The corridor full of junk, the same bottle of body lotion in your bathroom cabinet and five cheese slicers for six years: junk can cause mental cloudy. That is why Professional Organizers are becoming increasingly popular. “Most people can do it themselves, but don’t.”
Stuff that has no ‘home’ in the house will wander. Place the rubber bands at the rubber bands, put all the duplicate in one basket and put seven of your nine scissors or tin openers away. Make sure that everything is bundled and labeled and has its own place. And put everything back consistently.
Does that sound like a rather big task? That’s for many people, say Professional Organizers Mette Rasmussen and Linda from Aubel from Tidy. So we often don’t do it.
“Stuff becomes mental ballast for many people. The idea of that full attic makes them gloomy. They move things from one place to another and buy a new ski helmet or the umpteenth bottle opener, because they can’t find the old one.” They are unable to get the house in order.
Not only a taxi or babysitter, but also an organizer
Enable someone who cleans up your house and categorizes everything for you, you might have to be a threshold for that. From Aubel: “Some customers who engage us can probably do it themselves, but their priority is somewhere else.”
In the US it is quite normal, say the Tidy organizers. But many Dutch people find it a superfluous luxury, something that they should be able to do. “That this is a service that you can simply take – just like a taxi, babysitter or cleaning lady – that realization is now coming.”
Tips for if you want to tackle it yourself:
‘I often have to explain what we do’
The Dutch Professional Association for Personal Organizers (NBPO) has been around for about 26 years, says chairman and professional cleaner Yvette Vermeulen. The number of members is growing and that could well have to do with popular Netflix shows such as Get Organized With The Home Edit of Tidying Up With Marie Kondo , she thinks.
“Enabling an organizer is becoming increasingly popular. But it is certainly not a known profession. I often have to explain what we do.” They come to private individuals and companies, but especially with people who need care.
If you are sick, by age or not mobile, or if, for example, autism or ADHD, make it difficult to create order in your house, then organizers are called in with the WMO budget of the municipality. “But actually I think everyone can use a professional organizer,” says Vermeulen.
What do we do wrong if we perish in our own chaos? Stuff does not have their own place, that’s what it starts according to Tidy’s organizers. “We have too few storage spots, families change, a child is added or a hobby with lots of new things. Stuff has an emotional value and you will not get yourself struggled through the mountain of photo albums or baby clothes.”
Cleaning up is a talent
Houses then close, Vermeulen adds. Especially if you like color, books, things, trinkets and a typical villa Kakelbont device. “Cleaning up and organizing, you don’t learn that at school. It is a talent or you have learned it from an early age and you love it.”
According to Vermeulen, women around sixty or seventy are often good at it, because these skills were expected from their mothers and those who have been given knowledge.
These cleaners think that you can learn it. The intention is to invite a professional organizer only once or twice. From Aubel: “We are trying to create a system for a longer period of time that is functional, so you train yourself to keep track of this. Sometimes we come back to our customers after half a year to update the system.”
The hallway full of junk, the same bottle of body lotion in your bathroom cabinet for six years, and five cheese slicers: clutter can cause mental cloudiness. That’s why professional organizers are becoming increasingly popular. “Most people can do it themselves, but they don’t.”
Items that don’t have a ‘home’ in the house start to wander. Put the elastics with the elastics, put all the DUPLO in one basket, and get rid of seven of your nine pairs of scissors or can openers. Make sure everything is bundled, labeled, and has its own place. And always put everything back.
Does that sound like a rather big task? It is for many people, say professional organizers Mette Rasmussen and Linda van Aubel of TIDY. So we often don’t do it.
“Items become mental baggage for many people. The idea of that full attic makes them gloomy. They move things from one place to another and buy another new ski helmet or the umpteenth bottle opener because they can’t find the old one.” They can’t manage to really get the house in order.
Not just a taxi or babysitter, but also an organizer
Hiring someone to clean up your house and categorize everything for you might be a threshold to overcome. Van Aubel: “Some clients who hire us can probably do it themselves, but their priority lies elsewhere.”
In the US, it’s quite normal, say the TIDY organizers. But many Dutch people find it an unnecessary luxury, something they should be able to do themselves. “The realization that this is a service you can simply purchase – just like a taxi, babysitter, or cleaner – is now beginning to dawn.”
Tips if you want to tackle it yourself:
‘I often have to explain what we do’
The Dutch Professional Association for Personal Organizers (NBPO) has been around for about 26 years now, says chairman and professional cleaner Yvette Vermeulen. The number of members is growing, and that might have something to do with popular Netflix shows like Get Organized with The Home Edit or Tidying Up with Marie Kondo , she thinks.
“Hiring an organizer is becoming increasingly popular. But it’s certainly not a well-known profession. I often have to explain what we do.” They visit individuals and companies, but especially people who need care.
If you are sick, elderly, or not mobile, or if, for example, autism or ADHD make it difficult to create order in your home, organizers are hired with the Wmo budget from the municipality. “But actually, I think everyone can use a professional organizer,” says Vermeulen.
What are we doing wrong when we are overwhelmed by our own chaos? Items don’t have their own place, that’s where it starts, according to the organizers of TIDY. “We have too few storage spaces, families change, a child comes along, or a hobby with many new items. Items have emotional value, and you can’t bring yourself to work through the mountain of photo books or baby clothes.”
Tidying up is a talent
Houses then grow closed, Vermeulen adds. Especially if you like color, books, items, trinkets, and a typical Villa Kakelbont interior. “Tidying up and organizing, you don’t learn that at school. It’s a talent, or you learned it from a young age and you love it.”
Women around sixty or seventy are often good at it, according to Vermeulen, because these skills were expected from their mothers, and they have received that knowledge.
These cleaners think you can learn it. The intention is also to invite a professional organizer only once or twice. Van Aubel: “We try to create a system that is functional for a longer period, so you train yourself to keep it up. Sometimes we come back to our clients after a year or half a year to update the system.”