Coffee Break #62
As I shared in this Coffee Break, last year I hit burn out so badly that I had to fully step away from online content creation. But after 13+ years of sitting behind my computer and working for myself, I suddenly didn’t know what to do with myself. On a whim, I applied to work for a local organizing company, as I’ve always wondered what organizing other people’s homes would be like. How does it work? Who are these people? Would I enjoy it? I’ve now been working on an organizing team for the last 6 months, and I’ll tell you this: it is interesting…in all the ways! For today’s Coffee Break chat, I thought you might enjoy a (very) quick peek behind the “professional organizer” curtain!
1 – You Don’t Need to Be Embarrassed
On pretty much every single job I’ve been on, I’ve heard some sort of the following:
- “Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed.”
- “I can’t believe I had to hire you.”
- “I am a nervous wreck about today.”
- “I can’t believe I’m showing you this space.”
I understand these sentiments…quite intimately actually. I think we all feel similarly when we are exposing the parts of our homes (or lives) that aren’t quite what we want them to be. Or think they should be.
But here’s been the fascinating part, now that I’m on the other side.
You really don’t need to be embarrassed.
We see a lot of homes. We see a very wide range of clutter, excess, disorganization, and yes, even dysfunction.
I would imagine it’s like doctors seeing medical issues or dentists seeing bad teeth. They’ve seen it all.
We’ve seen it all too. And it doesn’t really phase us.
We aren’t bothered by the mess. We don’t even really judge or wonder how it got so bad. We’re simply there to wade through your stuff and make it better.
And we’re usually really excited to get to work. Because this is our thing!
Key Takeaway
Don’t be embarrassed asking for help, whether it’s from a professional or even a friend or family member. If that person is excited to help you, they probably don’t care about how it got that way. They’re just ready to make it better.
2 – A Fresh Perspective Can Change Everything
Some other common phrases we hear at the end of jobs (when everything is all clean and put away) is…
- “I never would have thought to put that there!”
- “Why didn’t that occur to me sooner?!”
- “Well, that was an obvious solution, why didn’t I see that?”
And most of the time, we didn’t do anything earth shattering. We just saw the situation with fresh eyes and came to the table with fresh energy.
One of my very favorite aspects of this job is the collaborative, problem-solving nature of it. I feel like I have a knack for “cracking the code” on most organizing problems. But when I can’t figure something out, one of my co-workers usually can. And solving the problem together typically results in something better than had we worked alone.
Key Takeaway
Seeing a setting with fresh eyes brings new solutions to the table. If you feel like you just cannot make sense of a space or get your arms around a particular problem, often-times an outside perspective can get you unstuck!
3 – It’s a Bandaid – Not a Cure
My favorite jobs are the projects where it’s less about the mess and amount of stuff and more about the lack of good systems. These are the projects where I feel like we truly make a difference. Like…now that we’ve shown a client the way, they’ll be good to go for a while.
But there are other jobs where I leave with a little sense of the blues.
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Because, while we swooped in as a team, cleaned up the mess, and created a “dazzling” transformation…I can tell when the work won’t stick. And in time, you’d never know we were there in the first place.
Because stuff…and the client’s relationship with it…is sometimes bigger than an afternoon project.
Organizing is not a “one and done” thing. Organization is a way of life, not a quick fix.
It’s something that needs to be committed to, day in and day out, in order to maintain it. It takes honest, consistent hard work. Like a diet. Like a budget.
This job can sometimes feel like a “quick fix” rather than the hard work; and I can’t help but wonder if we are truly any help at all.
Key Takeaway
Hiring a service or a team can be an awesome jump start. But that’s the point: it’s a start. It can be a lot of wasted time, money, and effort if you’re not ready to commit to the lifestyle changes necessary to keep it that way!
Fun Hacks I’ve Incorporated Into My Own Organizing
Color Ordering
For a long time, I’ve color sorted books and craft supplies. But professional organizers take color sorting up a notch by extending it to clothes, shoes, wrapping paper…everything! I’ve started putting our clothes in rainbow order a little more proactively and love the pleasant surprise every time I walk into my closet or open my drawer!
Wrapping Up Cords
My co-worker keeps this little roll of Velcro cord ties in her pocket and ANY time she sees a dangling or messy cord, she quickly tidies it up. It makes such a difference that I’ve now started rolling up all the loose cords behind the furniture in my own home!
Alternating Shoes
When storing shoes on a shelf, sometimes you can’t get them all to fit. But if you flip one shoe around (so that the shoes sit on the shelf toe-to-heel), you can fit SO many more! Plus, sometimes seeing both the heel and toe makes it easier to find the pair you want!
Using What You’ve Got
As a blogger, pictures are everything. So I am usually pretty particular about finding matching bins that look juuuuust right. So it was a big shift for me to just use whatever the client has. And you know what: it always seems to work out!
Even if the bins don’t match, even if they aren’t the perfectsize for a certain spot, it’s amazing how much order you can create just by corralling loose stuff into something, anything bigger!
Megan
11 Comments on “Coffee Break #62”
Love your insight as always. ❤️
Thanks for sharing your insight into being a professional organizer. I still have a desire to work as one, but, after watching too many episodes of Hoarders, I realized that’s what I might encounter on a regular basis. Ha ha!
I would say sometimes the issue is not the Stuff or the clients relationship with the Stuff, but the client’s brain. If you have executive function issues or ADHD, then keeping things organized is going to be very difficult. I have both of those – and I have built a relationship with my organizer and she has been my friend and organizer for 10 years now. Sometimes we have to do the same spaces over and over again. Over the time I have known her, I have buried my father, put my mother in memory care, emptied their house and sold it, moved my own family twice, and had my first child at age 42. So lots and lots of changes is what I’m trying to say. Hope it makes sense what I’m trying to explain!
I am in the process of decluttering and organizing my craft room. Actually for several years. I read about decluttering alot. Some info I use, some I skip. I wish I could rearrange my room but the furniture is too heavy. I just found your blog and will follow to see what you will show us. Thank you!!
Interesting take.
I hired an organizer to come help me corral my desk and office area – specifically files. Ultimately she sat and kept repeating “Can you replace that? Can you find it on the internet? Have you used/see a use for that in the near future?” and the like. I reduced 3 file drawers down to one and was able to get rid of the giant legal-size 4 drawer filing cabinet.
Now I need to sit down and purge my files on the computer!
Funny how I seem to be able to toss/store/donate in every other space in my home….
Great coffee break! If you ever want to dive a deeper on another Coffee Break and offer advice to those of us that have been at home on how to get a job with an organizing company, I’d be all ears! Perhaps you showed your blog work and that helped? Should we show our own before & afters? Or just intern first? 💝
I have a friend who is a professional organizer in Tennessee. The company was featured on an episode of Hoarders on HGTV.
This was a timely post for me because we are talking about getting a cleaning service for our home. Your comment about not being embarrassed about the mess was helpful. The house is not really messy, just undusted. A deep clean and periodic maintenance is all it needs. No embarrassment because they’ve see it all.
That was good advice. It’s so true, it’s just a start. My daughter bought me some organization company hours when I moved. I just could not pull it together and get all the boxes sorted and unpacked and I had downsized so much already.
It went well, but I’m still not finished. The sorting was the best. The going through boxes of “stuff” with the organizer was great. You start big and you work your way down. They give you a lot to think about for the next time they return. It was exhausting but worth it.
It’s true to remember though, it’s only a start………………
You are not wrong. It often is a simple “fresh eyes” that can make all the difference in the world. And the simple fix, of tidying something as you see it, makes everything better. I used to be so good at taking something to its home instead of just getting it into the room. Having a home and a place for everything helps. And being sure to put it there. And being able to ask for help when we need it is hard, and it takes a brave person to reach out and say I want to figure this out and make a change. Thanks for being part of the team that makes a difference.
Thank you. I have been following you for some time. I’m happy that you are back! This read was just what I needed to get a fresh set of eyes on my craft room. I’ve been waiting for the “right time” to make it a usable room. That time is now!
We are at a time when my parents are trying to downsize (which means we get stuff), and our son moved home (which means we get stuff), and we have our stuff (which is too much). I have been thinking I just need a friend to work alongside me to help me stay focused and pare down everything. And yes, I am so embarrassed! Thanks for this coffee break. It’s helpful.