Q&A with a Professional Organizer - Julie Bestry

Julie Bestry, CPO® – Chattanooga, TN – www.juliebestry.com

1.  How long have you been a professional organizer?
I started Best Results Organizing in January 2002, about 7 years ago. However, I began consulting with small southeastern television stations on operational issues, including organizing, in the late 1990's.

2. What inspired you to become a  professional organizer?
Although I'd been organizing others since the age of four (when I wouldn't join in games until I sorted the toys in my neighbor's playroom), I wasn't inspired to start Best Results Organizing until I'd neared the end of a long career as a television program director.  Broadcasting is a high-paced environment in which strong organizational skills and systems are paramount for keeping things running smoothly - a little bit of disorganization can lead to dead air, disappointed viewers and lost revenue.

As clichéd as it sounds, September 11th, 2001 was the catalyst for starting my company.  Like so many of my colleagues at other television stations and in broadcast syndication, the 9/11 made me really examine my path and determine that life is too short to settle.  I craved a professional opportunity that allowed me to use my skills to inspire change and help people achieve their dreams--in an environment where my goofy sense of humor wouldn't be to anyone's disadvantage.

I'd had no idea that professional organizing existed until I read an entry about the National Association of Professional Organizers in the book "Cool Careers for Dummies" and then attended a NAPO-Georgia chapter meeting in Atlanta.  I was struck with the realization that the consulting work I'd been doing for years, combined with my habit of idly decluttering friends' homes and offices without realizing it, was actually a recognized profession.  It was like finding out George Clooney had secretly been in love with me for decades!  By the end of 2001, I'd "retired" from television and started Best Results Organizing, and I've never looked back.

3. What is the most common organizing project you're hired to do?
Home office and small business clients contact me to help them gain control over the tsunamis of paper clutter and create better plans for work flow and time management.

Most residential clients contact me because they are "overwhelmed" and don't know where to start to overhaul their generally cluttered lives.  This usually involves decluttering and building new systems for the whole house, from kitchen to closets to bedroom and laundry rooms.

4. What is the most common organizing challenge people have?
Failing to adapt to life's changes. Disorganization comes from a mismatch between the skills and systems people are using and the actual current demands that life and work place on them.  People keep trying to do the same quick fixes, even when life speeds up and demands become more pressing (a la Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory).  When people find that their old solutions no longer work, their clutter and dissatisfaction grow in tandem until they become paralyzed.  They need to recognize that systems and skills much change and adapt and demands change.

5. If you had to pick 'your' biggest organizing challenge, what would it be?
I'm pretty set with organizing tangible items, but in terms of time management, my biggest challenge is perfectionist procrastination.  I love to write--I write weekly blog posts and articles, and am concurrently writing two books to add to my ebooks that I sell on my website ("Tickle Yourself Organized" and "Simplify the Season & Save Your Sanity").  But it's very hard for me to get myself to start, because I want it to be perfect from the outset.  I have to work hard to give myself the same types of advice I give my clients--to just write for five minutes, to brainstorm as if I'm writing a letter to a friend, and to visualize the end-result before starting.

6. What one tips would you give to people who are trying to get organized?
Let go of any guilt or embarrassment you feel about what has happened (or NOT happened) in the past.  All that matters is today.  My company motto is "Don't apologize.  Organize."  Just focus on keeping only the items that serve the life you live (or want to live) today, rather than becoming the curator of the Museum of Who You Used To Be.  Live for now to make your life happier and easier in the future, too!

7. What secrets do professional organizers know that the general public doesn't?
The keys to organizing are the things we've been told all our lives, but professional organizers can help you find new ways to look at things and achieve clarity.  For example, your grandma was right about "A place for everything and everything in its place", but there's more to it.

I tell my clients pretty much the same thing--everything should have a HOME, but NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO LIVE WITH YOU.  If something isn't age-appropriate, size-appropriate and life-style appropriate, you're probably already not using it or wearing it.  People tend to hold on to clutter because they fear they might need it again someday, whether it's an ugly, itchy sweater or an out-of-date reference book.

Chances are, you operate your life according to the Pareto Rule, or 80/20 Rule, such that most of the time, you're wearing the same 20% of your wardrobe and your kids are playing with the same 20% of their toys. So, letting go of something by giving it to charity, selling it at consignment or auctioning it on eBay works for everyone.  You get more space for the life you lead now, the new owners get something they actually want, and your possessions get to lead a useful second life.

8. What's the biggest mistake most people make when trying to get organized?
I think the biggest mistake, from at least an economic point of view, is that people go out and buy storage containers FIRST, without assessing their needs, sorting their categories and paring down the clutter.  There are FABULOUS products (wink, wink, Rubbermaid!) out there, but before you can assess the styles and sizes of storage tools you need for your kitchen or garage or closets, you need to be a bit ruthless in purging out what you don't need and categorizing what you'll keep.  Otherwise, it's like buying an outfit to wear to an unknown event, in an as-yet-undetermined season, when you still have 50 pounds to shed.  Sort, organize and *then* select your storage containers.

9. How can potential clients get in touch with you?
They can email me at the address listed on my website www.juliebestry.com, where they can also find my articles on a wide variety of organizing subjects, from organizing to prevent identity theft, to finding motivation to achieve your goals

They can also write comments on my "Paper Doll" blog at OnlineOrganizing.com via www.juliebestry.com/organizing or the "blog" link on my website.