing modalities.

She’s established The Institute for Applied Coaching™, and the first application of coaching skills is with organizers. She designed the program and co-teaches with another expert in the coaching field, Cameron Gott, ADD Coach, certified by the Coaches Training Institute.  Together they present the Coach Approach for Organizers™ training classes and shepherd us through to certification if that’s what we choose.

“An Organizer Coach is trained to invite clients to both identify what they want and to commit to shifting their perspective (the mindset that created their disorganization). Whatever the organizing specialty: memorabilia, relocations or corporate, an Organizer Coach is able to support transformation for their clients…. Coaching is a distinct profession with its own expertise; it is no longer a truthful designation for someone who provides an informed and supportive conversation.”

from The Coach Approach website, Denslow Brown

What’s innovative to me is that she’s taken coaching skills and applied them to the organizing world. You could take traditional coaching classes, but you’d have to figure out how it all applies, or not, to your organizing client needs and to your practice.

The program has extensive training on coaching people who have brain-based challenges, ADD being the most common, although others were covered as well. This is all within the organizing client context.

Many of us in this first certification class learned something about ourselves we didn’t know before. For me, it was that I’m not only visual, but I’m darn good at auditory processing (opposite of my perception before the class), and I’m quite a verbal processor (had an inkling, but now I know why it matters as a coach).  How could you be the best coach you want to be for your clients, without knowing yourself in the way you expect to coach? You’ll get to reexamine your own needs and values and understand how these affect and inform your coaching. (Okay, yes, the last time I checked in my values was way too long ago!)

I can’t say enough about the program, but you may not know me, so check out the Coach Approach website testimonials and read for yourself.  You’ll notice that most of us are experienced organizers, already certified as a CPO® or a CPO-CD®. This program will add to your skill set, beautifully complementing what you know to be true already.

If you’re going to the NSGCD Conference in early October, stop by Denslow’s Coach Approach table. The Coach Approach is a bronze sponsor, and we’ll be there, proudly supporting the program.

Author:

Sue West, CPO®, Organizer Coach™, Space4U Organizing,llc
www.OrganizeNH.com
Blog: http://organizenh.com/wordpress/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Space4U
LinkedIn:   http://www.linkedin.com/in/suewestspace4u

Program contact:

Denslow Brown, MCC, CPO-CD®, CPO®, SCAC
THE ORGANIZER & COACH
The Coach Approach for Organizers™
The Institute for Applied Coaching
417-683-1064
www.organizercoach.com
www.coachapproachfororganizers.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/denslow-brown/13/868/604
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Coach-Approach-for-Organizers-TM/211887680516?ref=ts

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Organizer? Coach? Or How about Organizer Coach™?.

There’s lots of buzz right now about A&E’s new documentary series about real people whose compulsive hoarding is leading to serious problems in their everyday lives. If you didn’t catch the premiere on Monday night, be sure to visit the Hoarders website to see what you missed.

I found it heartbreaking to witness the challenges faced by the compulsive hoarders on the show, and by their families. At the same time, I admire them, not only for taking the huge step of making positive changes in their lives, but for exposing themselves to the world in order to educate others. I also have a great deal of admiration and respect for the professional organizers who work with these individuals.

You may never encounter a situation like those shown on Hoarders, but if you offer residential organizing, there’s a chance that you will. I predict that it’s even more likely now, because the show will help reduce the stigma associated with chronic disorganization, empowering viewers facing similar issues to take action.

You can prepare yourself by downloading a free copy of the Clutter Hoarding Scale developed by the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD). The Clutter Hoarding Scale is an assessment that may be used during your initial consultation to determine the degree of household clutter and hoarding, and the level of support needed. In many cases, the client will need to work with a professional organizer with specialized training in chronic disorganization.

If you are interested in this specialty, you should become a member of NSGCD. Before joining, you must first be a member of NAPO or POC, or provide documentation showing that you’ve been in business as a professional organizer for at least one year. NSGCD offers weekly teleclasses to help their members work towards various levels of certification.

In addition, NSGCD also holds an annual conference for organizers and other professionals who work with chronic disorganization clients. This year’s conference will take place from October 1 to 3 in Los Angeles, California. Registration fees go up after August 31, so if you’re thinking of attending, you should register as soon as possible.

If you’re not sure whether chronic disorganization is your thing, you may wish to explore the subject further before investing in membership or the conference. In this case, you’ll be pleased to know that NSGCD also offers a number of inexpensive publications which you may find of value.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Would You Like to Work with Hoarders?.

Through my business, Organized Assistant, I have the privilege of supporting a number of successful professional organizers with various Internet marketing activities and other projects. One of my clients is Geralin Thomas of Metropolitan Organizing, a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization. Geralin has stopped by today to talk about the training she offers to newcomers to the field of professional organizing, and to experienced organizers who want to optimize their business practices.

Geralin, how long have you been a professional organizer?

I joined NAPO, North Carolina in August of 2003 and consider that my “official” start date.  Before that, I was on the ‘friends and family plan’, meaning I helped friends and relatives who knew I loved organizing people’s time, space and stuff.  I unofficially started calling myself an organizer a year before that.

How did you get started?

In elementary school, when we started diagramming sentences using the Reed-Kellogg system, I was in organizing geek heaven. I knew then and there that if organizing words could bring me such joy, organizing tangible stuff would be nirvana.

Once I had children of my own, the organizational skills had to grow exponentially. My two boys, born only 14 months apart, provided all sorts of organizational challenges – not just their stuff, but their time, their activities, and how everything fit into our family’s lives and our space. As every parent knows, children bring a new world of social networking, and the moms and dads I met all had their organizing challenges, too. I had fun helping solve some of their organizing puzzles, to the point where I realized this was a business opportunity; parents asked for my advice and hands-on solutions and were willing to pay for it.

What kinds of changes have you seen in the organizing industry since you started your business?

Thanks to TV shows, magazines, books and on-line programs devoted to organizing, storage, and time management, the number of professional organizers keeps growing. Technology does save time but generally we’re all  busier than ever. Phones and computers make us accessible 24/7, which means we don’t allow ourselves to have much free time. More people are working from home, and their home offices are usually much smaller than a commercial space. So, our lives, our stuff, our time, and our spaces need to be streamlined and efficient so that we can free ourselves for some relaxation.  Most Americans need a vacation from information; everyone needs to unplug for a while and recharge.

Another change in the organizing industry is a global approach.  Now, it’s easier to study how other cultures solve their space, time, and possessions issues. For example, a few years ago, I started reading about the (Japanese) Kaizen method of making continuous, small changes. The more I learn about how other cultures do things, the better I get at running my business and applying those fresh ideas to client challenges.

Please tell us about the training you offer for new organizers.

My Boost Your Biz Training is a high-octane question and answer session for new organizers who have been in the organizing business less than four years. It’s is a one-on-one program where they ask me anything they want related to organizing. It’s not scripted, so time isn’t wasted with dreadful introductions and sales pitches. It’s part hand-holding and part education. I’m not exploring the “why.”  I help new organizers cut to the chase; we explore the “what,” “when,” and “how” of offering professional organizing services.

Despite all the emailing, texting and online gadgets and gizmos, it’s more important than ever to feel connected with someone who can get to the point and be direct. That’s what I love doing.

Is your training accessible to professional organizers who aren’t located near you in North Carolina?

Yes. In fact, most of my professionals-in-training aren’t nearby. Metropolitan Organizing’s Boost Your Biz has clients in Europe, Canada and as far away as the Philippines. Some clients live in rural areas or remote locals where there aren’t any other organizing professionals; they’re isolated.

In addition, both NAPO and NSGCD offer teleclasses taught by well-respected, credentialed, experienced professionals.

Are there any resources you would recommend to new or experienced professional organizers?

Yes, I would advise them to explore a lot of websites and blogs outside the field of organizing. It’s beneficial to investigate business ideas and models from somewhat related areas, such as record management companies, interior designers, therapists, handyman services, personal chefs, fitness trainers, etc.

For parents reading this, your children’s teachers are probably among the best organized people you will ever meet – volunteer in the classroom and watch a master of time management, space management, and stuff management at work! When you’re at a friend’s house, see how they organize their kitchen drawers, or their child’s artwork and school supplies. You may be able to transpose an idea you saw for a kitchen drawer to a brilliant idea for sorting something totally different, like jewelry or office supplies. You never know what will jump out at you and trigger an idea for another application.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known back in 2002?

I wish I had known how much having a support system helps.

My advice is to get a daily dose of ‘vitamins’ like,  A, B and C.

Administrative

Before hiring you I put off tasks that exceeded my administrative capabilities. It’s a relief to hand over the tasks I dread doing to a trusted professional and focus on the parts of my work I enjoy most. I like it when I’m being productive and earning.

Books

For years I struggled doing my own books and making sense of the data I was tracking.  I was miserable.  This is not my strength.  Hiring a bookkeeper was one of the smartest things I did.  In a fraction of the time it took me, she dazzles me with colorful charts and graphs creating crystal-clear, useful information about my time and money.  I look forward to her monthly reports.  It energizes me to see this information.

Colleagues

Being an extrovert, I crave chit-chat. I enjoy hearing from other organizers and am inspired by what they are doing in their personal and professional lives. For years, every time I’ve reached out for advice, my colleagues have been there for me. It’s the very best feeling to pick up the phone or receive an email with sincere, genuine advice from a colleague who has been there, done that and willing to share their story.

I’m humbled by the generosity of colleagues near and far.

Janet, I’d like to conclude by telling readers how much I enjoy working with you and Scott. The quality of the work you do is top-notch, and your support means a lot to me.  I’m thankful for your brilliance; you make me look good!

Geralin, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share this valuable information with my blog readers, and for your unsolicited testimonial!

Readers, if there’s something else you’d like to know, feel free to post your question either in the Comment section below or using the Ask a Question form, and I’m sure Geralin will be happy to answer it!

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on An Interview with Professional Organizer Geralin Thomas.