| “Organizing,” says Johanna Bard of Milan, “is not necessarily about throwing things out.” Bard, whose company, Your Hudson Valley Organizer, is dedicated to helping its clients reclaim their time, space, and energy, belongs to the National Association of Professional Organizers, which routinely holds conferences in far-flung cities to discuss how best to tackle a mess. The sort of sorry fact she picks up at these meetings: the average person spends 55 minutes a day (about two weeks a year) looking for things they know they have but cannot find—not just the keys, the sunglasses, the electric bill, but the right lid for the leftover container. “At the last one I attended, there were 900 people in the room who all think the same way,” marvels Bard. “Only eleven were men.” Bard claims her organizational skills stem from having grown up in a chaotic household. As a child, she realized that her sense of equilibrium depended on keeping her own space in order. Many of her clients are facing major life changes that threaten their equilibrium, too—the loss of a loved one, a move to a nursing home, or even just to a much smaller house; a passage that, according to Bard, is not so much “down-sizing” as “right-sizing.” “My goal is to relieve stress and worry,” she says. People get very attached to their possessions. And it’s sometimes difficult for family members to muster the requisite balance of objectivity and empathy. “It’s not helpful when a family member just wants to bring in the dumpster,” she says. “Sure, it’s important to be realistic, but it’s just as important to honor the elder’s position in the family as the memory holder.” Helping to decide what memorabilia is to be kept and what must go takes tact. While much of an organizer’s job is finding a home within the home for things, Bard cautions against buying storage pieces—hanging files, plastic bins, metal shelving, and other container-store nine-day wonders—before the mess is at least semi-sorted out. “In a garage or a basement we first find zones for things: tools that need to be hung up, flammable liquids, then we look around to see if we have the right storage equipment. I do my best to use what they already have.” Once it’s all finished, there are usually three piles left. “The client is responsible for the trash. And I’ll take one carload to a charity. Whatever we’ve decided to get rid of leaves the house when I do.” And the third pile? Things the client can’t decide should stay or go. “We put those in a box and date them for six months later. If an object is still in the box when that date arrives, out it goes.” Bard offers free classes to groups of (usually) women. “I’ll give a Clean Out Your Junk Drawer Night at someone’s house,” she says. “And I’ll actually ask them to bring their junk drawers. Or I’ll ask each to sweep all the papers off her desk into a brown paper bag and bring it. Then I’ll tell them how they might get it all organized. It’s embarrassing, but it’s fun, too, and it gives them a sense of relief.” People have different learning styles and Bard tries to adapt to them. “I was working with a clown magician,” she says. “I was in her basement, and I picked up something and asked, ‘What’s this?’ She said, ‘It’s some magic I need to learn.’” So Bard replied, “That’s what we are going to mark the box, ‘Magic to Be Learned.’ It’s not what I might have called it, but it pushes the right button for her.” ... |
Bard attacks messy situations non-judgementally;
your secrets are safe with her.
your secrets are safe with her.
| New Year’s Resolution #1: Get Organized 12/08 |
The notion of “spring cleaning” has become something of a cliché, but with good reason. The changing of the season, the rebirth of life—it’s a time when
people are often more inclined to make changes at home, clear out the clutter, and get more organized.
According to decluttering experts, it’s always best to come up with a plan before doing anything. And part of that plan is considering why something as
seemingly simple as removing clutter might be far more important than you realize.
Rosalyn Cherry is the creator of Clutter Master, a guide and hands-on kit designed to make organizing easy. She says removing clutter can have positive
emotional impacts that people might not even think about. “A basic definition of clutter is ‘a confused multitude of things,’” Cherry says. “When there is
no clutter, you are surrounded by the things that nourish you. Everything has a place, so you can find what you need with ease. Your living space reflects
who you are. You move forward in life, open to possibilities instead of being weighed down with too much stuff. It is a glorious feeling of freedom and it is
attainable with time and effort.”
Johanna Bard, owner of Your Hudson Valley Organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, agrees, adding that it might
be especially important in times of financial strife. “Let’s just take the economy right now,” Bard says. “If people in general have less money to spend and
aren’t going on vacations, perhaps it’s better spent in creating your nest, creating your vacation at home and having a calm and serene and fun place to
be.”
Design Intent
In undertaking an organizing project regardless of the scope, coming up with a game plan might be the best place to start. Marie Mendoza, New York
State–certified interior designer and owner of Kingston-based Marigold Home, says it’s simply a matter of considering what you have to work with. “The
best first step is to identify the size of your space and to remember what you can put in your space is only what the space will allow,” she says. “It’s like
putting water in a pitcher.” Mendoza says the next step might be to figure out what you’d like your space to look like, something she calls “design intent.”
“There should be a design scheme, and then once you have that master-plan design scheme, you can start implementing. From step one, there should be
a goal, and step 100 would be you achieve that goal.” Not adhering to one’s design intent, Mendoza says, is how people run into trouble in the first place.
“That’s how things get cluttered. It becomes a hodgepodge. It becomes like a circus.”
Bard recommends starting small so as not to feel too burdened by the project, a pitfall many people have been snared by. “It’s important to understand
that it’s not necessarily as overwhelming as you think it’s going to be,” she says. “If you’re going to tackle the kitchen, start with one shelf in one cupboard.
Decide what is going to stay and what is going to go.”
It’s also important to realize that if you have clutter in your life, you aren’t alone. “It happens to everybody,” Mendoza says. “It’s because of change.”
When organizing one’s home, Cherry recommends making decisions in a decidedly organized fashion, by starting with a large trash bag and a few boxes.
“Make the following signs on cardboard or index cards,” she says. “‘Keep Here.’ ‘Keep Elsewhere.’ ‘Repair.’ ‘Sell.’ ‘Give Away.’ Attach these cards to the
bags or boxes.”
Once this row of receptacles is ready, Cherry says it’s important to select an item and ask three simple questions to determine whether it belongs in one’s
life anymore: Has it been used in the past year? Does it add to or help one’s life? Does it reflect who one really is?
“Put each item in the correct pile or in the trash bag,” she says. Set aside 15 minutes for starters, to evaluate items. “Handle the rest and start another 15-
minute session if you are up to it, or make a date for the next session. I call it building the declutter muscle. You do this over and over with all the spots in
your living space. It will take as long as you need over time to get to every spot. Once you have what you only use, what adds to your life, and what
reflects who you are, you will know how to organize.”
Act Now!
Bard says the best way to make that sort of endeavor stick is to act upon it before you change your mind. “Whatever is going to exit the house leaves that
day,” she says. “If it goes to the garbage, it goes right in the garbage can. If it goes to Goodwill, it goes right in the car. Otherwise it can just sort of get
forgotten again. And if it’s exiting the house, you can see what you’ve done.”
For some, deciding what stays and what goes can be an incredibly emotional experience, one that often derails an organizing project before it really ever
begins. “I always ask hard questions, and I don’t let people get away with rationalized answers,” Bard says. “‘Oh but my mother gave it to me.’ So what,
have you used it? If you love it, do you honor it? Is it in a place of honor in your home? Is it time to pass it on?”
And the emotions can often run deeper than that. “One of the hardest emotional experiences is to go through clutter, the new and the old which you may
have been carrying around for decades and putting off decisions about,” Cherry says. “It is very emotional if as a child or teenager you were being told
you were a slob, or you were stupid, or you could not find your way out of a paper bag. These painful memories are embedded in the cells of the body and
can make the process of letting go even more emotional. This is one of the most overwhelming tasks some people encounter.”
Even so, Cherry adds, the benefits of facing those feelings can yield positive emotional results. “While it is very painful, it needs to be done for a
breakthrough to a new and better life,” she says.
One Step at a Time
Another way people find themselves giving up is expecting too much too soon when getting started on organizing clutter. “It’s important to know that in
doing a project, things may get messier before they get neater,” Bard says. And once a project is completed, it’s also important to make sure you don’t
fall back into bad habits and have to do it all over again. “Just like in recovery for anything, there can be backsliding,” Bard says. “The maintenance is
really important. Get support. Engage family members or an organizer.”
Click Here!
Cherry says the best way to ensure the organizing project works out for the long term is to change the way you think, both in what you’ve hung on to and
what you might add to your home. “Once everything is decluttered, always put every item back in its place after you use it,” she says.
And when new items are being considered, think about the three questions posited during the initial decluttering, Cherry says. “Also, if you do bring in
something new, you must have a place for it and always return it to that place,” she says. “And for every new item you bring in, you can let go of at least
one and maybe two or even three items.”
Mendoza agrees. “It’s very simple,” she says. “First, don’t do a lot of impulse buying. And second, if you’re looking around for things, make sure it achieves
that design intent. If you don’t, you’ll go back to that same pattern, and it’s hard to control yourself. Don’t not have change. It’s okay to change—
accessories, furniture, window coverings—as long as it achieves your design intent.”
Cherry also says it’s important not to do too much planning for future clutter, as it might exacerbate the problem instead. A major pitfall is buying
containers before you know if you even need them. “They often become receptacles for stuff you are procrastinating to decide about now,” she says.
“And no matter how high-tech the world gets, there will never be anything to take the place of you going through each item one by one to determine
what to do with it.”
Going Pro
If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, fret not. There are further options. “Decluttering and organizing are a big business,” Cherry says. “There are new how-to
books that come out every year, magazine covers every month that hint they have the answer to finally help, TV and cable shows where the virtues of
letting go are extolled, and articles and websites galore.”
There are also professional organizers, like those interviewed for this story, who can help. Cherry says the reason organizing clutter has become such a big
business is because it’s become such a huge problem.
“In our consumer society the desire for the latest gadget, electronic breakthrough, or whatever Madison Avenue is pushing, is enormous,” she says. “And
with the Internet, Madison Avenue has really become quite sophisticated in gearing its marketing to individual tastes based on past purchases, websites
visited, and who knows what else.”
But no matter how big or small a decluttering project might be, the payoff makes it worth the effort. “There’s a sense of peace and calm,” Bard says. “They
have reclaimed their space, time, and energy. People really feel that.”
Marigold Home Marie Mendoza Clutter Master Rosalyn Cherry Your Hudson Valley Organizer Johanna Bard
www.marigold-home.com www.clutterkit.com www.yhvo.com
people are often more inclined to make changes at home, clear out the clutter, and get more organized.
According to decluttering experts, it’s always best to come up with a plan before doing anything. And part of that plan is considering why something as
seemingly simple as removing clutter might be far more important than you realize.
Rosalyn Cherry is the creator of Clutter Master, a guide and hands-on kit designed to make organizing easy. She says removing clutter can have positive
emotional impacts that people might not even think about. “A basic definition of clutter is ‘a confused multitude of things,’” Cherry says. “When there is
no clutter, you are surrounded by the things that nourish you. Everything has a place, so you can find what you need with ease. Your living space reflects
who you are. You move forward in life, open to possibilities instead of being weighed down with too much stuff. It is a glorious feeling of freedom and it is
attainable with time and effort.”
Johanna Bard, owner of Your Hudson Valley Organizer and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, agrees, adding that it might
be especially important in times of financial strife. “Let’s just take the economy right now,” Bard says. “If people in general have less money to spend and
aren’t going on vacations, perhaps it’s better spent in creating your nest, creating your vacation at home and having a calm and serene and fun place to
be.”
Design Intent
In undertaking an organizing project regardless of the scope, coming up with a game plan might be the best place to start. Marie Mendoza, New York
State–certified interior designer and owner of Kingston-based Marigold Home, says it’s simply a matter of considering what you have to work with. “The
best first step is to identify the size of your space and to remember what you can put in your space is only what the space will allow,” she says. “It’s like
putting water in a pitcher.” Mendoza says the next step might be to figure out what you’d like your space to look like, something she calls “design intent.”
“There should be a design scheme, and then once you have that master-plan design scheme, you can start implementing. From step one, there should be
a goal, and step 100 would be you achieve that goal.” Not adhering to one’s design intent, Mendoza says, is how people run into trouble in the first place.
“That’s how things get cluttered. It becomes a hodgepodge. It becomes like a circus.”
Bard recommends starting small so as not to feel too burdened by the project, a pitfall many people have been snared by. “It’s important to understand
that it’s not necessarily as overwhelming as you think it’s going to be,” she says. “If you’re going to tackle the kitchen, start with one shelf in one cupboard.
Decide what is going to stay and what is going to go.”
It’s also important to realize that if you have clutter in your life, you aren’t alone. “It happens to everybody,” Mendoza says. “It’s because of change.”
When organizing one’s home, Cherry recommends making decisions in a decidedly organized fashion, by starting with a large trash bag and a few boxes.
“Make the following signs on cardboard or index cards,” she says. “‘Keep Here.’ ‘Keep Elsewhere.’ ‘Repair.’ ‘Sell.’ ‘Give Away.’ Attach these cards to the
bags or boxes.”
Once this row of receptacles is ready, Cherry says it’s important to select an item and ask three simple questions to determine whether it belongs in one’s
life anymore: Has it been used in the past year? Does it add to or help one’s life? Does it reflect who one really is?
“Put each item in the correct pile or in the trash bag,” she says. Set aside 15 minutes for starters, to evaluate items. “Handle the rest and start another 15-
minute session if you are up to it, or make a date for the next session. I call it building the declutter muscle. You do this over and over with all the spots in
your living space. It will take as long as you need over time to get to every spot. Once you have what you only use, what adds to your life, and what
reflects who you are, you will know how to organize.”
Act Now!
Bard says the best way to make that sort of endeavor stick is to act upon it before you change your mind. “Whatever is going to exit the house leaves that
day,” she says. “If it goes to the garbage, it goes right in the garbage can. If it goes to Goodwill, it goes right in the car. Otherwise it can just sort of get
forgotten again. And if it’s exiting the house, you can see what you’ve done.”
For some, deciding what stays and what goes can be an incredibly emotional experience, one that often derails an organizing project before it really ever
begins. “I always ask hard questions, and I don’t let people get away with rationalized answers,” Bard says. “‘Oh but my mother gave it to me.’ So what,
have you used it? If you love it, do you honor it? Is it in a place of honor in your home? Is it time to pass it on?”
And the emotions can often run deeper than that. “One of the hardest emotional experiences is to go through clutter, the new and the old which you may
have been carrying around for decades and putting off decisions about,” Cherry says. “It is very emotional if as a child or teenager you were being told
you were a slob, or you were stupid, or you could not find your way out of a paper bag. These painful memories are embedded in the cells of the body and
can make the process of letting go even more emotional. This is one of the most overwhelming tasks some people encounter.”
Even so, Cherry adds, the benefits of facing those feelings can yield positive emotional results. “While it is very painful, it needs to be done for a
breakthrough to a new and better life,” she says.
One Step at a Time
Another way people find themselves giving up is expecting too much too soon when getting started on organizing clutter. “It’s important to know that in
doing a project, things may get messier before they get neater,” Bard says. And once a project is completed, it’s also important to make sure you don’t
fall back into bad habits and have to do it all over again. “Just like in recovery for anything, there can be backsliding,” Bard says. “The maintenance is
really important. Get support. Engage family members or an organizer.”
Click Here!
Cherry says the best way to ensure the organizing project works out for the long term is to change the way you think, both in what you’ve hung on to and
what you might add to your home. “Once everything is decluttered, always put every item back in its place after you use it,” she says.
And when new items are being considered, think about the three questions posited during the initial decluttering, Cherry says. “Also, if you do bring in
something new, you must have a place for it and always return it to that place,” she says. “And for every new item you bring in, you can let go of at least
one and maybe two or even three items.”
Mendoza agrees. “It’s very simple,” she says. “First, don’t do a lot of impulse buying. And second, if you’re looking around for things, make sure it achieves
that design intent. If you don’t, you’ll go back to that same pattern, and it’s hard to control yourself. Don’t not have change. It’s okay to change—
accessories, furniture, window coverings—as long as it achieves your design intent.”
Cherry also says it’s important not to do too much planning for future clutter, as it might exacerbate the problem instead. A major pitfall is buying
containers before you know if you even need them. “They often become receptacles for stuff you are procrastinating to decide about now,” she says.
“And no matter how high-tech the world gets, there will never be anything to take the place of you going through each item one by one to determine
what to do with it.”
Going Pro
If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, fret not. There are further options. “Decluttering and organizing are a big business,” Cherry says. “There are new how-to
books that come out every year, magazine covers every month that hint they have the answer to finally help, TV and cable shows where the virtues of
letting go are extolled, and articles and websites galore.”
There are also professional organizers, like those interviewed for this story, who can help. Cherry says the reason organizing clutter has become such a big
business is because it’s become such a huge problem.
“In our consumer society the desire for the latest gadget, electronic breakthrough, or whatever Madison Avenue is pushing, is enormous,” she says. “And
with the Internet, Madison Avenue has really become quite sophisticated in gearing its marketing to individual tastes based on past purchases, websites
visited, and who knows what else.”
But no matter how big or small a decluttering project might be, the payoff makes it worth the effort. “There’s a sense of peace and calm,” Bard says. “They
have reclaimed their space, time, and energy. People really feel that.”
Marigold Home Marie Mendoza Clutter Master Rosalyn Cherry Your Hudson Valley Organizer Johanna Bard
www.marigold-home.com www.clutterkit.com www.yhvo.com
| Let's clear the clutter together. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| MEDIA |
Rural Intelligence - 12/08
| Erasing Clutter Transform Your Space, Free Your Spirit by Crispin Kott 5/09 |
| Chronogram |
Johanna Bard is Your Hudson Valley Organizer
Offering Clutter Solutions for Estates, Homes and Offices
By Bridgit Mulpeter
for The Hudson River Sampler
For many people, the New Year brings a desire to start fresh, and one of the most popular New Year‟s resolutions is to get organized.
Our increasingly cluttered lives often lead to increasingly cluttered homes and businesses, leading to stress and anxiety – but where
to start? Johanna Bard of Your Hudson Valley Organizer is a professional organizer ready to help reclaim your spaces and teach you
how to stay organized and clutter free.
Johanna, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), opened her business in 2007 and offers organizing
solutions and skills for homes and offices. Why hire a professional organizer? “Many people were never taught how to organize,”
Johanna says, “Or, they have become so attached to their belongings that they are afraid to get rid of them. It‟s a fact that 80% of
what we keep, we never use. I‟m objective and don‟t have any emotional ties to your stuff. I‟ll help you improve the quality of your
life by helping you decide what to keep, what to toss, and teach you systems to stay organized.”
Disorganization and clutter robs people of quality time and creates stress. “Clutter steals the usefulness of an area,” Johanna says,
„and organization restores it to useful purpose.” Studies have shown that the average American spends 55 minutes a day looking for
things they know they have but can‟t find. That‟s about 12 weeks a year wasted on looking for stuff! Another significant statistic shows
that 23% of adults pay bills late, incurring late fees and hurting their credit scores, because they lose the bills or forget when they're
due.
It's no surprise, then, that cluttered spaces cause many of us to feel anxious, pressured and sapped of energy. “Organization is not
just about throwing things away,” says Johanna, “it‟s about finding peace of mind.”
There are many benefits to getting organized. A calm and clean space clears the mind and reduces feelings of being overwhelmed,
gaining a sense of control. Other benefits include maintaining calm, increasing energy, and helping to create more quality time for
enjoying life.
Johanna understands the sense of relief that reclaiming a space can bring. Growing up in a chaotic household, Johanna created a
haven of calm and structure in her own bedroom as a way to gain a sense of control. “It was like I flipped a switch,” Johanna
remembers, “As a teenager, I needed to create stability and order in a framework in which I could function. I suddenly realized how
much better I felt in an organized space, and all my jobs leading up to starting this business have all required structure and
organization.”
As a professional organizer, Johanna uses her experience to approach each client with compassion and respect, remaining non-
judgmental, objective, and always confidential. Many people are afraid to ask for professional help because they are ashamed, or
don‟t want to go through what may be a painful process. “It‟s important to remember that being disorganized is not a character
flaw, it‟s a problem to be solved,” Johanna says. “I‟m not a therapist, but a lot of this work is emotional.” Johanna‟s first job as a
professional organizer was helping a woman purge and organize an entire house filled with decades of clutter left behind by her
family. “It‟s been a long process,” Johanna says, “but now the client is breathing more easily, she moves more freely , and comes
home to her house more happily, no longer dreading the chaos of clutter every time she opens her door.”
Johanna also helps her clients with short term projects like organizing closets, kitchens, offices, bedrooms, and even desktops and
getting paperwork in order. Johanna also helps people downsize from a large home to a smaller one, will get a property ready for
sale, and help sort through the contents of an estate. Downsizing for seniors has become more frequent as the senior population
move from larger homes to more manageable spaces and have a hard time sifting through all the things they‟ve accumulated over
a lifetime. “For any client, the process is not to tell them what to keep or toss, but to ask the right questions to help them make their
own decisions,” Johanna says.
Of course, organizing is not just about getting rid of stuff, it‟s about finding a home for things and creating systems that work for each
individual that works in a particular environment. It‟s not enough to just remove the clutter; you must also learn how to maintain the
structure. Johanna works carefully with each client to make sense of what is going on in their home or business before creating a
lasting strategy to stay organized. “The more I find out about a client and how they think, the better I can help them,” she says.
“What works for one person may not work for another. The more individualized an organizational system is, the more success the
client will have in maintaining the organization.” Johanna also adds that clients can expect some backsliding, but not to get upset
about it. “You are learning a new behavior,” she says, “and creating a new lifestyle. I will always back you up and help you refocus
if you need.”
No matter the size of the project, the hardest part is just getting started. A professional organizer like Johanna will get the ball rolling.
“It‟s an organic process,” she says, “Get started in one corner and it will grow from there, and the system evolves. Having a
professional to work with makes the task go quicker, helps you make decisions faster, and it‟s more fun.”
With the help of a professional organizer like Johanna, getting organized can be easier than you think, and the skills learned will
keep you that way. Whether you are moving, need a pantry organized, a garage de-cluttered, or even paperwork organized for
tax time, Johanna‟s mission is to “provide clutter solutions for estates, homes and offices in order to help you reclaim your space, time,
and energy and to relieve your stress and worry in times of change.”
To contact Johanna, call 845-901-2445.
Offering Clutter Solutions for Estates, Homes and Offices
By Bridgit Mulpeter
for The Hudson River Sampler
For many people, the New Year brings a desire to start fresh, and one of the most popular New Year‟s resolutions is to get organized.
Our increasingly cluttered lives often lead to increasingly cluttered homes and businesses, leading to stress and anxiety – but where
to start? Johanna Bard of Your Hudson Valley Organizer is a professional organizer ready to help reclaim your spaces and teach you
how to stay organized and clutter free.
Johanna, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), opened her business in 2007 and offers organizing
solutions and skills for homes and offices. Why hire a professional organizer? “Many people were never taught how to organize,”
Johanna says, “Or, they have become so attached to their belongings that they are afraid to get rid of them. It‟s a fact that 80% of
what we keep, we never use. I‟m objective and don‟t have any emotional ties to your stuff. I‟ll help you improve the quality of your
life by helping you decide what to keep, what to toss, and teach you systems to stay organized.”
Disorganization and clutter robs people of quality time and creates stress. “Clutter steals the usefulness of an area,” Johanna says,
„and organization restores it to useful purpose.” Studies have shown that the average American spends 55 minutes a day looking for
things they know they have but can‟t find. That‟s about 12 weeks a year wasted on looking for stuff! Another significant statistic shows
that 23% of adults pay bills late, incurring late fees and hurting their credit scores, because they lose the bills or forget when they're
due.
It's no surprise, then, that cluttered spaces cause many of us to feel anxious, pressured and sapped of energy. “Organization is not
just about throwing things away,” says Johanna, “it‟s about finding peace of mind.”
There are many benefits to getting organized. A calm and clean space clears the mind and reduces feelings of being overwhelmed,
gaining a sense of control. Other benefits include maintaining calm, increasing energy, and helping to create more quality time for
enjoying life.
Johanna understands the sense of relief that reclaiming a space can bring. Growing up in a chaotic household, Johanna created a
haven of calm and structure in her own bedroom as a way to gain a sense of control. “It was like I flipped a switch,” Johanna
remembers, “As a teenager, I needed to create stability and order in a framework in which I could function. I suddenly realized how
much better I felt in an organized space, and all my jobs leading up to starting this business have all required structure and
organization.”
As a professional organizer, Johanna uses her experience to approach each client with compassion and respect, remaining non-
judgmental, objective, and always confidential. Many people are afraid to ask for professional help because they are ashamed, or
don‟t want to go through what may be a painful process. “It‟s important to remember that being disorganized is not a character
flaw, it‟s a problem to be solved,” Johanna says. “I‟m not a therapist, but a lot of this work is emotional.” Johanna‟s first job as a
professional organizer was helping a woman purge and organize an entire house filled with decades of clutter left behind by her
family. “It‟s been a long process,” Johanna says, “but now the client is breathing more easily, she moves more freely , and comes
home to her house more happily, no longer dreading the chaos of clutter every time she opens her door.”
Johanna also helps her clients with short term projects like organizing closets, kitchens, offices, bedrooms, and even desktops and
getting paperwork in order. Johanna also helps people downsize from a large home to a smaller one, will get a property ready for
sale, and help sort through the contents of an estate. Downsizing for seniors has become more frequent as the senior population
move from larger homes to more manageable spaces and have a hard time sifting through all the things they‟ve accumulated over
a lifetime. “For any client, the process is not to tell them what to keep or toss, but to ask the right questions to help them make their
own decisions,” Johanna says.
Of course, organizing is not just about getting rid of stuff, it‟s about finding a home for things and creating systems that work for each
individual that works in a particular environment. It‟s not enough to just remove the clutter; you must also learn how to maintain the
structure. Johanna works carefully with each client to make sense of what is going on in their home or business before creating a
lasting strategy to stay organized. “The more I find out about a client and how they think, the better I can help them,” she says.
“What works for one person may not work for another. The more individualized an organizational system is, the more success the
client will have in maintaining the organization.” Johanna also adds that clients can expect some backsliding, but not to get upset
about it. “You are learning a new behavior,” she says, “and creating a new lifestyle. I will always back you up and help you refocus
if you need.”
No matter the size of the project, the hardest part is just getting started. A professional organizer like Johanna will get the ball rolling.
“It‟s an organic process,” she says, “Get started in one corner and it will grow from there, and the system evolves. Having a
professional to work with makes the task go quicker, helps you make decisions faster, and it‟s more fun.”
With the help of a professional organizer like Johanna, getting organized can be easier than you think, and the skills learned will
keep you that way. Whether you are moving, need a pantry organized, a garage de-cluttered, or even paperwork organized for
tax time, Johanna‟s mission is to “provide clutter solutions for estates, homes and offices in order to help you reclaim your space, time,
and energy and to relieve your stress and worry in times of change.”
To contact Johanna, call 845-901-2445.