Happy new year!

The January 2020 issue of Real Simple magazine features an article by Anne T. Donahue titled, “Adventures in Organizing: She thought she had her closets under control—until a professional showed her how it’s really done.”*

​Unfortunately, some articles about hiring professional organizers take a negative tone, wrongly implying that anyone considering hiring a professional organizer must be overwhelmed by “mess” or “clutter.”

In reality, people hire organizers for many reasons, and hiring an organizer doesn’t imply anything—and certainly not anything negative!—about the client. We all have areas wherein we benefit from others’ help or knowledge.

Donahue’s piece, a humorous, at times laugh-out-loud reflection on her collaboration with a professional organizer, was thus a welcome change from many organizing articles. Confessing that she “like[d] to think of [her]self as the most organized person on the planet,” Donahue details her surprise and eventual delight at how, even for a super-organized person like her, professional help proved invaluable!

Not a subscriber to Real Simple, but want to check out the article? Inquire at your nearest public library (link is for U.S. residents) for free in-person or online magazine access.

However you‘d characterize your organizing skills, from novice to pro—you, too, can benefit from another perspective on your space or systems!

[Italics in original title. As always, linking does not imply my endorsement, and I don’t accept compensation for links.]

My priorities, in order, are ensuring that the child feels safe, content, valued for who they are, and /then/ whatever the organizing task may be.

• When working with kids and teens, I use age-appropriate humor, positive incentives like stickers, and abundant patience. I enjoy helping children and teens learn valuable lifelong skills.

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• I don’t “drill” kids, but rather pay close attention to whether they’re having fun.

• I make an agreement with each child that if they’re getting tired or confused in any way, they’ll tell me so that we can stop to course-correct (and if necessary, stop entirely).

• I care about helping all children succeed, regardless of their families' financial resources. I offer sliding scale discounts in cases of financial need. Please contact me to discuss further.