What does a Professional Organizer do?
Understanding what Professional Organizers do is integral in achieving your organizing outcomes. A Professional Organizer uses principles and techniques to teach clients organizational skills and design customized systems. The organizer helps the client gain control over their time and space by creating organizing systems that an appropriate and customized for the client and helps the client develops skills to maintain organization.
Organizers come from a variety of backgrounds and professions and as such offer a wide array of organizing services. While most Professional Organizers specialize in either residential or business organization, there are niche services as well such as moving, estate organization, special population organizing (Attention Deficit Disorder, the chronically disorganized, children, seniors or students), event planning, and public speaking.
Residential Organizing specialists generally offer services such as decluttering of spaces, storage design, living space flow, personal coaching, time management, filing and home office organization, and planning, packing and unpacking for relocation.
Business Organizing specialists work with clients to improve and increase productivity, develop work flow systems, space design, paper filing and storage, electronic organizing, time management, create streamline inventory systems, space design, and much more.
While many Professional Organizers specialize in one or more areas, there are some services which most do not offer. Organizers typically don't offer cleaning or secretarial services, but often times can provide you with referrals to other businesses that do offer those services.
Now that you understand more about Professional Organizers, how do you find and hire them?
Finding a Professional Organizer is fairly simple, first, look online at the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) website www.napo.net for free referrals. The alternative is searching local phone books or search engines for ads. Most organizers are listed as "Organizing Services: Household and Business" and will specify what type of organizing services they provide.
Once you contact a Organizer, he or she will do an initial consultation in person or over the phone to assess your needs, surroundings and ask questions about daily activities and long term goals. The assessment consultation may be provided for a fee or free of charge, it varies with each organizer, but they will make you aware of their policy. Based on the assessment the organizer may provide you with a verbal or written plan for the project, the cost, and develop a schedule for project completion.
If you hire a Professional Organizer who is a member of NAPO they must commit to the NAPO Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics is a set of guidelines for professional conduct with clients, colleagues, and community. As a member of NAPO adhering to the Code of Conduct a member is committed to serving clients with confidentially, objectivity, integrity, competence, and with respect.
So what happens next?
After the assessment and all the terms have been agreed upon the Professional Organizer will schedule an appointment with you to begin the work. Your organizing project will require participation from both you and the Professional Organizer. The Professional Organizer will:
· Work hands-on physically
· Assess your personality type, work styles, and environmental influences to create the systems that work
best for your organizational needs.
· Give you workable suggestions, practical solutions, and methods of organization.
· Act in a respectful, nonjudgmental capacity
· Support and encouraging you to achieve your organizational goals
· Provide resources and tools that will save you time and money
As the client you will need to:
· Partner with your Organizer to work on all steps of the project
· Make decisions and be willing to let some things go
· Communicate what you are feeling to your Professional Organizer
· Be patient with your progress, but proud of your achievements
· Do your homework
· Maintain the work you've accomplished
Now that you have a better understanding of what services are provided, how the work is accomplished, and what is expected of the client, you can successfully initiate your organizational project.
Cindy Gunderson is the Chief Organizing Guru at TheChaosPlan.com the most comprehensive, creative and cutting-edge personal organization service on the web, we help men and women cut the clutter from their lives. Our members receive individualized attention, direct support, and access to dozens of resources. Sign up for a membership today @ http://www.thechaosplan.com
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