Professional Organizers help people get unstuck with the stuff that is clogging up their life. There are several steps to this process, and a Professional Organizer can help with any or all of them. These steps include:

• A consultation and development of a plan
• Working sessions of de-cluttering and organizing with you
• Discussing long term maintenance

Every situation is different, and a Professional Organizer who has the training and experience will be able to help you work through the necessary steps.

I will not make you throw anything away. It is your stuff, and you will make the decisions about your items. I will help guide you through those decisions, to think about if it makes sense to keep the items. Does it serve a need for you? Do you use it? Does it bring you joy? I will help you think about where it can go-donated, recycled, given to a friend or family member, possibly sold, or if it does need to go in the trash. I like to recycle as much as possible, however sometimes items will need to be tossed.

TV can be a great resource and does have a wealth of information about organizing. However, de-cluttering and organizing does take longer than a 30 minute TV show. Remember the TV show, Bewitched? I loved watching that show when I was growing up. I loved pretending to be Samantha Stevens and wiggle my nose and everything magically disappears and looks great. However, organizing and de-cluttering are processes and take time.

As in most industries, education and certification becomes a recognized and accepted part of the industry. The first time Professional Organizers could take part of becoming certified was in 2007. About 250 Professional Organizers from around the world took the exam, and Vickie was fortunate to be a member of that inaugural group. Vickie continually takes CEU classes, and attends her local and national chapter meetings and conferences. She believes that education on a continuing basis serves to make her a better Professional Organizer who can better serve our clients. Just like you would probably like to have a certified financial planner helping you with your finances, why not have a Certified Professional Organizer helping you manage your stuff?

CPO-CD® stands for Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization. Vickie was a Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) already and took further steps to educate herself more in chronic disorganization. She has been a professional organizer since 2002 and the CPO-CD®® certification enhanced her skills. The year-and-a-half study program included an in-depth study in chronic disorganization. The CPO-CD® certification is similar to receiving your "master's degree" in organizing. The CPO-CD® certification program was one of the best personal and professional growth experiences Vickie has had. She utilizes her experience and education to help our clients with their organizing issues. She has worked with clients who have special needs such as hoarding, depression, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and diabetes—which tend to deepen issues with disorganization. Vickie was the first CPO-CD® in Western Pennsylvania.

Solving a hoarding situation is not a simple matter of throwing out the stuff and cleaning up. Hoarding is a difficult situation and usually requires a Professional Organizer who has some training and experience in working with clients who hoard. If the Professional Organizer does not have the proper education or experience, they may be getting into something that is over their head, and it may cause some harm to the client. It would not be intentional, however they may not realize the issues that surround the difficult situation of hoarding.

At Organization Rules, I pride myself on:

• Education
  I am committed to education. I am a Certified Professional Organizer and a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization. I continues to update my skills and receive education about the organizing industry by attending local and national conferences and taking CEU classes on a regular basis. Being educated on the emotional needs are just as important.
  
  
• Experience
  There is no substitute for experience. Organization Rules has been in business since 2002. I also bring experience from nursing and social services. During that time, countless clients have benefited from my services.
  
  
• Compassion
  "Compassionate Organizing for Every Stage of Your Life" is not just a tagline for our business, I genuinely mean it. Compassion is something that cannot be taught. I not only treat all of my clients with respect, but also understand that life situations bring many different emotions to clients, and everyone has unique reactions to those situations. Striking a balance between dealing with the emotional and physical aspects of situations is something that I pride myself on.
  
  

Every situation is different, and deserves to receive the attention and care particular to the situation.