Organizing is the art and science of knowing what we want from life and how to arrange our resources to get it. Organizing is not an end in itself; it is just a beginning. Jane Allen Petrick, Ph.D., the author of Beyond Time Management wrote, "organizing is the art of arranging the elements in your life to achieve your goals." It includes the concept of making a specific plan to accomplish those goals determined to be of greatest worth. We know this better by the phrase "putting first things first." How do we manage ourselves to do what is truly most important?

You must be driven by your own compelling reasons for getting organized otherwise you will not maintain the new system a professional organizer could provide. Here are some of the more common reasons people give for wanting to get organized:
Spend too much time looking for things
Set a good example for children
Reduce the anxiety from feeling overwhelmed
Achieve more in less time
Make better use of my talents and skills
Increase in self-confidence
Gain a sense of self-control
Project a better image to clients, colleagues, friends
Have more time to spend on achieving my goals
Improve my relationships with my family
Gain energy and calm from my space
Reduce my stress, frustration, and anxiety levels
Clear my head of all the clutter
Use time more effectively
Have more time left for fun and the things I enjoy.

If you are disorganized and it bothers you or the people around you then being disorganized can lead you to feel deficient. This discouragement robs you of the physical and emotional energy needed to attack the job of dealing with the disorder. It's a vicious cycle. Remember the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray was doomed to repeat the events of the same day Feb. 2nd over and over again? How many times have you repeated your scenario of wanting to clean up your space and get organized but have put it off for any number of reasons? A professional organizer will be the wake up call you need to keep you from repeating the same frustrating scene.

No matter how big or small the project, organizing takes time, effort and lots of concentration. Professional organizers have the visualizing, imagining power to see the end from the beginning and to see the entire journey in steps. The professional organizer will keep your motivation in mind as you implement new organizational strategies and will work with you to make the most of your time and effort to achieve your personal goals. Self-awareness is your most powerful tool in getting and staying organized. Understanding the cause of the disorganization will help you when you seek a remedy. Julie Morgenstern, in her book Organizing from the Inside Out says, "I haven't found one case in all my years as a professional organizer where the clutter was caused by sloppiness, laziness, or incompetence. Thinking this way inaccurately puts the blame on you, and is clearly not the best mind-set for achieving organizing success. After all, how can you expect to be enthusiastic about getting organized if you see your environment as a sharp criticism of your very nature? No wonder you avoid the dreaded task!" There are a lot of reasons for disorganization: mistakes in your organizing system that can be easily remedied; external forces beyond your control; and hidden internal forces that make you gravitate toward disorganization. Almost every issue is fixable. With the help of a professional organizer, identifying the actual causes of your cluttered condition so you can find an effective, lasting solution could be one of the most liberating experiences you've ever felt.