Professional organizers take stress out of decluttering

A hodgepodge of stationery, envelopes, labels and staplers cluttered the cabinets and countertops at First United Methodist Church of Orlando last week.

Amid the sea of supplies stood professional organizer Jane Cole and director of youth ministry Justin Cox, who were trying to create order out of the chaos.

"These are 2014 pledge cards," Cox, 32, said as he leafed through an outdated stack. "So I think they go in the trash."

Cole, 51, stays especially busy this time of year as people seek help keeping New Year's resolutions to get organized.

She is one of 15 certified professional organizers in Florida. Some specialize in people with attention-deficit disorder, who tend to have chronic problems with organization. Others work with seniors planning to downsize, people about to relocate or bereaved families culling loved ones' belongings. A few confine themselves to digital organizing.

"The more responsibilities people have that pull them in different directions, the more difficult it is to stay organized," said Emily Green of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Helping others get organized is a relatively young profession. The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers was created in 2007, but certification isn't required and Florida doesn't regulate practitioners.

Cole's path to the profession began when her widowed father died shortly after she graduated from the University of Central Florida. Then 22, she was distressed to find that her dad had left a jumble of documents for her to handle. She vowed to get her own paperwork in order so her heirs would have an easier time.

That led her to found Happy Home Organizing Solutions. She has spent the past 16 years paring piles of paperwork, combing through closets and culling kitchen clutter.

Typically, potential clients contact her after repeated failed attempts to get their homes or offices under control. Her largest demographic is women between 40 and 65, she said.

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Professional organizers take stress out of decluttering