Professional Organizer

Is your closet organized by clothing type and color? Does it bother you to see “piles” of papers on table tops and counters? Do you have to fight the urge to “straighten up” clutter when you visit your family and friend’s home? Have you created little “systems” for organizing your home office? Well, I have some good news for you. You could have a very successful career as a professional organizer.

Professional organizers help people not only with their home or office to get rid of the clutter and organize what is left, they can also help people to better organize their time. In a sense they help to gain back control over their lives. It is a fast growing industry since the number of those who were born without the “organizing gene” is quite large.

The National Association of Professional Organizers , founded in 1985, is a group of over 4,000 professional organizers whose mission is to develop, lead and promote professional organizers and the organizing industry. They are dedicated to sharing information about the growing organizing industry. You can join their group and have access to discounts on educational events, volunteer and community outreach programs as well as networking opportunities and having your name listed in their directory of Professional Organizers.

Should you become certified? While there is no state requirement for licensing in this particular field, it goes without saying that people in general feel more comfortable working with a certified professional. This doesn’t mean that you are not a phenomenal organizer and you would not succeed in this industry, all I am saying is that people are more likely to hire someone with credentials than someone without them. Certification can help if you are just starting out and do not have a long list of references. Another asset that training can provide is an array of tools and strategies at your disposal to truly customize organizing solutions to each client. What works for one client may not work for another.

There are numerous training programs that you can take. One such distance learning program is offered by the Professional Organizer Training Academy established in 1995. While there are many programs out there to fit every budget in order to become certified my investigation takes me to the program developed by the National Association of Professional Organizers which is run through the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers.

So what does it take to be successful? You must have a passion for organizing, a strong set of people skills, the ability to teach new ideas to people, be organized in your own business practices and open to listen to your clients needs and then customize a solution that works for them. If you are shy in any one of these areas then training is definitely a road you want to explore. Like any other craft, organizing is an ongoing learning experience.

Of course starting your own business requires registering with the state and obtaining insurance so you will need to look into your state requirements to become legal. I am sure as organized as you are this will not be an issue.