I love turning lemons into lemonade, and I love turning a messy, chaotic room into a place of order and peace. And it's not just that I enjoy it... It actually gives me a rush of happy adrenaline. If I'm in a bad mood, give me a messy closet to organize and clean, and I transform into a happy person.
When I married Jeff, his (our) home had been without a woman's touch for three years. So maybe you can imagine how much I, as a new wife, longed to not only clean the place up, but also put my own touches on it, making it my own! I remember the first week we were back from our honeymoon, I dove into the kitchen cabinets with passion, throwing away out-of-date cans of diced tomatoes, wiping down the cabinet doors, and re-organizing everything in a way that made things more efficient and aesthetically pleasing. I attacked each room after that with the same passion - the living room, rec room, guest room, office. Oh my, but I loved redoing that office! Last but not least was the basement ~ that scary place full of memorabilia and old clothes, seasonal decorations and junk. And when all of these things are mixed up together, organizing it all is pretty intimidating. After Jeff and the kids helped me separate all their stuff into the various categories (trash, Goodwill, keep), I set myself loose. And oh my goodness, was it fun! I woke up on those days with energy and enthusiasm, knowing that I was going to pour myself into the productive and rewarding project of transforming that messy basement into a place of order and peace.
When the basement was finished, I realized I had run out of things to organize in our home! (Well, there are Kiff's and Phil's rooms, but that's another story - and those rooms aren't really my territory!) And it occurred to me that I could do this for other people too - and make a little money at the same time. So that's what I'm about to try to do.
It's actually a burgeoning business. Five or ten years ago, the idea of hiring a professional organizer wasn't too common. But these days, it's a different picture. And I think I'd like in on the action. :)
I've been thinking I might call it Sylvia Case Organizing. Nice and simple and to the point. (Funny how my new last name fits this idea so well!)
I've been reading How to Start a Home-Based Professional Organizing Business and doing some online research. My next step is to offer my services free of charge to several friends in exchange for before and after photos and their testimonials. Then I'll start up a simple website and a Facebook page for my business, and go from there! It's nice that my overhead will be practically non-existent!
It's exciting and, to be honest, a little intimidating. But.... one step at a time. :)
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