What is a Professional Organiser and what do we do?
In a nutshell, a professional organiser is someone who organises other people’s physical and digital belongings such as photographs, paperwork, or clothing.
The most famous personal organiser that springs to mind is Japanese-born Marie Kondo, who has been sparking joy in people’s lives since 1997 and has become world-famous through her book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (2011) and her Netflix Series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (2019).
But of course, there’s more to professional organising than sparking joy and sorting paperwork. To find out additional information, read on.
Professional Organisers are women, sometimes men, although it is a very female-dominated profession. According to an internal survey by APDO, 93% of its members are female.
Professional Organisers, or PO for short, come from all walks of life and have often had previous careers in a wide variety of jobs, including business & project management, marketing & event management, office & IT systems, law, social work & life coaching, property management, museum work and many more.
In a press statement from December 2020, APDO, the trade Association of Professional Organisers, stated that it had 390 members across the UK. There are similar trade associations around the world, including NAPO in the US and Canada.
Until the pandemic in 2019, most POs have worked with professional or private clients in their offices or homes respectively and guided them in their decluttering journey. However, since the pandemic, virtual organising over Zoom, Skype etc., has become a thing.
While in real-life organising allows for hands-on help with moving boxes, folding t-shirts, and taking paper to the recycling bin, virtual organising does not. However, it still offers many of the benefits of having an organiser.
Just as with organisers coming from all walks of life, so do our clients and with it their differing needs. While some people who hire a professional organiser are physically unable to move or carry heavy loads, many need a guiding hand or encouragement to get them to part with things.
Ever stood in front of your overflowing wardrobe, unable to part with that dress in size eight that you wore as a 20-year-old? Now in your late 40s, you think you will diet back into the dress even though you just had a large cappuccino with a muffin; never mind, the fashion changes! A personal organiser will make it easier for you to part with said dress. This is just one of the countless examples I could give.
Organisers advise clients on what to part with, but we never force clients to throw anything out. We also advise how to store stuff more efficiently to make rooms look nice and tidy. We coach people on developing lasting habits to a cleaner, more organised you. In an ideal world, you hire one of us for a set period to declutter your home and life, and by the end, you should be able to keep up the good work in years to come.
Some organisers have specialisms, such as working with people with hoarding disorders or with extensive book collections requiring specialised cataloguing. Others work in digital organising, helping keep computers and tablets clutter-free and inboxes at Zero. Yet others, like me, specialise in photo organising, where we help organise, scan and present photos.
APDO on their website gives a brief explanation of what professional organisers do:
POs provide practical and sympathetic help to clients in all homes and offices. They offer hands-on decluttering and organising to make more effective use of space and storage. In addition, individual POs provide services according to their specific skills and expertise. These can include:
- Life coaching to define and achieve goals
- Paper management and filing systems
- Strategies to manage time
- Home staging before selling property
- Advice on interior design, feng shui or space clearing
- Environmentally-friendly solutions
- Setting up and running home offices
- Study skills and organising techniques
In addition to working with clients, some POs present talks or workshops, publish books or articles, contribute to PR campaigns, or sell organising products. Check out the profiles of some APDO members to get a sense of the range of services that POs offer.
We are a diverse bunch, and so are our clients. Not sure whether you could benefit from working with a professional organiser? Contact me here for an initial chat free of charge and without commitment.
trabantbettina
Bettina Anna Trabant, Founder of Life Organised, your professional organising and decluttering service in East London. Eco-conscious minimalist and avid tea drinker,