Celebrate Get Organized Month with NAPO

The National Organization of Professional Organizers designates January as “Get Organized” month. This is the 5th year for GO Month, which is dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of getting organized and of hiring a NAPO professional organizer.

NAPO conducted a survey in November 2008 to gauge the public’s familiarity with professional organizing as well as the perceived need for the services a professional organizer can provide. Of 400 adults polled, about 85 percent indicated an awareness of what professional organizers do. Other findings include:

• 96 percent said they would save time every day by becoming better organized
  1. Of those, 15 percent of respondents felt they could save more than an hour each day — for a total of more than 15 days per year — if they were more organized at home
  2. Of those, 30 percent of respondents felt they could save at least 30 minutes each day — or more than an entire week per year — if they were more organized at home

Since 65 percent of respondents noted that their household was at least moderately disorganized and 27 percent said they feel disorganized at work, it is clear that the general public could benefit from, and in fact needs the services of, professional organizers. (statistics courtesy of NAPO, www.napo.net)

There are a number of activities planned and sponsored by professional organizations to promote  household and business organization. I encourage you to check them out to see if there are events in yoyr area that you can attend. It never hurts to seek a little professional advice when it comes to taking on the challenge of organizing your household! Go to NAPO’s Event Calendar to view the list.

To help you get started, don’t forget to check out Organized A to Z.com for the best organizing products, used and recommended by professional organizers!

National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization

People can be disorganized for a variety of reasons: learning styles, lifestyle choices, physical challenges, neurologically-based conditions, mental health issues, difficulty dealing with transitions and life changes, or even the simple reason of never being taught how to organize. Part of being a successful professional organizer involves learning about these issues and understanding ways to help my clients overcome those factors. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) helps me stay on top of the latest research and methods to help my clients do just that.

“The mission of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization is to explore, develop and disseminate to professional organizers and related professionals organizing methods, techniques, approaches and solutions that will benefit chronically disorganized people.”

The NSGCD Website offers some great assessment tools and tips on chronic disorganization. If you want to talk more about topics that you read about here, feel free to contact me – kathy@cometoorderva.com or call me at 804-550-9428

National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)

As a professional organizer, I am a member of NAPO, a national organization that dedicates itself to developing, leading, and promoting professional organizers and the organizing industry. It was founded in 1985 by Beverly Clower, Stephanie Culp, Ann Gambrell, Maxine Ordesky, and Jeanie Shorr, and currently has close to 4,000 members. Along with opportunities to network with colleagues, it offers educational materials and actively solicits publicity for individual professional organizers as well as the industry.

NAPO distributes NAPO News to its members each month and also sponsors Get Organized Month in January. It also acts as a referral service when individuals request further information about professional organizers and their services.

NAPO also has a number of chapters throughout the United States, including one in Richmond Virginia. I currently serve as Marketing Coordinator, but I will soon fill the role as Secretary for the organization.

Being part of these organizations is an important way for me to stay on top of the latest organizing trends, research, educational opportunities.