How can someone help you get organized from far away?
Professional organizing has traditionally been a hands-on, in-person business. But RETHINK opened in 2020 at a time when businesses were pivoting to a new way of working.
Virtual organizing is working with a professional organizer during agreed upon meeting times for a video or phone call, and discussing your organizing issue. I talk with you to solve your problems and take a lot of notes. After the call ends, I'll email those notes to you for your reference, and you'll keep working on your project in your own home or office. We'll meet again usually for a series of meetings until your project is concluded.
Virtual organizing came naturally to me because I learned to work remotely a decade earlier when I relocated from Texas to Pennsylvania for my job. I managed remote teams and worked for remote managers. Communication skills and related technology (like teleconferencing, email, and video) became second nature to me in 2010.
But just because I am used to it doesn't mean everyone is.
Not every job – nor every client – will work well remotely.
What are the benefits? And will it work for you?
4 Benefits of Virtual Organizing
1. Written resources are particularly useful for reference.
When you're working in-person, side-by-side, learning happens organically. People learn by doing.
Working virtually means more written documentation for you to reference between sessions.
By necessity, the written word becomes more vital as the verbal word is limited.
Reports and lists work well during the project and remain helpful for future reference or as a refresher.
2. Shorter sessions can be less overwhelming.
In-person sessions are minimum 3 hours. A Zoom call can rarely be longer than 60 minutes. The attention span for video work cannot be sustained for long periods.
So virtual sessions literally take less time.
That said, it is recommended that you block the same 3-4 hours of your time overall for each session you spend online.
Spend the first hour in the session while the organizer shares information and you both take notes. And then continue working on your own after you hang up.
3. You can work with any virtual organizer.
If you are working with a virtual organizer, they can be anywhere in the world and you are not limited to local options.
4. Privacy.
Not having someone in your home is not always about health and safety.
Sometimes there are spaces you really would rather other people never see.
While I will always offer full confidentiality and zero judgment, it can be nice to keep some things to yourself.
What makes a good virtual organizing client?
1. Be comfortable with technology.
Telephone, photo and video, and emailing comfort is important.
You don’t need to be a tech-wizard or work in IT, but you do have to be comfortable working a computer, sending emails, and using online video communication.
You also need to be comfortable making payments online, have a credit card, or mail timely check payments via snail mail.
2. Be a Do-It-Yourself personality and physically capable.
Your organizer will not be with you to do the work with and for you, so you must do it yourself.
While I would be there to lift down heavy boxes in person, you must do it yourself or have someone available to do it for you.
Also, time during sessions will be limited. I will document work plans and between sessions you'll have homework assignments that must be completed to see progress.
3. Be someone who wants to make a change.
The single most important characteristic is to want to make a change.
This is true for in-person organizing as well, but in a virtual project it is absolutely crucial.
If you are not committed to changing you will not do it, and there will be no one there with you to cajole or do it for you.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
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