What Do You Do? podcast
Kath Holmes | Professional Organiser | Uncluttered by Kath
I imagine you’re reading this having never realised that Professional Organiser is a job that actually exists. With only 400 of them in the UK, it’s not surprising you may never have heard of them. Made popular by TV shows both here and in the US, professional organising has grown into a legitimate and in-demand profession, with both accreditations and a full-on Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers.
Key Takeaways
- Professional organisation is more than just ‘getting rid of stuff’. It’s a process that helps people emotionally come to terms with saying goodbye to their items.
- Reducing the amount of items in the home contributes significantly to reduced mental load.
- Small intentional routines are key to keeping our spaces tidy and organised.
The Role of a Professional Organiser
Life Gets in the Way
I’m an organised person. Yes, there’s a limit where I go ‘close enough’ and stop, but wherever I’ve lived has always been clean and tidy. And I thought that would always be the case. No matter the size of the project, I could just dip into it whenever I had chance and get it done.
But then we moved house and immediately found out we were pregnant. Suddenly the vague amount of time I had to do the DIY – and get the new house right – and finding a home for all the stuff in the unpacked boxes became a hard deadline. It turned into a very stressful situation.
I wish in that scenario I’d known about professional organisers.
They aren’t there to help you forever. They’re there to help you solve a particular issue and leave you with a clean space. As Kath states in the podcast, she hopes “one day there’s a world where her job isn’t needed as much”.
A Difficult Burden
The other side of the coin when it comes to professional organising is when a loved one passes away. If a partner passes away, that’s a house half-full of stuff. If a parent passes away, it’s a whole house. Whatever the size of the job, every item is potentially charged with some very emotional energy.
Kath’s technique is to suggest documenting items that have fond memories rather than keeping them (similar to preservation by record). That way you can keep the memories that the item resurfaces intact, without taking up precious storage space.
No matter the reason for needing a professional organiser, the weight off your shoulders, and reduced mental load, will make your life a lot easier.
What Do We Do?
We founded the What Do You Do? podcast to hear from people like Kath, whose job is so niche that many people may not realise it even exists.
Videos, like the one above, are a great way to raise awareness of people, services, or causes – find out how we can do it here.
written by
Videographer and video producer with over 15 years experience in both B2B and B2C video marketing. He writes about everything he learned delivering over 1200 video projects across the engineering, education, charity and tech sectors.
