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Between The Home Edit and Marie Kondo, everyone wants to tidy up. Coupled with sheltering-in and working from home for months, the desire to live with less and deal with our messes has grown. 

Thanksgiving and the approach of more holidays add incentive to put our homes in order. “Getting organized” has become a need, not a dream.

For those who want the expertise, guidance, and support of a professional organizer, hands on help is still available. If in-person organizing doesn’t work for you, virtual organizing is an option worth considering.

Virtual Organizing is not new…

• Over ten years ago, Sheila Delson, co-founder of The Institute for Chronic Disorganization, coined the term Virtual Organizing (V.O.). She has since educated experienced organizers in the best practices and most successful methods for V.O.

In years past, V.O. had been limited by familiarity with zoom and other remote options. With so many adjusting to zoom school, virtual offices and FaceTime meetings, that tech barrier is (virtually) gone making V.O. much more accessible.

Obvious benefits of working virtually:

• Guidance on where to start

• Expert clarity for steps involved

• During this pandemic: it is a no-risk option for working together

Five bonus benefits of working remotely: 

• Accountability so you’ll follow-through on each step

• Access to resources and connections only your NAPO organizer can provide

• Control over what your organizer sees…or doesn’t 🙂

  This may make it easier to focus on a discreet project before you’re ready to open yourself up to a whole room or house re-org.

• Affordability V.O. sessions are typically shorter (1 – 2 hours long) than in-person appointments (which could be half or whole day commitments)  

• Any progress you make will be 100% YOURS to claim

If you already have experience working in-person with an organizer, transitioning to a virtual partnership puts the emphasis on what you can do. That’s empowering!

Virtual options aren’t limited to a geographic location.

That said, there are benefits to working with someone local:

• When working with a local organizer, your organizing work can be virtual. Even so, you can still benefit from having your organizer collect items or run some errands, if they handle donations or resale of items.• In the future: post-pandemic, once you’re more comfortable, or when the scope of your project changes, you’d have the option to invite your local organizer in for hands-on organizing. It’s all about choices!

Wishing is a good thing! It creates a vision of what we’d like for the future. Often the vision motivates us into action to make it come true.  But the tricky part about a wish, compared to a goal, is sometimes we want our wish to magically happen without our taking action. Can you relate?

Here are some examples of Wishful Thinking that might be contributing to the clutter in your home:

The clothes you wish you could get into two or three sizes down.

• You really, really want to lose weight but so far haven’t been too successful. Ask yourself: If I were to lose that weight, would I want to wear clothes from the 1990’s? 
• Save clothes one size down and a couple of absolute favorites from the lower sizes. And if you do lose the weight – treat yourself to new clothes!

The workout equipment you wish you would use.

• You purchased some pretty expensive workout equipment and swear you’re going to start using it. But even through the pandemic, when you had time, you didn’t get to it.
• Let go of the equipment if you aren’t going to use it. There are others who can’t get to the gym who will buy it or take it off your hands. If necessary, pay a junk hauler to take it away. You really will feel better without the reminder of your dreams (ahem … self-discipline) not coming true.

The craft projects you wish you’d have to time to work on.

• Well, we’ve had time with the Covid-19 quarantine, so I ask, how many projects did you work on?  (Of course, if you were home-schooling or working from home, it probably wasn’t too many.)
• Decide on two or three crafts that make your heart sing and let go of the ones that you like but don’t love.  Schools and nursing homes might enjoy your cast-offs.

The second home you wish you could buy.

• Many of us have dreamed of a second home and saved household items and furniture to that end.  Ask yourself if it is realistic to think you’ll be buying another property?
• If the answer is no, free the space by letting go.

Charitable shops have been closed for some time due to the pandemic, and now that they’re opened, they are inundated with goods. Some people are reluctant to donate to charities for fear their items will be thrown in the trash. I’ve been told by Goodwill workers that they are storing items in trailers, however that statement is unverified. Another option for items you wish to sell or give away for free are websites like Freecycle.org and CraigsList.com, or local pages on Facebook Marketplace. Since summer is here, you can find ways exchange items with social distancing.

Wishful Thinking can be shifted to Realistic Thinking. If you have trouble getting started, consider the help of a professional organizer. Many are doing virtual organizing and can help you shift your thinking so letting go is easier. YOUR WISH FOR A CLUTTER-FREE HOME CAN COME TRUE!

Yes. Virtual organizing has been around and effective for much longer than this recent COVID-19 quarantine. However, our current degrees of isolation are making virtual organizing more attractive than ever before to both organizers and those looking for organizing help.

Unlike house cleaners or home renovators, much of what a Professional Organizer does is intangible. 

Surprised? You might be. Yes organizers can, and often do, physically redesign your office or room layouts, remove your clutter and set up your files and spaces. Yet, the more important and valuable benefit of what they do (what you are really paying for) is what you don’t see. It is the things you experience when working with a professional organizer and the resulting benefits of those experiences.

Whether in-person or virtually in-person, a professional organizer is a pot of gold when it comes to processes, goal setting, motivation and innovation. Partnering with clients from deciding where to start, to trouble-shooting client-specific challenges, to supporting continued maintenance – an organizing and productivity specialist is the way to go.

How do you find someone who offers Virtual Organizing?

If you have already worked with a professional organizer, start there! Contact them and ask them if they are running virtual sessions or, if not, ask if they would consider trying one with you. I recommend sticking with someone with whom you already have a good rapport.

Otherwise, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing professionals (NAPO) and it’s local chapters (here in the Philly area it is NAPO-GPC)  are the places to start. NAPO professionals invest in their businesses, training and professional development to make sure they are bringing the best services to their clients. What’s even more exciting is that, since they will serve you virtually, you could choose an organizer from literally anywhere!

What should you expect when Virtual Organizing?

• Technology The first, and frankly essential, expectation for virtual organizing is that you must use some form of technology that includes video. It can be a cell phone, tablet or laptop computer. The best devices for most projects will be portable devices (with the exception of digital organizing, where you could remain in place at a desktop computer throughout the sessions). It is okay if you haven’t tried any virtual meetings yet, your organizer will help you get set up.
• Time Virtual organizing sessions will almost always be shorter than in-person sessions. Expect to set aside between one and two hours with your virtual organizer, as opposed to a three to six hour day.
• Results  Whether you want to organize a physical space, or manage your time and information, it is the goal of a professional organizer to help you create environments and systems that support the harmony and effectiveness of your lifestyle and to impart skills so that YOU can become organized, efficient, happier and more free in your life. You can expect immediate results – whether they be in your physical space, in clarity of mind…or both!

During this time of COVID-19, many of us are experiencing some degree of isolation and limitation in our lives. Some of us are eager to get back to an unrestricted lifestyle and others are cautiously waiting it out until stronger assurances are announced. Either way, the support of a professional organizer will help unravel difficult decisions, set up successful solutions and motivate you to stay on track. It is a service that you may decide works best for you even after the quarantines are lifted!