In my work as a Professional Organizer, I help people Find It, File It, and Finish It so they can finally relax.  You are probably wondering what It is.  It can be anything in your home or office.  I believe organizing affects everything in your personal and professional life.

Step one is Find It.  This step is the most tedious yet most exciting part of the process.  I get excited by messes and I love the challenge of them partly because I can visualize the outcome. The Find It step is the sorting process.  We work together going through your items one by one.  The result of this process is we eliminate the trash and no longer needed items and we find the items that are important to you now.  We do find lots of treasures in the sorting process.  While working with clients I have unearthed important papers, lost items, cash, checks and sometimes I find things the client simply forgot they owned.

Step two is File It. This stage is a methodology of organizing that is based on the Decision Principle™.  We decide where the item will reside so that you can find it again when you need it. This may involve creating filing systems for paper or storage systems for other items that need to be kept. The systems can be efficient work flow systems in your kitchen, closet garage or office. Together we create the systems and discover suitable tools so that you can file away your stuff and find it again. Systems are a key component to sustainable organizing. Don’t cringe over the word system – A system saves you space, time, energy and money. 

Step three is Finish It.  I help people reach the finish line.  Most people love to start but hate to finish. We uncover lots of unfinished projects in the Find It step. We either create a system and an action plan to finish those projects or we make the decision to let the project go – which can be very cleansing.  Just as a child outgrows toys, adults outgrow projects and interests.  I help people focus so they can finish projects including organizing projects.

These three steps work together and must be completed in order.  I believe that your ability to accomplish any task or project is dependent upon your ability to find your tools and information quickly.  It does not matter whether you need a screwdriver to make a minor repair, a roasting pan to cook your Thanksgiving turkey, or documents and receipts to file your taxes, if you can’t find these things you cannot move forward with the task.

You will be able to move forward when you apply these steps. The exciting part is this:  after you have found it, filed it and finished it, a giant burden is lifted so that you can finally relax.  I challenge you to find a space in your home or office and apply these steps so that you can finish your work and get on with your life.