Charlotte and her team proudly serve homeowners and businesses throughout the St. Louis metro area, including St. Louis, Clayton, Ladue, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Brentwood, Creve Coeur, Chesterfield, Des Peres, Frontenac, Ballwin, Town & Country, Manchester, Richmond Heights, Fenton, Crestwood, Ellisville, Sunset Hills, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and the surrounding areas.

Welcome, Charlotte! I’m happy to have you here. How did you come up with your business name?

I wanted a name that felt personal and reflected the heart behind the business. “CHAR” comes from my nickname, and “CO.” represents the team and the community we’re building together. Organizing isn’t something I do alone. It’s a collaborative process, and every project is about working alongside our clients to create a home they truly enjoy.

How did your training and experience prepare you to become an organizer?

My organizing journey started long before I launched CHAR & CO. After selling my medical supply business, I began simplifying my own home and discovered how life-changing the organizing process could be. Inspired by Marie Kondo‘s approach, I dove into learning everything I could and eventually joined Sacred Space Organizing, where I gained hands-on experience helping clients throughout St. Louis.

Since then, I’ve worked with hundreds of clients, refining a practical, judgment-free approach that focuses on creating systems people can actually maintain. Every home and every family is different, and that experience has taught me how to meet people where they are and help them move forward with confidence.

What’s your specialty?

My specialty is helping busy families and individuals create organized, functional homes that are easier to maintain and more enjoyable to live in. While every project is different, I especially enjoy whole-home organizing, decluttering, packing and unpacking for moves, and creating simple systems that make everyday life easier.

My approach is never about perfection. It’s about understanding how each client lives, helping them let go of what no longer serves them, and designing organizing systems they can realistically maintain for years to come. I meet every client without judgment and focus on creating spaces that reduce stress and support their lifestyle.

What other services or products do you offer?

In addition to home organizing, we offer:

• Packing and unpacking services for moves
• Move support and pre-move decluttering
• Business and office organizing
• Holiday decorating, including Christmas tree styling, decorating, takedown, and organized holiday storage
• Closet, pantry, kitchen, garage, home office, playroom, basement, laundry room, and storage space organization
• Donation drop-off services as part of many organizing projects
• Personalized organizing plans and product recommendations when storage solutions are needed

Whether someone needs help organizing one room or an entire home, our goal is to create practical systems that make life simpler long after we’re gone.

How do you approach a new organizing project?

Every project starts with listening. Before we move a single item, I want to understand how my client lives, what’s frustrating them, and what they hope to accomplish. From there, we create a plan and work through our Signature 5-Step Process: prioritize, categorize, minimize, organize, and systemize.

My goal isn’t just to make a space look beautiful. It’s to create simple, practical systems that fit each client’s lifestyle and are easy to maintain long after we’re gone.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve discovered about running an organizing business?

The biggest surprise has been realizing that this business is so much more about people than it is about stuff. Clients often invite us into their homes during major life transitions like moving, downsizing, welcoming a new baby, or caring for aging parents. Building trust, listening without judgment, and helping someone move forward is every bit as important as organizing a closet or pantry.

What is the biggest challenge you currently face in your business?

One of the biggest challenges is simply managing the schedule. There are times when we’d love to help everyone who reaches out, but we can only take on so many projects at once. I’d much rather take on fewer clients and give each one the time and attention they deserve than rush through the work.

How are you marketing your business?

Most of our growth comes from word-of-mouth referrals, online reviews, and our website. We also share organizing tips and before-and-after transformations on social media, stay active in the St. Louis community, and build relationships with local businesses and professionals who serve many of the same clients we do. Our goal has always been to educate, build trust, and make it easy for people to find us when they’re ready to get organized.

What professional communities or organizations support your work?

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is finding new homes for the items my clients no longer need. Through our Blessing Our Neighbors Initiative, we’ve been able to connect furniture, household goods, and other donations with local families and organizations throughout the St. Louis area.

Outside of CHAR & CO., I enjoy staying involved in the community. I’m an Ambassador for Catholic Charities of St. Louis, Co-Chair of the Women’s League at Our Lady of Providence Parish, and have volunteered with organizations including Connections to Success and Our Lady’s Inn. Helping people, whether it’s through organizing their homes or serving the community, has always been meaningful to me.

What’s your favorite organizing product?

I’m actually not someone who believes every organizing project starts with buying products. Decluttering and creating the right system always come first.

That said, I love clear bins, quality drawer organizers, and labeled containers because they make it easy to see what you have, keep similar items together, and maintain the space over time.

The best organizing product is the one that fits the client’s home and how they naturally use the space.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I love spending time with my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and my three grandchildren. I also enjoy traveling, especially with my girlfriends, serving my church, and volunteering with local charities. Staying connected to my family and community is something I truly value.

What else should we know about you?

I truly believe an organized home can change the way people feel and live. It’s incredibly rewarding to help someone let go of the stress that clutter creates and replace it with systems that make everyday life easier. Through our Blessing Our Neighbors Initiative, we also make sure many of our clients’ donations find new homes with local families and organizations, so the organizing process continues to make a positive impact even after a project is complete. Helping people, whether in their homes or in the community, is the most meaningful part of what I do.

Want to be featured in an upcoming Organizer Interview on Your Organizing Business?

It’s a great opportunity to showcase your business, share what you’ve learned, and help others in the organizing community.

Fill out the questionnaire to be considered!

Visit Your Organizing Business to read Interview with Professional Organizer Charlotte Slankard and join the conversation.

You love to organize and even have fun organizing your friends or family members. What about organizing a stranger’s kitchen or garage? Will you be able to listen and seek to understand what ‘organized’ looks and feels like for each client?

There are various personality types, barriers to organizing, and mental health issues to navigate and understand to organize others successfully. Working with clients who are chronically disorganized, who have ADHD, or who hoard requires specialized training and experience.

Mistake #2 – No Clear Process for Organizing

Organizing is easy for you. It is just something innate that comes naturally. So, how will you communicate that to someone who doesn’t understand “everything has a place”? This is the key to working with clients.

As a Professional Organizer, our goal is to transfer skills to our clients. Having a tried and true process will not only give you the tool to communicate organizing skills to your clients, it will provide you with confidence.

Mistake #3 – Not Establishing Boundaries and Managing Client Expectations

It is essential to communicate at the beginning of your relationship what you expect of your client and what your client can expect from you as a Professional Organizer. Prepare a Letter of Agreement between you and your clients and business policies that will help you to establish and communicate clear expectations.

Mistake #4 – Performing Tasks and Working with Clients You Are Not Skilled or Trained to Work With

There is a heightened awareness of the need for Professional Organizer services due to reality TV shows such as Hoarders. Watching these types of shows, you may be thinking, “That’s what I want to do. I want to work with people who hoard and make a difference in their lives.”

The question to ask yourself is, “Are you skilled and trained to work with them?” Working outside of the skills, education, and experience you have can do more harm than good.

Mistake #5 – Working Beyond Your Physical Limitations

I have been working as a Professional Organizer for 16 years. Before working with clients, I didn’t realize how physically demanding this work is. When I organize for myself, it is usually small projects that take a maximum of one hour. Working with clients for three or more hours requires a great deal of physical stamina. There is constant lifting, twisting, and bending. You can spend hours on your feet or, worse, criss-cross on the floor sorting papers. When you do this day after day, year after year, it takes a toll on your joints and overall skeletal structure. It is vital to stay in top physical condition and pay attention to your body.

There are many more mistakes you can make working with clients. If you can think of any others, please share them in the comments.

Photo by AsierRomeroCarballo / DepositPhotos(opens in new tab)

Visit Your Organizing Business to read 5 Critical Mistakes to Avoid Working with Clients and join the conversation.

I tried several different apps, but the one that worked best for me eventually became cumbersome.That’s when I discovered Todoist, which I’ve been using for nearly 10 years. Here’s what I love about it.

Projects and Tasks

Every task is assigned to a project. This feature is great for actual projects that consist of multiple tasks that won’t all be completed at one time. But it also works for just grouping similar tasks together, such as Client Work, Social Media / Blogging, Admin, and Self-Care.

You can even put the projects in whatever order you choose, so the most important ones come up at the top of your screen.

Templates

Todoist offers a wide range of templates covering everything from grocery lists to launching a product, as well as popular productivity methods such as The Pomodoro Technique, Time Blocking, Getting Things Done, and more.

These hadn’t been introduced when I started using Todoist so I haven’t made extensive use of them, but they look like a great way to get off the ground quickly.

The Blog Post template looks especially useful, guiding you through a similar process to what I outlined in How to Save Time Blogging.

Of course, the templates can all be customized however you like!

And if your projects usually consist of the same tasks, you can even create your own templates so you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

Priorities

Each task can be assigned a red, orange, blue, or white flag. Todoist suggests using it like the Eisenhower Matrix:

• Red: Urgent & Important
• Orange: Important & Not urgent
• Blue: Urgent & Unimportant
• White: Unimportant & Not urgent

My system is similar, but I think of it as:

• Red: Do today
• Orange: Do this week
• Blue: Do this week if I can
• White: Do whenever

I rarely use the white flag for current tasks. Instead, I assign “someday maybe” tasks to their own projects, with the white flag and no due dates. When I have time, I can easily choose one based on my current objectives and time available.

Recurring Tasks

This feature is priceless! I can’t think of a better way to keep track of all those things that just keep coming up, like sending out invoices, emailing my list, or completing yearly reviews for my clients. It’s also excellent for forming new habits, like daily walks.

Due Dates, Deadlines and Reminders

Setting due dates is intuitive. I can use the calendar widget to select a date, choose Tomorrow, Later this week, This weekend, or Next week, or type a phrase like “1st wed in dec”.

I set the due date as the date when I plan to complete the task (though sometimes I have to carry over to another day). I can enter a different date as a deadline, so I don’t have to worry about missing any tasks that are time-sensitive.

For recurring tasks, I can simply type “every 3 weeks starting tomorrow” and it figures it all out.

If something needs to be done even before I start my workday, I set a reminder for 5:00 AM so it’s the first thing I see when I pick up my phone. I rarely need reminders for anything else, but it’s good to know I have the option.

Synchronization

I use the web-based version while I’m working on my laptop, but with apps for my phone and tablet, I can easily take a quick look at what’s coming up, or add ideas that pop into my head when I’m not at my desk.

Integrations and New Features

They’re continually adding more features and integrations with other apps, including ChatGPT.

I haven’t checked all of them out, but I encourage you to explore all of Todoist’s features to see what it can do for you.

Summary

Todoist is so flexible that I’m sure you can adapt it to your (or your client’s) needs and workstyle.

I started with the free plan, but upgraded to the Pro Plan when I wanted to create more projects and access additional features. Visit their website for current Todoist pricing.

Using Todoist is so natural for me now that I probably forgot to mention something, so if you have questions, please ask!

Explore More Organizing Tools

There are so many organizing products out there that it’s not always easy to choose the right one.

My Organizing Tools & Resources Guide includes recommendations for planners, organizing products, and digital tools to help you and your clients keep things organized.

Visit Your Organizing Business to read I Couldn’t Run My Business Without Todoist and join the conversation.

The good news is that you don’t have to create everything from scratch – or manage it all manually.

What you need will depend on how you operate your business.

Client-Facing Forms

Many documents are intended to communicate important information to your clients. This may include:

• Client action/organizing plan
• Service agreement/contract
• Invoice
• Feedback form

Any forms you’ll be using with clients must be easy to read and professional.

Forms for Internal Use

Although client information sheets, assessment forms, checklists and other documents for your own use don’t have to be as polished as those you give or send to clients, they still need to be well-designed so they’re easy for you to follow and so you’re not stumbling over your words when you’re speaking to your clients.

It’s easier to develop appropriate organizing plans for your clients when you ask standard questions, whether you do your intake and assessment over the phone or in person.

Creating Your Forms

Figuring out just what those questions should be can be a real challenge when you’re just starting out in your business and don’t really know what things are important to ask about. Writing up your first agreement can also be difficult, because until you’ve run into situations such as client cancellations, you may not think of addressing them in your contract.

Fortunately, a lot of seasoned organizers have made their expertise available to you, so you don’t have to learn by trial and error. Here are a few resources that I recommend:

• Maria Gracia’s Ultimate Guide For Professional Organizers includes a collection of fill-in forms which you can copy and use.
• If you’re handy with a word processor, you can create your own forms following the guidelines provided in Anne Blumer’s guide for professional organizers, Mastering the Business of Organizing. If you can’t find it, you may be able to track down a copy of the original version, Get Rich Organizing.
• Lisa Montanaro applied her expertise as a lawyer and a professional organizer to develop a comprehensive Client Agreement Template for Professional Organizers which you can customize to meet the needs of your business.
• Sara Pedersen offers a set of five essential client forms, including a Client Phone Intake Form, Client Service Agreement Form, Client Assessment Form, Client Action Plan Form, and Client Feedback Survey Form

Creating and Signing Agreements Electronically

Although you can print your agreement or carry a supply of blank forms in your workbag, secure online signature services are more efficient. I’ve been using Signwell for about seven years, and I love how easy it is to use.

I’ve created my own forms and uploaded them as templates, so all I need to do is log in, enter the client’s name and email address, and send it along with an email. I don’t like the default email text, but I’ve saved my own to my computer and simply copy and paste it in before sending.

Once my client has reviewed the agreement and followed the instructions provided to indicate their acceptance, a copy of the e-signed agreement is emailed to me and stored in my account for future reference. I haven’t tried it, but it can even be set to automatically save signed documents to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Signwell even provides a selection of contract and agreement templates that can serve as a good starting point. No matter where you source your template, have a lawyer review it to make sure it meets the legal requirements where you operate and covers the situations that are relevant to your business.

Other services may have different features, so make sure you choose one that meets your needs.

Invoicing and Collecting Payments

Online invoicing has the same benefits as electronic signatures, and more. If you require an up-front deposit, it’s a must.

I’ve found that Zoho Invoice is perfect for creating invoices as well as keeping track of what’s been paid and what’s outstanding. What I love most is that it ties into my preferred payment gateway, so when my clients receive their invoices, all they have to do is click to pay online. It’s  easy for them and usually leads to faster payment, which is good for me. As an added bonus, when they pay that way, my Zoho account is automatically updated to reflect the payment.

There’s even a mobile app so you can issue an invoice while you’re with your client.

Although you still have to pay transaction fees to your provider (options include Stripe, Square, and PayPal, among others), Zoho Invoice itself is free for small businesses.

Other Options

If I were starting a business today, I’d probably look for an all-in-one system such as Dubsado rather than assembling these pieces separately. In addition to forms, agreements, invoicing and payments, you can use it to organize your projects and tasks, schedule appointments, and keep track of potential and existing clients. And it’s all in one place!

There are so many options out there, so please leave a comment to let us know what tools you use and what you like or dislike about them.

Ready to Get Your Organizing Business Off the Ground?

There’s a lot to think about when you’re starting a professional organizing business. From setting your prices and finding clients to managing the paperwork, marketing your services, and staying organized yourself, it can be hard to know where to begin.

My Starting a Professional Organizing Business Resource Guide brings together articles, tools, and resources to help you get your new business off to a solid start.

Photo by Elle Hughes

Visit Your Organizing Business to read Essential Forms and Paperwork for Your Organizing Business and join the conversation.

In September, we’ll take a look at those tools – the ones that make a real difference in keeping our time and space organized. This is your chance to share your insights about a tool that’s been a game-changer for you or your clients, whether it’s a container, planner, app, timer, or something else.

Here’s how it works:

1. Write a blog post about the monthly topic – in this case, Tools That Truly Help. If you’ve written one in the past, most of your work is already done!
2. Submit your post using the form at the end of this post no later than 11:59pm on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
3. You’ll receive an email once the Blog Carnival is published so you can come back and read some or all of the posts contributed by the other bloggers. They’ll be reading yours too, so get ready for lots of comments and social media shares!

Do you offer a product or service that would interest professional organizers, productivity consultants, or their clients?

Maximize your exposure by sponsoring an upcoming edition of the Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival!

Participating in the Blog Carnival is a great way to generate traffic to your blog and it only takes a minute – learn more about the benefits here! To see how it works, take a look at some past editions.

Guidelines:

1. You may submit an article you’ve written and posted on your own blog, a post you’ve written for someone else’s blog, or a guest post on your blog.
2. Multiple entries are allowed if you publish posts by multiple bloggers or guest bloggers on your site, and each entry is by a different author.
3. All submissions must fit into the monthly theme Tools That Truly Help.
4. Submission deadline is 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

The Blog Carnival will be published on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

Please use this form to submit your post. I’m looking forward to reading it, and to helping you get free exposure for your blog!

By participating in the Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival, you agree to receive Your Organizing Business once per week and From the Desk of Janet Barclay no more than once per month. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time.

Photo by HayDmitriy / DepositPhotos

Visit Your Organizing Business to read Call for Submissions: Tools That Truly Help and join the conversation.

With the right approach to small business marketing, those inconsistent inquiries can become steady relationships that respect everyone’s time.

Quick Summary: Attract Clients and Build Loyalty

• Deliver customer service excellence that makes busy clients feel supported, understood, and eager to return.
• Offer loyalty program benefits that reward repeat bookings and strengthen long term relationships.
• Ask for referrals and use clear referral marketing strategies to turn happy clients into steady leads.
• Collect customer feedback and use it to improve your process, pricing, and client experience.
• Stay visible with social media engagement that builds trust and keeps your services top of mind.

Make Before-and-After Photos Look Trustworthy in 10 Minutes

When your loyalty levers are clear, the fastest way to earn attention from busy prospects is to make your results instantly believable at a glance. Enhancing your marketing visuals with AI can help your organizing business create eye-catching social media graphics, advertisements, and promotional images that stop the scroll and nudge people to engage with your brand. One of the easiest upgrades is using an AI image upscaler, which boosts resolution and clarity so your before-and-after photos look crisp, even when you need to enlarge them for a feed post, a flyer, or a simple promo graphic.

The key benefit is that you can scale images up while preserving detail and overall visual quality, instead of ending up with something blurry or pixelated that makes your work feel less professional. If you want a simple example of what that tool does, explore an Adobe Firefly AI photo upscaler online to see how image enhancement can sharpen your visuals quickly. With stronger, cleaner visuals in place, you’re ready to apply a simple playbook that turns that first impression into repeat bookings.

Steal This Simple Playbook to Win Repeat Clients

Busy clients don’t need more marketing noise, they need proof you’re the easiest “yes” on their calendar. Use these small business marketing tactics to turn one great session (and those polished before-and-after photos) into repeat bookings and warm referrals.

1. Script your “exceptional service” so it’s consistent: Pick three touchpoints and make them non-negotiable: a same-day recap message, a simple “what to expect next time” plan, and a 24-hour check-in. This works because clients remember how supported they felt, not just how tidy the pantry looked. Keep each message under 60 seconds to send, and save templates so you can do it even during your busiest week.
2. Launch a tiny customer loyalty program (you can run from a notes app): Start with one clear reward that protects your time, think “book 3 sessions, get a 30-minute maintenance reset” or “priority scheduling for returning clients.” Loyalty isn’t just a nice extra: 72% say loyalty programs make them more likely to spend with a preferred brand, which is exactly what you want when clients are choosing between you and the organizer who’s $25 cheaper. Keep it simple: track sessions, announce progress in your recap message, and set an expiration window (like 6 months) to encourage momentum.
3. Build referral incentive structures that feel like a thank-you, not a sales pitch: Make it specific: “If you refer a friend who books, you both get $25 off your next session” or “a free add-on category (linen closet, car trunk, paperwork) during your next visit.” Give clients a one-sentence text they can forward and a single photo collage from their space, the trust-building before/after you already prepped in 10 minutes. The easier you make sharing, the more referrals happen without awkwardness.
4. Collect effective customer feedback in two minutes, not twenty: Use a three-question check-in after each job: “What felt easiest today?”, “What still feels hard?”, and “What would make next time a 10/10?” Then ask permission to turn one answer into a testimonial. This keeps feedback specific (so you can improve fast) and gives you authentic language you can pair with your visuals in social posts.
5. Turn social media customer engagement into a weekly routine (not a full-time job): Set a 20-minute timer once a week: post one before/after, one quick tip, and one “choose your pain point” poll (paper piles, toy overflow, closet stress). Reply to every comment with a question to start a real conversation, then invite DMs with a simple prompt like, “Want a 15-minute plan for your space?” Engagement works when you’re helpful and present, not perfect.
6. Add two scrappy year-1-to-3 growth moves: a waitlist + a rebook rhythm: Keep a short waitlist (even 5 names) and tell active clients you can “slot them in sooner” if someone reschedules, this creates urgency without pressure. Then set a rebook habit: before you leave, offer two date options for the next session and label it as “maintenance” or “phase two.” When your systems make returning effortless, loyalty and referrals start to feel natural, on both sides.

Marketing & Loyalty Questions New Organizers Ask

Q: What if I’m too new to start a loyalty program?
A: Start small, not fancy. A simple “book 3, earn a bonus reset” works because it rewards consistency and helps clients plan ahead. If you serve younger professionals, it helps to know 85% of consumers age 18 to 35 are members of at least one loyalty program, so the concept already feels familiar.

Q: How do I keep clients coming back when their schedule is chaotic?
A: Offer a next-step option before they disappear into life again, like a standing monthly “maintenance” slot. Make rescheduling painless with two alternative dates and one clear goal for the next visit. Busy people stay loyal to the provider who removes decisions.

Q: Can a referral program feel natural without being awkward?
A: Yes, when it’s framed as appreciation, not promotion. Give them one pre-written text they can copy and a clear, shared perk, because customers are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.

Q: What should I do if feedback is vague or overly positive?
A: Ask for specifics with one focused follow-up: “What should we keep exactly the same next time?” Then add one measurable choice, like “more labels” or “fewer categories,” so you can deliver a visible upgrade.

Build Client Loyalty by Taking One Practical Marketing Step

When time is tight and clients are busy, marketing can feel like one more task that never gets finished, and loyalty can seem like luck instead of something to build. The steadier path is the approach of simple consistency: stay visible, listen well, and follow through in small ways that make people feel cared for. That’s where customer attraction motivation turns into repeat bookings, referrals, and real small business confidence.

Pick one move, give it a deadline, and let momentum do the heavy lifting. Choose one practical marketing step from the ideas above and set a 48-hour window to complete it. This is business owner empowerment in action, and it keeps a growth mindset strong enough to support long-term stability.

Photo © Olivier26 / Depositphotos

Visit Your Organizing Business to read How New Organizers Can Attract Busy Clients and Build Lasting Loyalty and join the conversation.

Now I understand that lasting change isn’t just about finding the right organizing system, it’s about helping people overcome the mental and emotional barriers that keep them stuck. But no one gets that more than the organizers who read this blog!

So, for this month’s Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival, I invited them to submit their blog posts about The Organized Mindset. In response, I received an amazing collection of posts covering decision fatigue, emotional attachment to possessions, limiting beliefs, and other mental roadblocks that stand in the way of lasting organization, and I’m happy to share the wonderful list of contributions that you see below.

As you read, you may wish to share your favorite posts with your follower, leave comments, and connect with the bloggers on social media. It’s a great way to provide your audience with great content while growing your network!

Thanks to everyone who contributed this month!

Join the fun and get free targeted traffic to your blog, by participating in an upcoming Blog Carnival! I’m now accepting submissions for next month, when our topic will be Tools That Truly Help. Submit your post as soon as you’re ready – any time before 11:59 PM EST on September 17, 2026.

Interested in reaching even more readers?

If your product or service would interest professional organizers, productivity consultants, or their clients, consider sponsoring an upcoming edition of the Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival! It’s an excellent way to maximize your exposure and support this growing community.

Photo © Janet Barclay

Visit Your Organizing Business to read The Organized Mindset – Productivity & Organizing Blog Carnival and join the conversation.

Many students lack the organizational tools necessary to handle the multiple classes, assignments, projects, teaching methods, and expectations. This leads to a breakdown in study skills, lower grades, and increased tension between parents and children. What’s a parent to do? Here’s where you, a Professional Organizer, can help decrease the tension by sharing these tips for parents.

Tip #1: Parents Need to Stay Involved

Parents need to stay involved with students of all ages, and at least until their student shows he can manage his own workload. Help their student by creating a routine and habit of the parent checking in with their child each day to review their homework and their projects.

Have them check daily to ensure their child has completed his work and packed it in his backpack or binder.  When the student returns from school, make sure he’s turned it in. If the student is learning remotely, make sure it is turned in electronically.

For most kids, these daily checks will become habits before long, and the parent will be able to relinquish the responsibility.

Tip #2: Make Homework Routine

You can help by making sure the student has a suitable space to work without distractions and with homework supplies nearby. Find a place that’s comfortable but not so comfortable he’ll fall asleep.

Create a routine of setting aside a regular time for doing homework, not just “sometime tonight.” Have a specific time, so that gets developed into their routine and then becomes a habit.

Tip #3: Use Tools Wisely

Most middle school students use binders and planners, but many don’t use them effectively. Help them to choose a binder with several pockets, then designate the pockets as follows: One for each subject, to hold all completed assignments the teacher has returned; one for all homework to complete, so it’s easy to see what needs to be done; and one for homework to turn in, which should be empty at the end of each day.

With planners, suggest finding one that shows a week-at-a-glance, with blank headings for columns and rows (also known as a teacher planner). Designate each column as a day of the week and each row as a subject area or class. Include a row for extracurricular activities as well. This way, students can see everything they have to do each day.

If one day looks heavy and another light (no assignments in one class or no extracurricular activities, for example), help your student determine how to use time on the light day to make the heavier day less hectic. Instruct the student to highlight completed assignments in the planner, and check them off once they’re turned in, so you can quickly scan the week for anything not completed and turned in.

Tip #4: Teach Time Management

It’s the rare middle school student who can gauge how much time an assignment will take. Suggest your student use a timer to develop the skill.

If they time themselves reading a fifteen-page chapter, for example, they’ll have a good idea how long to allocate when they have to read thirty pages, sixty pages, or more.

Plan their week every Sunday night or sometime over the weekend. Instruct the student to write in their planner any known commitments and assignments. Also, review what materials might be needed for projects during the week.

Tip #5: Teach Project Management

With longer projects, planners are essential. Suggest students subtract two days from the project’s due date for each week they have to work on it. (For a three-week assignment, for example, subtract six days and consider the new date as the due date.) This gives the student a buffer if anything comes up to throw him off schedule. From there, help your student work backward in his planner to create shorter-term goals, such as “purchase materials,” “complete outline,” “finish the first draft,” etc. This helps them manage their progress along the way and avoid a frantic rush to finish at the end.

Tip #6: Help Them Find Their Own Way

I have learned from my own experience that what works for me and works for my son and works for my husband doesn’t work for my daughter. If your client’s method of organization isn’t working for your student, help her brainstorm a different way that will work for their child.

Parents need additional help more than ever with their children/students. You, a Professional Organizer, can help them get their school year started off smoothly with these six tips. Reach out to your clients now to schedule a student organizing session.

Photo © olenahs2.gmail.com / depositphotos

Visit Your Organizing Business to read Working with Students and join the conversation.

I responded to the first question with an excerpt from a speech my sister Kathy made at a party in my honour.

How many children do you know who carefully arrange their green beans in tidy rows on their high-chair trays before eating them? Or who, years later, still line up their french fries from shortest to longest? Perhaps I exaggerate, but our dad did once ask Janet, “Have you ever enjoyed a hot meal?”

I wasn’t aware of this tendency until I was in my 20’s, but this was still long before I considered organizing as a career. I do remember visiting a friend in her university dorm room, and she had all her shelves labelled as to what belonged on each shelf, and I thought that was pretty neat (no pun intended). Ten or so years later, I bought Bonnie McCullough’s book, Totally Organized and found it very helpful for getting my house in order, and when I went to re-read it some time later, I was pleasantly surprised to realize I had already incorporated most of the ideas into my life. I continued to read and enjoy organizing books for several years after that.

While working as a career counselor, I learned about personality type and discovered that I naturally prefer structure, planning, and order. In In frameworks such as Myers-Briggs, True Colors, or Personality Dimensions, these traits are often associated with people who like schedules, systems, and organization. While personality may influence our preferences, it doesn’t determine whether we can become organized — or whether we can help others become organized.

My short answer would therefore be “yes” some people are born organized, and I am one of those people.

However, this does not mean that if you’re not born organized that you can’t acquire the skills. In fact, I remember a very enjoyable discussion at a POC Conference about “born organizers” and “born again organizers.” The latter referred to people who had learned to become organized and were now helping others do the same. (The expression was about their organizing journey, not their religious affiliation.)

You definitely don’t have to be “born organized” to become a professional organizer!

I once worked with an organizer who lived with chronic disorganization as a result of multiple sclerosis, and she used her experience to assist others in similar situations. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to continue with her business as her MS symptoms worsened, but she was a shining example of how someone who wasn’t born organized can become a professional organizer. Since that time, I’ve come to know many other organizing consultants who are successful because, having walked in their clients’ shoes, they have a thorough understanding of what it’s like to struggle with organizational challenges, and have developed specialized strategies for overcoming those challenges.

Keep in mind that fitting into one category or the other doesn’t necessarily mean you can help others effectively. If you’re a naturally organized left-brained thinker, systems that seem straightforward to you may not make sense to a right-brained creative person. The key is always to develop a solution that works for your client. Fortunately, there are now plenty of educational opportunities available for anyone wanting to learn how to help others get and stay organized.

What about you? Have you always been organized, or is it a skill you developed over time?

Photo by  dalivl@yandex.ru / DepositPhotos

Visit Your Organizing Business to read Were You Born Organized? and join the conversation.

Has it been months since you updated your blog because you were just too busy? 

Have you avoided starting a blog because you can’t figure out how to squeeze it into your already busy schedule? 

You’re definitely not alone. 

When I asked the Blogging Organizers group, “What is your biggest blogging challenge?” by far the most common answer was “making time to blog.” 

The good news is that blogging doesn’t have to consume your life. With a little planning and a few simple systems, you can create valuable content without spending hours staring at a blank screen. Here’s the approach I’ve used while publishing at least one post a week for nearly 20 years.  

Writing a blog post involves several different tasks, but you don’t have to do them all in one sitting. In fact, if you’re struggling to find time to blog, I recommend that you don’t. 

Let’s break those tasks down into five phases: Planning, Writing, Illustrating, Publishing, and Promoting.

One of the best time-saving strategies is to batch similar tasks. Instead of completing every step for one blog post before starting the next, try batching similar tasks. Brainstorm several topics in one sitting, write outlines for multiple posts another day, then edit or create graphics in batches. You’ll spend less time switching between different types of work and more time making real progress.

Planning

One of the biggest time-wasters is sitting down to write without a blogging plan. Spending a few minutes planning ahead can save you hours later.  

Set a Goal

For your blog to bring the results you need, before you even decide what to write about, you need to know why you’re writing it. Which of your business objectives will it relate to: more email subscribers, industry recognition, new clients, or something else altogether? 

When you know what you want a post to accomplish, it’s much easier to decide what belongs in it—and what doesn’t.  

Start an Ideas List

You can waste hours considering different ideas and finally starting to write about a particular topic, only to realize you need to do more research or you’re just not excited about it. Fortunately, you can prevent this from happening with a little planning. 

The following brainstorming methods will help you to generate hundreds of blogging ideas. 

• Answer questions clients often ask 
• Draw inspiration from books, movies, or current events 
• Look at what people are discussing on social media 
• Repurpose existing content 
• Ask ChatGPT or another AI assistant for ideas. Here’s a suggested prompt:
  
  I am a professional organizer specializing in custom closet design. I need topic ideas for my blog that will showcase my expertise and make clients want to hire me. 

As you’re brainstorming, capture as many blogging ideas as possible. Keep a list of possible topics in a notebook or your favorite notes app. Choose something you can easily update when new ideas come to you.  

Create a Schedule

Next, plan what you will blog about in the coming weeks. You may find it helpful to select a theme to focus on for a few weeks so you’re not just churning out random content. Doing this also creates a kind of flow from one post to the next, increasing reader engagement. 

There are a lot of different tools you can use to keep track of your blogging schedule. The one you choose is a matter of personal preference, but here are a few options. 

I currently use a paper planner which is dedicated to blogging and social media, but use whatever system you’ll actually keep updated – a digital calendar, a Google Sheet, or even a wall calendar.  

Knowing what you’re going to blog about before your writing session will give you a huge jump-start. 

Writing

Many bloggers are paralyzed by perfectionism. Spelling, grammar, and clarity are important, but don’t let them interfere with your writing process. When you’re working on your first draft, just let the ideas flow. It’s okay to use point forms, abbreviations, or even doodles at this point. 

If you get stuck, set it aside and come back later. When you come back to it, you may feel more inspired, or you may decide it wasn’t a such a great idea after all. That’s okay, but don’t discard what you’ve done. You may be able to use it for another post in the future. 

Set a timer for 30–60 minutes and focus only on writing. If you’re new to time blocking, set shorter intervals (such as 15 minutes) so you can decide whether to continue or switch to another task.  

Only when your ideas are fully fleshed out should you go back and edit for spelling, grammar, and clarity. It’s even better to let someone else look it over, either another person or an AI assistant, because it’s easy to overlook your own mistakes. 

You may find it helpful to paste your draft into ChatGPT and ask for suggestions. Just remember, these are only suggestions. If you don’t agree with something, or it doesn’t feel authentic, go with your gut. 

Illustrating

These days visuals are an important component of blogging. But instead of spending hours looking for just the right stock photo for your post, consider other options: 

• your own photos (make sure they’re in focus and not over- or underexposed)
• Canva or Snappa
• AI-generated images (when appropriate) 

If you prefer using stock photos, choose a service with good search tools, like Depositphotos. Spending a dollar or two on the right image is better than endlessly searching free photo sites. 

Publishing

Many bloggers love to write, but struggle with the technology involved with getting their posts onto their blogs.  

If this sounds like you, consider formatting, image optimization, and publishing to a virtual assistant or website professional so you can focus on creating great content.  

Promoting

Your work isn’t done once your post is published! All that hard work you’ve done planning and writing will go to waste if nobody reads it. Many successful bloggers spend more time promoting their posts than writing them! 

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to promote your blog posts, and many of them don’t take all that much time. Here are just a few possibilities: 

• Use Jetpack or Zapier to automatically share your new posts on your social media profiles
• Use Buffer to schedule additional social media posts 
• Use Hiplay or Recurpost to automatically repost the content you select 
• Use Mailchimp to automatically send your new posts to your email subscribers 
• Join a blogging community where members are committed to sharing each others’ posts – there’s power in numbers! 

And don’t make the mistake of only promoting your latest post – most of your posts will still have value long after they’ve been published. 

Saving time doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means creating a blogging process you can stick with consistently. 

You don’t have to implement every strategy at once. Pick one or two that fit your workflow and build from there.  

Which of these strategies already works well for you? Is there another time-saving blogging tip you’d add? Share your thoughts in the comments.  

Photo © IgorTishenko /Depositphotos 

Visit Your Organizing Business to read How to Save Time Blogging and join the conversation.