Neatnik Amanda vs. a Professional Organizer: No Judgement

Your neat freak friend, Amanda, keeps telling you she will help you get your stuff organized just like hers.  So, what’s the difference between Amanda and a Professional Organizer?

You know what Amanda thinks about you and your clutter.  She’s told you a hundred times, “You need to get organized and get rid of all that useless stuff.”  One big difference between Amanda and a Professional Organizer (PO) is that a PO will not judge you or your mess.  To a PO clutter is just clutter, not a character flaw.  You are not bad, stupid, or lazy just because you have too much stuff.

How many times have you worked yourself to death to get everything cleaned up and a few months later it’s messy again?  Amanda says you’re hopeless and you’ll never get organized.  Here’s the second difference between Amanda and a PO: POs don’t just get things organized, they also help you learn to be more organized.  They don’t teach this stuff in school, but you need organizing skills for everyday life.  A PO can show you practical ways to get organized and stay organized.  Amanda can help you get your stuff cleaned up, but you know in a few months it will be disorganized again.

Let’s be honest, can you really trust Amanda to keep her mouth shut about your clutter?  That’s the third difference, and it’s an important one.  A PO is not going to tell all her friends that you have stacks of stuff that have been there so long they’re dusty.  POs value your confidentiality and won’t talk about you or post pictures of your mess on Facebook.  A PO that belongs to a professional association like the National Association of Professional Organizers or the Institute for Challenging Disorganization agrees to a code of ethics that includes client confidentiality.  Amanda probably never thinks about your right to privacy. 

Who would you rather trust?

Copyright^© 2019 Elizabeth Tawney Gross, Organizing For Everyday, LLC