There are a lot of Christmas parties and other festivities happening this month, but my guest today is going to tell us about a different type of party altogether. If you’re looking for new ideas for your organizing business, you’ll want to read about Kate Martin’s organizing parties!

Some people would rather go to the hospital for major surgery than get their homes or lives organized. The thought of taking the time to go through their possessions and cull out things sounds like a lot of hard work. But what if it wasn’t? What if there was a much more fun and less soul-sucking kind of way to get your life in order?

Enter the organizing party. It sounds like a trick at first, for sure. But the beauty of an organizing party is that you leave with less than you came with. That’s right. Less clutter in your purse. Less confusion in your brain. Less weight on your chest. Plus, no trinkets or gadgets to buy because less is more when getting organized.

Professional Organizers have been helping people clear their homes for decades. Yet we still often have to explain what we do. A typical Professional Organizer goes to a client’s home and works one on one with them to reduce physical clutter from their living spaces. It may be one session or it may be a lifelong friendship that spans several houses. Either way it’s a relationship built on trust from both the organizer and the client.

There can be many barriers to working as an organizer in a client’s home like time, cost and freedom. So that is why I introduced the organizing party format in my business as a way to knock down those walls.

• Time? I offer organizing services during the work day, but not all clients can take the day off work. Organizing parties can be offered at night to accommodate 9-5 work schedules.

• Cost? The cost of attending a party is minimal compared to hiring a professional organizer to work one on one. Hosting a party may be the best way to find clients who have never hired an organizer. Show them how valuable you are and how they can’t live without you.

• Freedom? The food, drinks and enthusiasm from other people at a party help soften up the shy ones. Once they find out their friends leave papers all over the kitchen, too, it’s easier for them to admit their homes need a little tweaking.

I added organizing parties to my menu of services based on the system developed by Sara Pederson. I have adapted each of the themed parties I offer over the years to make them feel more like me. It’s also a great way to introduce new techniques learned from classes and books to a large yet intimate group.

Women attending makeup, cooking or jewelry parties know what to expect. There is a traditional format of speech, touch, sell. The difference with organizing parties is the sell portion. The person attending doesn’t buy but rather does an activity that resonates with their lifestyle and gets them thinking.

In my purse organizing party, each person attending actually clears out their purse. We play purse bingo. We learn maintenance techniques to keep it clearer in the future. I award a purse organizing product as a door prize that’s actually useful. Then, as each woman leaves they literally feel lighter and go home with less, not more stuff to find a home for.

In my stress-free holidays party, everyone receives a binder with helpful handouts. We learn techniques to bring joy back to the holidays. We fill out worksheets that help simplify gift buying and holiday meal planning. There’s even a popular ice breaker I created that involves relieving stress with holiday supplies – I dare my clients to try popping bubble wrap while not cracking a smile. Try it with your clients any time you need a light moment.

My favorite party by far is the family command center party. I ask each person to bring all their loose papers from their desk, kitchen counter and car. I hand out desktop file boxes with pre-labeled folders like “school” and “taxes”. We take a fun quiz to see what categories of papers they have in their lives. Then we sit, drinks in hand, and sort. It’s a different atmosphere than an organizing session at a client’s home, but it works. We recycle, we shred on the spot, and we cheer each other on. Everyone learns new techniques for handling the papers in their lives, plus they gain hands on experience with their own papers. Then they get to bring their file box home, ready to go – how cool is that?

Hosting a party may seem like an unusual way to gain clients, but it’s really a workshop in disguise. I don’t tell my clients that, because workshop equals boring lecture, but parties are fun! So if you are looking for a way to attract new clients in a refreshing new format, consider an organizing party. You get to polish your speaking skills and gain testimonials. You might score a lot of sign-ups for your newsletter. You could also gain a whole new group of clients and that seems like it’s worth a party to me.

Photo © Elena_Barinova / depositphotos