"The industry is exploding," says Barry
Izsak, president of the National Association
of Professional Organizers (NAPO).
Membership nearly doubled between 2003 and
2005, from 2,000 to 3,700. With businesses
bearing names such as Absolutely Organized,
Keep it Simple, Chaos to Calm, and All
Sorted Out, members - 95 percent of whom are
women - offer hope that an ordered life is
attainable.
In the process, their services are
becoming fashionable. "In the past, people
hid their disorganization," says Betsy
Wintringer, a spokeswoman for the group.
"Now it's trendy to have an organizer."
The profession has come a long way since
the day in 1979 when Barbara Hemphill asked
the Small Business Administration in
Washington for help in starting her own
organizing business. "They just laughed me
out of the room and said, 'No way, lady,
that's not a business.' "
Ms. Hemphill, author of "Taming the Paper
Tiger," was among nearly 900 professional
organizers who gathered in Boston last week
for NAPO's annual conference to hone
business skills, share techniques, and check
out the latest organizing products.
These range from a Baby Briefcase for
storing a newborn's papers to storage bins,
family life organizers, gift- wrap
organizers, and plastic containers for board
games. "Systems" and "solutions" are the
operative words.
Professional organizers cite a variety of
reasons for the proliferation of clutter and
disorder. "The paperless office is a myth,"
Mr. Izsak says. In addition, consumers are
bombarded with messages from marketers to
shop, shop, shop. "People are running out
and buying all this stuff without thinking
where they're going to store it or how
they're going to use it. It all adds to the
existing clutter - the pasta machine, the
breadmaker, the cappuccino maker."
In the past, Izsak notes, "People didn't
have the money to buy 50 business suits, 27
pairs of black pants or jeans, 112 pairs of
shoes. They didn't need a place to store it
all."
Then there is the matter of time. A
majority of women are working. "If they
don't get much help from their families,
they're overwhelmed," says Elizabeth Hagen,
author of "Organize Your Life and Make Every
Moment Count."
Both at home and at work, paper ranks as
the No. 1 challenge. "People don't know what
to do with paper," says Mrs. Hagen. "They
don't have a clue."
Some also don't realize that getting
organized is not just a matter of aesthetics
- creating neater spaces. It can also bring
financial gains. Elizabeth Tawney Gross of
Albuquerque, N.M., who counsels women with
home-based businesses, says, "Women can make
more money to help their family if they're
organized. They don't mess up. They have
available to their customers the products
and information they need."
As organizers help clients fight the
battle of bulging closets, garages, and
attics, they find themselves having to
temper the unrealistic expectations that
magazines and TV programs create.
"Organizing shows make it look so easy,"
says Ann Saunders of Simple Organizing
Solutions in Baltimore. "What they don't
show is the agony the homeowner goes through
in parting with items." She knows one
organizer who spent more than 200 hours on a
house for a TV makeover. That translated
into 22 minutes on air. "It's very
deceiving," Ms. Saunders says.
Empty nesters moving to smaller quarters
often face challenges in paring down,
professional organizers find. So do some
older people as they make the transition to
a retirement community.
Even children sometimes need help.
"Nowadays, when we have a lot more money
than time, kids are neglected," says Lanna
Nakone of Rutherford, Calif. "Parents buy
things for them instead of spending time
with them. They're overloaded. When they get
organized, they thrive."
In Los Angeles, professional organizers
go into elementary schools to work with
third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. "They
make children aware of the value of being
organized, and help them think differently
about their time and stuff," says Deborah
Kawashima, director of the program. That
helps them keep track of homework and
permission slips for field trips.
"Sometimes we can't get through to the
moms, but we can to the kids," she says.
This kind of early exposure to order can
prevent later problems. Being organized, Mr.
Izsak says, is not an inherited trait but an
acquired skill.
"Unfortunately, most of us were never
taught," he says. "That's why we struggle."
For adults, that struggle can adversely
affect relationships and jobs. Noting that
being organized saves time, space, money,
and energy, Hemphill adds that people
sometimes also tell her, "You saved my
career, you saved my marriage."
Scott Roewer of Washington, D.C., one of
a small group of men in the profession,
likens clutter to snow. "You can shovel snow
all day, but until it stops snowing, it
continues to build up," he says. "So with
clutter. Until you solve the problem, find
homes for things, and change habits, clutter
will continue to pile up every day. Clutter
is simply delayed decisions. Having systems
in place makes it easier to make decisions.
"People can say all day long, 'Oh, I want
to get organized,' " he continues. "But if
they're not mentally ready to change habits
and make adjustments to their daily lives,
it's probably not going to happen. But once
they're ready, it's easy."
Fibber McGee, are you listening?
