Debreen Oliva of Saratoga recalls organizing a friend’s closet when she still a kid on a sleepover. Fast forward a few decades and you’ll find she’s still reigning in unruly objects of all types. “I guess I’ve always had that organizing gene,” said Oliva, who is a professional organizer and owner of d.o. organizing. She’s also a teacher of family and consumer sciences in the East Greenbush Central School District. Oliva is one of 4,000 members in the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). There are about 30 chapters in the country. Locally, she belongs to SOS, or Saratoga Organizers and Stagers, along with about a dozen other organizers who meet once a month and discuss topics relative to the industry. “The industry is growing because of the need for organizing services,” said Mary Dykstra, member director for NAPO based in Mount Laurel, N.J. “Too much stuff, too much information, too many activities, downsizing of businesses and more to do in less time are not going away.” Dykstra added that from 2003 to 2009 the organization witnessed a doubling of its membership, which she attributed to the popularity of shows like “Hoarders” and “Mission Organization”. According to Dykstra, the greatest concentration of organizers has historically been on the west coast in areas like San Diego and on the east coast around Boston, though she said that trend is shifting. “Now we are seeing the middle of the country fill in,” she said.
Oliva said her business has increased in the last few years and on average she has about 10 clients at any given time. She’s developed a three-step process to organizing, the first being “digging out” from material objects. “For some it can be really overwhelming,” she said. “To better serve clients, I have created a team approach to organizing. I work with organizing assistants and sometimes a clutter counselor.” She added many times clients have emotional connections to objects and she helps them work through those as well. The second step in her method is to establish an organizing system based on a person’s learning or living style as well as their personality. “It’s not a one size fits all and some may need to be tweaked. Tweaked most is paperwork,” said Oliva. One of the reasons for paperwork heading the list is that more folks are working from home. Finally, Oliva puts a maintenance plan into place for clients. “It’s a big step…and you never want to go back to the ‘digging out’ step. Everything has a home and when you get used to picking things up and putting them there, maintenance becomes manageable and very doable,” she said. Catherine Dryden of Menands is also a professional organizer and started her business, Neat Chic Organizing, a few years ago. Her philosophy is “to empower others to lead more fulfilling lives by helping them to become more organized through individualized coaching and training.” “If somebody has a big job and they have a lot of disorganization, what I usually find … is that there was some traumatic event (like a serious illness) in their life that caused them to shut down a little bit,” she said. Dryden also points to other factors contributing to disorganization.
“Really, procrastination and decision making is what causes disorganization,” she said.
Though not as traumatic as a life-changing event, back to school time can present parents and kids with organizational obstacles. “When the kids go back to school it’s the entryway, the mudroom, the kitchen are kind of disaster areas where the backpacks go along with the sports equipment, the coats and hats and homework papers,” said Dryden. One way to help with the onslaught of papers, suggests Dryden, is to have an in and out box, much like a parent would have at work. For example, kids can submit papers that need to be signed or looked at to the inbox and after parents do their part, the papers can be put in the out box for kids to pick up. Dryden also said most kids wind up doing homework near the kitchen, where mom or dad is cooking up dinner, and suggests designating a small area like a shelf in or near the kitchen for kids to keep homework materials. “If most people could learn to be organized from a book, the world would be organized. The need for personal, customized, one-on-one assistance will always be needed,” said Dykstra. For more information on d.o. organize, visit www.doorganize.com. For more on Neat Chic Organizing, visit www.neatchicny.com.