The holidays are quickly approaching and with that, our mindsets may be shifting for the new season. The day-to-day pace is faster, the workdays feel shorter, and the year is hastily nearing to a close.

As we continue to shift from month to month and holiday to holiday, we remind ourselves of the many blessings we have encountered in 2021. That first one being, that we survived a year like the last in 2020. The second, being the incredible expert organizers who have stuck by Me In Order’s side throughout the chaos and unknown.

One person whom we can’t thank enough is our resident Certified Expert Organizer®, Education and Mentorship Leader, and Me In Order co-founder: none other than, Kelly Barber.

Kelly has been our fearless leader and someone other Experts aspire to be in the organizing industry. Without her perseverance, mentorship, and steadfast work ethic, who knows what would have happened this year! We are endlessly grateful for her and therefore, we are so excited to dub her our Organizer of the Month! Join us in congratulating her and learning more about what makes her such an incredible asset to our team:

Q1.) Describe your organizing career. How have you gotten to this point?

Kelly: Becoming an organizer was happenstance, I was given the opportunity to get outside of my comfort zone and think about what I really wanted to do. I knew I enjoyed helping people and I knew I was pretty good at solving problems. After some research, organizing is where I landed. That was over 15yrs ago! Getting to this point has been a combination of having a great support system when it comes to the administration part of being an organizer. I love being in clients’ homes and helping them but I’m not a big fan of the “back-end stuff” so having the Me In Order team behind me to handle that part makes it much easier and allows me to give my best to client’s projects. 

Q2.) What is the most important thing you have learned since you first started in the organizing industry?

Kelly: You can never stop learning! The organizing principles are the same but being able to articulate them to a variety of people in different settings is key. Every client is different, every situation is different…there may be similarities, but they are different and the more you know the better you can serve your client. So, I am constantly learning!

Q3.) What helps you get through the craziness of day-to-day organizing work?

Kelly: Because every project is different there is no real craziness of day-to-day organizing. There are definitely weeks that I feel like “how am I going to meet everyone’s needs” and it can become a bit overwhelming but somehow it always works out. Because of the nature of the business, there are many times that a cancellation or rescheduling occurs so that helps alleviate some of the overwhelm. I also have learned over the years to make sure I am taking some time for myself and my family. And that has changed over the years. On a daily basis, I am making sure I am moving my body because it helps clear my mind and keep me healthy to deal with the overwhelming weeks. 

Q4.) What advice would you give a new organizer entering the field?

Kelly: The love to organize is different than helping others get organized. As an Expert Organizer, you are working to create organizing systems that work for the client and their needs, not your own needs…which is different. I think that is the hardest thing I have seen others entering this fieldwork through. That’s why constant learning is so important. Another, important piece of advice is building an organizing business takes time. In your research, you may see that Organizers charge XX and you may think that you can make great money in this field but there are a lot of factors that you don’t see. There are hidden costs and there are ups and downs for quite some time until you really develop your business.

Q5.) Where do you see the organizing industry changing in the next 5-10 years?

Kelly: Just like the last 5 to 10 years, the Organizing Industry will continue to grow. In the last few years, many Organizers had to pivot their businesses to Virtual Organizing which has opened a whole other avenue in this industry and for some, it has proven to be successful and for others not so much, but I don’t see that avenue going away. As a whole, I think the Professional Organizing industry is still in its infancy stage but with the help of reality TV and social media as well as marketing from larger Organizing businesses and platforms, more and more people are finding there is help out there for them.

Wow. From the true Expert herself, we truly appreciate all the guidance and experience that Kelly can offer us. We look forward to her continued excellence in bringing peace to those who truly need it.

Want to know more about Certified Expert Organizer® Kelly? Click here to get to know Kelly and schedule a consultation today!

And, if you want to be like Kelly, contact Me In Order today! Get started on your new chapter as an Expert Organizer and start finding your way in the organizing industry. Want to learn more? Click Here!