Get Organized in 2008
written by Kelly Metz
After organizing a classroom for 13 years, Susan Hunsberger has now made a business out of organizing whole houses, individual rooms and even offices.
Hunsberger is a Professional Organizer who meets with clients to discuss individual organizing styles and helps with everyday clutter, downsizing and overall enjoyment of space.
“I always thought about things organizationally,” she said. “My dad would take me on trips and several times throughout the trip, I would empty out my purse to reorganize.”
Hunsberger got into the business last summer from a casual conversation with her mother about a friend who helped people de-clutter and become organized. She realized shortly after the conversation this job was something to pursue.
She now has clients in Chicago, Columbus and hopes to expand from Bluffton to Findlay and Lima.
Not only are the locations diverse, but the clients are as well, ranging from parents, kids, couples and older people, all looking to downsize or reorganize.
“My audience and clientele are quite broad, not only in ages but in organizing styles,” she said. “Many people have a style, they are just trying to look for a new opinion or help when something is not working in their space.”
People are generally categorized differently as far as “neat freaks” or “pack rats” but the role of the organizer is not to judge, she said. The role of the organizer is to help with needs and develop a system that works.
To better suit individual needs, Hunsberger walks into a project, not with the goal of telling a client how to organize or what to organize, but instead, to accommodate and help the client enjoy the living or working space.
“I just want people to be happy in their space and so far I feel everybody I’ve worked with has been happy,” she said. “The clients say they have the energy to continue working on a project and many clients still continue with the new organizing methods.”
Having happy and more content clients is a goal of Hunsberger and the best way to make happy clients is developing a system that fits their own personality and not the personality of the organizer.
“I do not change something that is not mine to change but if I am in a space, I will think of different ways to become organized without the client losing their own sense of self and style.”
In some ways, organizing can become difficult when working with couples with individual styles. Hunsberger works with these couples together to sort out differences and find a happy medium. This generally makes for a better and more pleasant living environment.
Even a child as young as four-years-old can walk into a room and feel happier with completed spaces, Hunsberger said when discussing a newly revamped playroom.
“The age of the client does not matter, it just depends on better feelings in their own space.”
Hunsberger is now involved with The National Association of Professional Organizers and has used many ideas from newsletters and books to organize other people.
“Many organizers might go into a room and think of their own individual ways of organizing,” she said. “I know how to organize myself but I also know that is not what the business is about. I am not going into a room looking for the client to like my habits, but instead to develop their own.”
If you have a room that is messy or cluttered, Susan Hunsberger, whom lives at 124 W. Kibler St, Bluffton, may be reached at 419-296-2602 or by e-mail at: organize@susanhunsberger.com
Susan Hunsberger will discuss organizing homes, offices, furniture, classrooms, information and collections in a talk at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17.
TIPS – Assign a specific home for items in the area or space. Usually, items have a home that might not work as well. Find something that works and stick with it. When organizing a big project, break down the project into steps. In a home for instance, decide on one room to start or part of a room. In many cases, a person does not have to buy bins or shelves to organize. A lot of the time, simple items at home can be used as long as they make sense.
