A 5 Step Process of a Personal Organizer: Consult, Listen, Plan, Implement, Follow-up
Welcome Back to SK Simple Solutions’ October blog series. Let’s get back to Kim’s journey. Kim is working toward organizing her project rooms to give her a space for her new business. When we last met Kim, she was overwhelmed and felt hopeless because there were a lot of unfinished projects.
“I wanted to finish and enjoy my projects. Or give it away to someone who will pick up where my passion stopped or never really began.” Kim realized that she needed a plan before she could start regaining her space. Here is a recap:
Kim’s goals:
Regain my space in my craft rooms to
Complete DIY projects
Organize my photos
Create a space for her business
So, of course, her Personal Organizer entered to assist in her journey. We get asked this question all the time, “What does a professional organizer do?” “What DO you do?
First, what is a professional organizer?
It is someone who will ask questions about your needs and develop a unique plan to reach your declutter goal. Our approach is simple. In your consultation the personal organizer will ask a few questions?
What is the biggest challenge you face in organizing your space?
Why do you want a tidier space?
Who will benefit the most?
What will you keep?
What will you donate?
When you answer these simple questions, you will be on your way to a more peaceful environment.
We take that goal and break it into measurable, visual steps and make it just hard enough to keep you coming back to your original goal. (Listen & Plan) Something worth doing is never easy, but we listen, plan according to your needs, make that idea a reality and leave you with a sense of accomplishment. We are SK Simple Solutions. That’s our mantra! And so, this is what Kim and her personal organizer did. We divided her goals into workable sessions.
SK Simple Solutions’ Plan & Implementation Outline
Session 1 Separate the functions of the two rooms
Session 2 Inventory supplies
Condense supplies by room function
Session 3 Create a space for her business
Getting down to her specific goals and outlining a plan is the first step a Personal Organizer takes to start any organizing journey. This is what you can expect when you contact us for a free 30-minute consultation with us to assess your own journey.
Kim said, “I needed to divide up my spaces to become less overwhelmed. But I didn't know where to begin. I want to finish and enjoy my and passion again in my albums, projects, and crafts. But all the unfinished projects disappointed me. I didn’t know where to go from here.”
This is where she was at the beginning of her journey.
Today was Session 1, Goal: Separate the functions of the two rooms
In Kim’s voice, her journal/homework before session 1.
Day one Take everything down EVERYTHING!!! This is going to be fun. Who doesn’t like to start a new project? Now everything was on the floor what a really big mess!!
Now what? I looked at the pile and ask myself what in the world do I do now? I had a lot of highs and lows during that day of sorting. I felt like I didn’t want to stop. I have a huge mess staring at me, but it looks good, tomorrows another day!
Day two (2 days later) What a real mess, I’m excited and overwhelmed. I don’t know if I can really work on just one bin without working on 3 others at the same time. Three more projects in progress in the donation bin
I closed the door; I was done for the day…
I told myself to make a game out of it. If you’re feeling overwhelmed grab pair of dice roll them and see how many areas, you give yourself to work on today. If you roll only one, then give yourself a 10 min break the roll again for a higher score.
Journaling is tough “What’s the point just throw it away and be done with it…”
Day 3, the next day I didn’t want to go back into the room; instead, I went looking for the perfect storage container for my oversized greeting cards. Wandering in the craft store, that was a mistake. But I pushed through it. It was easier in the store than my disaster at home.
Day 4, two days later, I’m ready to start on my room again, nope
Day 5, the next day, nope…not feeling it.
Even though Kim’s journal reflected her overwhelming sense of frustration her 1st session with the Personal Organizer was quite successful. Kim realized that over the years the life routines of her family had changed. And so, did hers. Kim found that she had lost her passion for DIY crafts and projects. Thus, new goals and her journey began. Here is what she did accomplish:
Room Function Kim decided that
Room #1 (her son’s room-no, he is in the military and not living there!) would be for the photos, photo albums, scrap books and all those supplies.
Room #2 the “office,” (as she proudly called it!) would be the project binders, DIY unfinished projects, supplies, and her business office
She kept meticulous craft albums of pages from magazines that said, “here refurbish your chair for a potted plant or here do it yourself make homemade ice cream.” It was very well organized. She kept the binders to reassess at a different time. She made progress on removing craft supplies from bookshelves, closets and under the bed. Next started sorting and organizing by category (DIY, photos, crafts)
It was a successful session!
“Wow, I didn’t think we would get this far. It feels so good to physically move everything. Just seeing the rooms change physically gives me hope that I can do this!”
Before After
And my Craft Closet
And that’s how session 1 ended. Her plan with SK Simple Solutions, homework, and journaling was just hard enough to push Kim to see that her vision was possible.
So, what would you do next? Have you felt this way about a project(s)? How long will it take? 1 day, 1 week etc. Let’s hear from you. Have you ever journaled your frustrations? Your goals? Leave Kim a positive comment to help her on her journey. In SK Simple Solutions’ next post, we’ll again join Kim on her “Regaining My Space” journey.
SK Out! Have a great week! Be Happy