I love antiques.  I love vintage things too but not as much as the old stuff.  You just can’t find the quality and craftsmanship today as the heart and soul poured into a piece of furniture made 100 years ago.  So when my mother-in-law wanted to get rid of her grandmother’s Duncan Phyfe couch, love seat and chair I quickly said I would take it.  It was all in pretty rough shape.  Rats had built a home in the love seat, the chair had no cushion, all three pieces had seen better days.  Sad to say they went from a formal sitting room to a warehouse to my shed where they stayed for years.   I tried my best to make the space under and on top of them useful but they really were just taking up space.  The couch actually  got some stage time in a play at the local high school.  Even got a bit of TLC for the show.  But the time came when I finally decided I could let them go.  My mother-in-law didn’t care what I did with them.  So I tried Craigslist.  No luck.  I needed to do some major purging in preparation of my sister moving down and needing storage space so I decided to bite the bullet and have a garage sale.  Ugh!!!  So much work!!!  Love going to garage sales.  Hate having them.  I moved the Duncan Phyfe pieces  out to my driveway and just put a sign on them saying “Make an Offer”.  Had a few customers that were curious but not serious.  Let’s face it, you gotta have the right decor and room to have 100 year old Duncan Phyfe.  They were  not designed to lay down and watch TV.  This furniture was the Sunday afternoon preacher came for supper or the very nervous man  about to ask his sweetheart’s father’s hand in marriage.  In other words… not comfortable.  Back to the garage sale.  A lady came and tears started rolling out of her eyes.  She had a very similar couch that had belonged to her grandmother but had to get rid of it.  I didn’t ask for any more details.  So I let her have it for 10 bucks.   I didn’t really want to make a lot of money from it.  I just wanted it to have a good home and to be loved.   So my point of this story is that if you are in a dilemma about letting go of something, be it a family heirloom or something just sentimental to you, there is someone out there that is looking for exactly that item.   Today it’s so easy to post on Craigslist, Ebay and other online sites to find a new owner.  I know clients that battle with the guilt of a trinket left to them by a family member.  They really don’t want it, don’t like it and more importantly don’t have anywhere to put it.  So I am here to give you permission to LET IT GO.   Let it go to a new home.  Someone that will love it and appreciate it.

What is a Professional Organizer you ask?  Well, there are many answers.  But simply put (PO’s are all about simplicity) I want to make your life easier and less stressful.  That pile of papers on your desk that have no rhyme or reason to them.  Then your boss asks you for that very important proposal that you just printed but now cannot find.  Got so much stuff in your garage there’s no room for your car?  I actually found a chain saw in a trashcan one time.  Are you thinking of downsizing but feel overwhelming responsibility of the years and years of sentimental stuff.  You’ve asked your kids to come and claim their stuff but they just don’t have the time.  People will make exactly as much time as they want to when they want to.   Working together I will help you to Keep It, Donate It or Toss It.  And if you decide to keep it I will help you find a home for it.  Hopefully the item will only have one home.  When it’s used it’s put back in it’s home.  Every time.

Why did I get into this Professional Organizing business?  I have always enjoyed working.  And I usually have at least one project I’m working on.  (got the project gene from my mom.  thanks mom!) Two years ago I was my daughter’s wedding planner and I made the bridesmaids dresses so I went from 100 mph to a screeching halt within a few months.  It seems employers don’t want to hire a 50-ish woman with almost no computer skills.  I couldn’t even get a response from Publix!  So that made me really take an inventory of myself and think about what I was good at, enjoyed doing and in turn could make some money.  Well, I love to organize stuff.  But is it an actual occupation?  One google search later and lo and behold it is!  There’s thousands professional organizers and they even have a national organization called NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).  To get started I did a couple of freebies for some friends.  I organized all the props in the greenroom at Lakeland Community Theatre.  That was a huge job!  Plastic bins on shelves that went from the floor to ceiling fifteen feet high.

I love my job.  Everybody that contacts me has basically the same need:  To reclaim their space.  How they go about it is as different as each individual’s personality.  I consider a project a success if the goal from the initial assessment is met.  I really don’t like to leave a job until the goal is met.  I have tried to give homework and like most teachers I can’t say any  of my students/clients received an “A”.   When you’re working in a garage, middle of August in Florida it’s not the best of situations so to make time pass more quickly I like to engage with the client.  I  love hearing stories attached to items that need to be kept.   ( see, I don’t make you throw everything away!).  I have learned so much from clients sharing their occupations and hobbies.  I feel like I get to know their families and some of them I have gotten to meet!  The goal of  Professional Organizer is to help a client reclaim their space.  Find a system that works for the client and feel good about leaving that client with just enough of a foundation so they can continue on their own.  It’s kinda like raising kids.

I am so excited to launch my new website (insert smashing champagne
bottle sound).

So a bit of a background. I created my own website about a year ago with help. I thought it was okay, pretty good for an amateur. I was supposed to get back to add photos, figure out what SEOs were, maintenance, etc etc. I never did. Spent a couple of months in the doldrums of no new clients so I started looking at other Professional Organizers websites and realized I was looking very UnProfessional.

I tried starting over with my website. I would sit for what seemed like hours and not get anywhere. (Disclaimer: I am independent, stubborn and frugal person so admitting defeat was not easy.) On a whim I contacted a couple of local web builders, and not that I care if video games are being played in the background. I’m sure they are very good at multi-tasking. I’m just not sure they understand what it is I do and how to convey that into a website. Costs were all over the place; even had a guy quote me 10K. I laughed because I thought he had just quoted wrong, then he repeated $10,000. I told him he may be in the wrong neighborhood.

Then I found Lori at Joyful Web Design. I looked at some of her designs and liked what I saw. Simple, clean, easy to navigate. I contacted her and told her what I wanted. She gave me some suggestions and asked for a small retainer fee. Have to admit I was very nervous about sending that money into in internet space but it was a relief to take that very important task off of my plate.

Remember the frugal disclaimer? No regrets and it actually felt good. It’s what I hope my clients feel when they pay me. Lori gave me homework to do on my end and the results are amazing. I am hoping that this blogging thing will help me become a better writer. Stay tuned for my next blog that will answer some questions like “What is a Professional Organizer?” and “What made you get into this?”