Spring cleaning help Friday, April 21, 2006 By Ellen Ast Starting her career after college as a physical education teacher and athletic coach at a Eugene high school, Carol Keller has fine-tuned her aptitude for maximum use of physical space - and organized results. Keller stopped teaching and coaching after she and her husband started a family. Then she owned a sporting goods store in Lake Oswego for a few years, but it wasn't until six years ago when she spent an afternoon reorganizing her mother's new, cluttered kitchen that she discovered a new line of work as a professional organizer. "It was so inspiring because my mom was thrilled, and it was so much fun," Keller explained. Keller is now an independent professional organizer and calls her business Organizing Experts. For six years she has been a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and president of the association's state chapter for two years. There are several firms and independent organizers on the Westside who belong to the association and have built a list of public, private and corporate clients. Keller said not only is the professional organizing job market growing, but so is the demand. She says it's because people are sometimes too busy or preoccupied to delve into a de-cluttering project in the home or business that can sometimes be overwhelming. "We are hired to do the things where they don't know where to start," Keller said. "Ninety percent of the time, people get unorganized because of an event, or other health issues get in the way." Keller charges $50-$125 an hour for her services and materials such as shelving, hooks and baskets she buys from Storables - a place she calls her "candy store." The fee does not include a free consultation that lets Keller learn about a client's lifestyle and use of the cluttered space. She then encourages clients to decide if there are items that can be given away. "If they have the space, I am agreeable to what they can keep," she says. "Big homes with lots of storage don't solve the problem, because it can become a dumping ground." Eileen Roden and her husband, Ronald, have lived in their Beaverton ranch-style home for more than 30 years and raised their two children there. A stay-at-home mom, Eileen's spacious, spotless living areas show that she is an organized person. She and her husband are avid craft artists, and over the years, supplies and working areas in their one-car garage became a tight jungle of clutter, with the exception of a narrow path from the front to the back. "He wanted it de-cluttered, and I couldn't come up with how to do it, so I decided to have somebody else do it," Roden said. Keller started by assembling a tall set of shelves for recycling, shoes and gardening supplies to free up other shelves and buckets from the rest of the garage. After deciding which items could be stored in the backyard shed, another set of shelves became a place for Roden's art supplies. Within two hours, items in Roden's garage were accessible in their new places, and the space was free to walk around in. Keller said such changes impact more than the look and workability of a home or space: "You can see a physical difference in people. It's rewarding when they stop and take a deep breath." Keller can be reached at 503-504-6464 or through www.organizingexperts.com. Other local professional organizers can be found at the NAPO Web site, www.oregonnapo.com.

Need to clear out clutter? You can call in the pros Organizing - A growing industry helps busy people tidy paperwork and other messes   Thursday, March 16, 2006 POLLY CAMPBELL Kate Smyth was plagued by piles. She had trouble finding what she needed amid the paperwork stacked around her home. So last year, Smyth, 48, hired a professional organizer to help her clear the clutter and develop a more efficient system. "I was more of a piler," said Smyth, who works from her Southwest Portland home for John C. Radovich Development. "Now, I'm more of a filer." Last year, an estimated 80,000 people in the United States hired professional organizers to work on their home and offices, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers. Carol Keller, the organizer from Hillsboro who worked with Smyth, expects those numbers to grow this year. The industry is fueled by people living hurried lives and with little time to manage material items, offices and households, Keller said. They are willing to pay $35 to $125 an hour for help. The frantic pace of modern life bodes well for business. Six years ago, when Keller started her company, Organizing Experts, the Portland chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers had only six members. Today, the group has 41 members, said Keller, president of the local chapter. Statewide, she estimates about 70 people work as organizers. Membership in the national organization has nearly doubled in the past three years to almost 4,000 members. Despite the emerging interest in the profession and the rising demand for organizers, the industry has a high turnover, Keller said. Training programs are few. People who have the ability to organize may not have the business know-how. So two years ago, Keller and Anne Blumer started the Organizing Academy, which offers intensive training to aspiring organizers several times a year. A three-day session runs about $1,500. The academy joins another training program in Utah, online courses and classes offered by the national association. The national group plans to have a certification program in place by 2007. For now, most people in the profession are those with a passion for organizing who learn as they go, Keller said. Former fourth-grade teacher Tessa Williams-Simpson, 29, of Hillsboro was looking for a more flexible work schedule after the birth of her baby when she decided to pursue her passion -- restoring order from chaos. She did months of research about the industry and business, and embarked on an organizing career in October. Williams-Simpson, like most organizers, first consults with clients, evaluates their needs and problems, then helps them organize materials and develop more efficient systems. The end result is more than just a tidy space, Williams-Simpson said. "A lot of people feel completely overwhelmed by the clutter, and they are just out of space and out of control. They hire me to help them get control again," she said. It worked for Smyth. After 15 hours of work with the organizer, Smyth said her newly organized office is easier to work in, and has boosted her productivity and improved her mood. "It just feels like I work better when I'm more organized," Smyth said.

Organizing experts bring order to chaos in homes, businesses Thursday, August 26, 2004 By Bill Chidester Get organized! For many of us, that's a daunting challenge. But when our daily lives become impossibly messy, there are experts out there who can help. They're called professional organizers. In Hillsboro, Carol Keller of Organizing Experts provides professional assistance for homemakers and small business owners. One of her recent clients was Linda, who suffered from clinical depression after her mother and aunt, with whom she had lived for years, died and left her the house. She had no idea how to manage the home. Years of clutter had accumulated in every room. Her psychiatrist suggested she hire a professional organizer. With Keller's help, Linda cleared away debris and then rearranged rooms to make them livable again. Soon she was entertaining friends, and her depression left her. "My life changed completely," Linda said to Keller. Anne Blumer of SolutionsForYou is another organizing expert who works in the Hillsboro area. Together they present a seminar, Organizing Academy, to assist people interested in starting their own organizing businesses. For information on the seminar, go online to www.organizingacademy.com. Part of their challenge as organizing experts is having the flexibility to help clients from all walks of life. Whether in a home or business, their purpose is to create order out of chaos, efficiency out of wasted space and lost time. They arrange kitchens, garages, closets, storage centers and offices. Each has a Web site that offers tips and illustrations. "There is a growing demand for our services," Blumer said. "Many people are starting home businesses but have never learned to set up a file system or work station. New mothers become overwhelmed when the baby comes. People who have demanding careers often haven't the time or energy to put their homes in order." One of Blumer's clients, Priscilla, leaped into a home business only to find she was lost in paperwork. Blumer taught her to use a small business software program, organize documents and store reference materials in cabinets. "The results have been miraculous," Priscilla reported later. "My sense of order has filtered over into other areas of my life, too." Keller and Blumer have learned to be sensitive to clients with psychological problems. Those with attention deficit disorders can be especially difficult in that they find it hard to stay on task. To assure clients continue with their new-found organized life, Keller and Blumer follow up with phone calls and personal visits. "We don't feel we're successful until our clients are successful," Blumer said. Blumer worked in the corporate world 14 years before starting SolutionsForYou five years ago. Skilled in using computers and specialty software, she frequently teaches clients how to use software programs to track research, organize records, manage schedules and communicate regularly with customers. Keller, a former teacher, began her business four years while helping her mother and father downsize to a condominium in Illinois. She found arranging the new kitchen gave her a sense of accomplishment. Listening to clients and helping them make decisions are strong motivations for her own success, Keller said. "I think it's important in this business to be a good listener and not be judgmental." Keller and Blumer belong to the National Association of Professional Organizers. Its Web site is www.napo.net. The organization has 2,500 members in 70 different specialties.

 

To get rid of the biggest piles of junk, many are seeking professional help Wednesday, September 01, 2004 SHANNON McMAHON Clutter is a hallmark of American society. If you can't find happiness in a panoply of possessions, where might it exist? Across the country, a multi-billion-dollar industry has sprouted around the clutter stuffed in drawers, garages, on nightstands and in closets. According to the International Housewares Association, Americans spent roughly than $1.2 billion on closet and storage organizers in 2002, up 10.4 percent from 1997. Americans even watch other people's clutter on television. On TLC's "Clean Sweep," HGTV's "Mission Organization" and the Style Network's "Clean House," hoardaholics are given help ditching their trinkets. Portland stands testament to the stuff trend. Real estate agents, remodelers and architects around town say that today, young couples are generally requesting bigger homes with more storage space than past generations. The Oregon branch of the National Association of Professional Organizers grew by 50 percent over the past year to 30 total members, called expert organizers. Westside Portland's 1-800-Got-Junk, which earns about $276 per junk removal job, posted revenues of $273,000 over the past year and expects that total to grow to $400,000 for the fiscal year ending June 1, 2005. "The catch phrase is decluttering," said Tom Maryschak, who runs the westside Got Junk franchise. "But people have a big problem with letting things go. . . . Portlanders have found an incredible way of using things to the nth degree. We've been picking up chairs that are like toothpicks." Portland junk haulers said they regularly pick up rickety dryers, vintage refrigerators, sleeper sofas, VCRs, exercise equipment and lawn decor. Roughly 35 percent of Maryschak's business comes from repeat customers. He'll sometimes return to a house after a few months to find clutter piled up in the same spot where he once carted off old junk. Not that Maryschak can point fingers. He still has a pair of yet-to-be-used water skis from one job. "I don't have a boat," he said, "but if I ever get a boat, I've got my water skis." Maryschak and Portland's east franchise partner Alan Pietrovito agreed that there is a higher furniture turnover rate in Portland's west side than east of the Willamette River. "In the east side there's the older stuff, antique stuff, stuff that people want to keep," Pietrovito said. "They don't just dispose of things to get new stuff." On the east side, Pietrovito has had to train himself to work with clients who sometimes agonize and pour their hearts out to him as he hauls away memorabilia, whether they recently ended a relationship or a loved one passed away. It's tough, said Pietrovito, who is a collector. "You can't really rush someone through that, and yet you really want to get on with the job." He recently pulled workers off a job where the house was rife with hypodermic needles. Other jobs have yielded a WWII Japanese bayonet -- which he kept -- and stereo consoles, two which he kept, others which he forced himself to gave away, recycle or pitch. "Simplicity in life is a good thing," Pietrovito said. "I don't have a knack for it." Saying goodbye -- whether to garden gnomes, the old hose, Pez dispensers or newspapers -- is never simple. "There's the monetary as well as emotional attachment," said Carol Keller, who founded Hillsboro's Organizing Experts in 2000. People are busy, she added, they don't have time to tidy up and take stock. And then there's that lingering concern, something Keller called the "I might need this someday" syndrome. When the push to cut clutter becomes too tough, storage usually moves in. People stop worrying that they own too many things to ever touch, and instead start corralling treasures into curio cabinets, third-car garages, sheds out back, "bonus rooms," redesigned attics, garage cabinets and cubbies. Yes, builders report an ever-growing interest in cubbies. "It's his little cubby and her little cubby. . . it's the mud room, the mud bench," said Jim Feild, a remodeler with Progressive Builders Northwest in Portland, who added that "clients want to take advantage of every single void and nook." From the Container Store to Hold Everything, packing stuff away is considered integral to a tidy existence. Magazines from Martha Stewart Living to Oprah propose streamlining your life, with the underlying message that to accomplish this, you have to purchase more stuff. Keller, who is the president of the Oregon chapter of national organizers, and Anne Blumer, who founded SolutionsForYou in Portland, said that Oregonians tend to hoard paper including junk mail, old bills, magazines, catalogues, and their kids' old homework and artwork. They added that clients often struggle with letting go of old books and clothes -- items with a price attached to them. Part of the paper problem, according to Keller, stems from Portlanders' penchant for recycling. "They want to do the right thing," said Keller, "but the recycling doesn't go out the door every week. It's part of the problem rather than the solution." Expert organizers -- who charge between $50 and $125 per hour nationwide -- first meet for a consultation and later sort what should be stored, donated, pitched or recycled. Jobs can last anywhere from a few hours to more than a year. Children are among the more difficult clients. "I'll say, 'Do you need to have 25 Barbie dolls, or can you play with you five favorites?' " Blumer said. No big surprise that, as Keller said, kids usually say they need them all. Portlander Maggie Kean said she took her children, ages 2 and 4, out of the house as Blumer sorted through their toys and pitched the plastic animals that come with fast-food meals or the knickknacks with missing pieces. Blumer also helped Kean overhaul what she called the "mother of all messes" in her office along with the family room and toy room. Sometimes clutter collects because of a major life event such as a baby's birth, a loved one's death or a car accident. Other times a disease such as depression, attention-deficit disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder can lead to clutter. Many times, Blumer and Keller said, people are just too busy to tackle the mess. "I took a self-test, and I have trouble being really focused on certain types of things -- namely organizing my house," said Kean. "There's that frustration that comes with looking for something when you can't find it. It's kind of embarrassing." Kean is not alone. Hundreds of applications pour into clean-up reality TV shows every day. Hosts tour the country giving motivational speeches about decluttering. Keller said the National Association of Professional Organizers has grown by 40 percent nationwide. How did Kean feel as she watched her cluttered home transform into usable space? Much like all of those guests on reality TV. "It blew my mind," she said. It made her feel like she could tidy up and actually make progress every night, she said, because the task was no longer insurmountable. For Blumer, it was like "watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly."   From the Oregonian Home & Garden Section: Free and clear (Excerpts from article) How to clean up clutter, get organized and liberate your life 01/01/04 Bridget A. Otto   Today -- unofficially known as Clean Slate Day -- marks the starting point for getting organized. And help is nearby. There are no fewer than 20 members in the Oregon chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Good news for those of us stymied by overflowing closets, garages that house everything but the car, garden supplies in rust and ruin, and memorabilia disguised as clutter. The bad news is that organization requires resolve. Starting: The initial hurdle Organizing Experts founder Carol Keller of Hillsboro sees clients who are overwhelmed and don't know where to start because they don't see any solutions. "Take one thing at a time. People tend to see the whole house or the whole room. Look at one cupboard or one desk." Sometimes the process can get worse before it gets better, but if you keep each task manageable, the resulting organized cupboard can be inspiring, Keller says. Challenge No. 2: Focus Keller often uses the same two phrases when talking about her work: Where should an item live? Where would you go to look for that item? For example, take a four-drawer filing cabinet. Keller begins by asking, "What absolutely has to live here?" Then each drawer is labeled with a category and only information that relates to that category can live in that drawer. If more drawers are needed, fine. But generally, the purging of everything that doesn't live there frees up quite a bit of space. How you want a room to function also helps focus on organization. Start at one end and make decisions about everything based on how it will live in the room, or whether that room is where you'd go to find the item in the first place. "Keep it simple," Keller says about organizing anything. Elaborate filing systems and major changes of habit won't be followed. If the family enters the house through a mudroom and dumps coats, backpacks and boots there, organize that area. Don't insist the kids start taking their coats to the hall closet. It won't happen, because you're trying to completely change a habit. Keller works within habits, "tweaking" them. Challenge No. 3: Keeping chaos at bay As for maintaining order, Keller talks about the 15-minute trick. She helped an administrator be more productive by suggesting she allot 15 minutes at the end of the day to clean up her desk for the morning -- simple, effective and endlessly applicable. Children can spend 15 minutes picking up toys before bed. You can spend 15 minutes with each day's mail or take 15 minutes at your own desk. Keller knows her methods aren't fail-safe, and she's made return visits to re-evaluate and tweak her own work.