I’ve been often asked why I chose to change careers and start a business as a Professional Organizer. Here is my story.
I lost my Mom to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2009. Prior to her death, her belongings were moved out of her home by a moving company. She lived in a two-story, and could no longer climb the stairs due to the debilitating effects of ALS. The moving company literally packed away her life in one day. They wrapped her furniture in plastic without removing drawer contents and picked up items throughout the house. Her clothes, kitchen and knick-knacks were stored away and taken to a storage unit.
We moved her into a rental home in 2008. She passed away on July 31st, 2009.
The entirety of her life was left in that storage unit until January 2020… 12 years and a lot of money later. It was the biggest weight on me. Every year, I said, “THIS YEAR I’m getting rid of the storage unit.” And yet, another year went by.
In January of 2020, I hired a moving company and unloaded everything. It took me and four movers a total of eight hours to complete. To go through everything took over a month. A very emotional journey indeed! My next step was to declutter, donate, keep and sell. This was another goodbye to my mom.
I don’t want another person to have their belongings packed away in drawers or boxes. I also don’t want for someone to face years of storage unit fees. I realized how therapeutic this was for me and that I enjoy the feeling of decluttering, removing, clearing and organizing spaces.
One summer afternoon in 2020, I was cleaning and decluttering a closet. I was sorting stuff to keep, donate and sell. It was like a light bulb turned on. I thought that this is what I want to do for other people. I didn’t know anything about Professional Organizing, how to start a business or run a business, but I knew what I did for myself, I wanted to do for others.
Neat, Professional Organizers was established in November 2020, and launched in January of 2021. I spent months reading, researching and learning all the different fields of organization. I haven’t stopped nor looked back. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.
My heart is truly in helping people get organized and be neat.
