I tend to receive confused reactions whenever I inform people that I am a professional organizer. While I imagine that most people know what organizing is, the concept of organizing as a career seems to be relatively new.
For as long as I can remember, I have always loved organizing anything and everything. I genuinely enjoy the challenge of transforming a space from a mess into something that is both beautiful and functional. When I started exploring career options, I was disappointed that nothing out there seemed to align with these interests. I ended up settling on teaching, earning my bachelor's in elementary education and teaching for a very short time (we're talking months) before realizing that I absolutely hated what I was doing. The only enjoyable part of my short-lived teaching career was getting to set up my classroom at the start of the year! Side note: shout out to any of you teachers out there; I have no idea how you do it, but I would be happy to organize your classrooms for you if that helps with your sanity. I do love kids, so at this time I decided to pursue my master's in mental health and rehabilitation counseling, which I am currently finishing up at MSU Billings, although I question if this will be another wasted degree (I know, I know, education is priceless... but my student loan balance says otherwise). During this time, I worked several jobs at the university, which also left much to be desired (two words: free tuition). Aside from the time that I spent organizing the offices that I worked in, I never felt challenged and despised sitting at a desk all day. During one particularly boring day, I decided to Google the following life-changing question: Is organizing as a career a thing?
YES! Oh sweet baby Jesus, yes! I honestly don't know how it took me so long to discover that professional organizing as a career is indeed "a thing", but this revelation has quickly changed my life for the better. I spent about a month further researching this profession, learning the basics of starting a business, and creating my website before I officially started business as the Neat Freak. Things took off much quicker than I ever anticipated, and I soon had to request a decrease in hours with my then-employer, who rejected this request. I have historically always been one to play things safe, but after finally finding a career that felt like a perfect fit for me, it was a no-brainer to quit my unfulfilling, unappreciative office job. While I think we can all agree that the last couple COVID-ridden years have been a nightmare, I am personally grateful for this opportunity to really take a look at my own happiness in my career, as have the millions of other Americans who have participated in what is now known as the Great Resignation. As they say, "life is too short to be anything but happy".
And that, my friends, is the tale of how I became a professional organizer. For anyone mentally cursing at me "but what IS professional organizing, you said you'd tell us"...
My scope of services is quite broad, although this may vary from organizer to organizer. Thus far, home organization has been my most popular request. I like to explain it to people like this: if you want your home cleaned, you call a professional cleaner; if you want all of the things in your home tidied up, you call a professional organizer. Dirty kitchen? Cleaner. Cluttered kitchen? Organizer. Organizing your space first (i.e. clearing the counters and getting everything stacked neatly into cabinets) creates room for more simple and effective cleaning, so it's a win-win!
Additionally, I offer the following services:
Office Organization
"Office" is defined by Oxford Languages as "a room, set of rooms, or building used as a place for commercial, professional, or bureaucratic work". This can include traditional office spaces, classrooms, stores, etc. Wherever it is that you work, I can organize the space, whether that be arranging office furniture or supplies, sorting files, or even analyzing day-to-day processes for optimization.
Digital Organization
Either in-person or remotely, I can organize your digital files, create websites or offer feedback for existing platforms, etc. Soon, I will be offering video digitization services so you can preserve precious memories and do away with the clunky tapes that have been collecting dust in your basement (without having to risk mailing them to a national digitizing service).
Event Organization
You name the event, I can help you organize it. Whether that is planning an entire birthday party, wedding, etc., or simply helping you tackle a select few tasks (decorations are my favorite), I can help. While I admittedly have less formal experience in this area, I single-handedly planned my own wedding (and enjoyed it), as well as my pretend wedding to Nick Jonas for a project in high school one time. The latter had a significantly higher budget - say, a million dollars - but I nailed it nonetheless, and my teacher told me to consider event planning as a career. Not to toot my own horn, but... *toot toot*
Other
Lastly, just about any other area you can think of, I can organize it. Storage units, moves, vehicles, or even projects such as scrapbooking, I'm your girl.
So, if you have some clutter that needs sorting, please contact me! I enjoy a good mess - please rest assured that this is a judgement-free zone. You can consider it unofficial counseling, and you might even have fun (I sure will).