Spring is almost over and summer well on its way. If you haven’t done your spring cleaning by now, you may need some help.

Who do you call for help? A professional organizer.

A professional organizer will come to your home or business and help you organize your space so that you are no longer overwhelmed by your cluttered surroundings. They will attack the office, the garage, the kitchen, the craft room or the entire home — whatever needs to be organized.

Kayla Williams is owner of The Organizer Group, a company she conceived while sitting in the floor of her own closet. 

“I have always been organized and I have always enjoyed organizing.” Williams said

While organizing her closet, she realized that organizing is what she wanted to do to make a living. Fearful that she could not earn enough money selling her services, she began the new career as a part-time venture. Eventually she quit her job as a loan officer in a bank and began helping people get organized full time.

The first step to becoming organized is taking an inventory and “downsizing,” she said. Making decisions can be stressful, so Williams asks questions to help the owner.

People often hang on to items that they don’t need or want for sentimental reasons or because someone gave it to them and they are afraid they will hurt the person’s feelings if they don’t keep the “gift.”

“Bless it and let it go,” Williams said.

A very spiritual person and a believer in God, Williams truly means to give the item your blessing and let it go.

“I see the whole project as an elephant, but it must be reduced to manageable pieces or it would be overwhelming” she said. “I like to begin with a bookshelf or closet.”  

After the downsizing or “letting go” process, products that are designed for organizing are selected based on the remaining items. These organizing products may include drawer liners, drawer sections, boxes, bins, clothes hangers, etc. Remaining items are returned to drawers, cabinets and closets in their newly organized state of containment.

The next professional organizer I visited with was Rachel Loza. From a background in sports medicine to an intrinsic coach, she has been a member of the Organize Dallas Team for nearly a decade.  She has even appeared on the T.V. show “Hoarders.” 

We all know from our “talk show degrees” that true hoarding is a psychological disorder,  and while few of us fall into that category, many of us tend to hang on to possessions far too long, creating a messy and disorganized environment. 

I asked Loza why it is so difficult for many of us to let go of our possessions.

“There are many reasons why people are attached to possessions,” Loza said. “My grandparents’ reason for keeping what they acquired is likely different from my reasons as a 30 year old.  My grandparents lived through the Great Depression and that was a period when if you attained something, you hung on to it,” she added.

Some people are fearful that when they retire, they won’t have enough, so they better keep what they have. 

Although most people need to “downsize,” Loza also believers that a home is a sentimental space and some possessions just makes you happy because of the memories associated with it.  That is reason enough to keep it.

"But where the rubber meets the road is when you cling to so much that you have outgrown your space,” she said. 

Like Williams, Loza is a very spiritual person with a strong relationship with God.  Her goal is to help empower people, not judge them for being messy.

Many people are simply tired and overworked and have too much on their plate, but once organized, the load is lightened.   

After visiting with these ladies, I am inspired to get my home and office in shape. I have done my homework so now it is time to get started taking inventory and downsizing, so I can get on with becoming organized and clutter-free.

Starting in the kitchen, I stand and stare into my pantry at the well over 50 cookbooks I have collected through the years, but never use.  I take one book off the shelf titled, “Some Fruits and Recipes of Jamaica.”

I remember the cookbook well.  I bought it in Montego Bay on my honeymoon over 40 years ago. I flip through the pages and look at some of the recipes.  “When was the last time I made a soursop soufflé?” I wondered as I closed the book and returned it to the shelf.