Weekly Feature: Scenes From a Professional Organizer’s Home

As a professional organizer, clients often ask me – “So what’s your home really like?” They want to know if it’s a case of…

a. I can do this for others but neglect my own space

b. My house looks like a Martha Stewart photo shoot or a Container Store catalog

c. Or some happy medium of a reasonably organized, real home

I hope you’re happy to know the answers is closest to C, which is not to say that I wouldn’t like B. The reality is busy schedules, multiple household members, and the challenges of modern life mean that to-do lists, unfinished projects, and room for improvement are always present. I don’t come home, kick off my organizing shoes and sit on my perfectly fluffed couch with my Real Simple magazine and a glass of wine (though that sounds pretty good and sometime happens). I do, however, have systems in place that usually keep our house in good shape. Over that past couple years, (we’ve been in our condo for 3), there have been a number of home improvement/organizing projects and lots of trips to the local Goodwill donation drop-off. We are pretty much down to having only what we need and love in our space, which is good considering the limited storage space we have.

Over the next couple months (or until you get bored or I run out of material), I will pick reasonably organized spots in my home to highlight in the hopes of not only giving you a ‘reality TV’ glimpse into a professional organizer’s home, but more importantly some ideas you can implement in your space. Who knows, I may even get brave and show you some of the ‘works in progress’ which might inspire me to get them done so I can show you the results! So stay tuned and feel free to make requests, ask questions, and share ideas and scenes from your own space.