As a single mother who runs her cleaning service from home, Joy Shockley keeps her Huntington Lakes apartment spotless.

Well, almost spotless.

 

Her home office – a desk in the corner of her kitchen with a computer camouflaged by unopened mail and unfiled business receipts precariously piled on the top shelves – is her weakness.

 

“(Paperwork) is just something that I have a mental block on. I just don’t want to deal with it,” Shockley said.

 

So for the second time in a year, she called on friend and professional organizer Tracy Colleran to help her deal with the cluttered corner.

 

“Being organized isn’t necessarily the same to everybody,” explains Colleran, who opened her Naples-based organizing firm Straighten Up earlier this year, eyeing the desk under inspection.

 

“You can look at her desk and say, ‘Oh there’s paper everywhere, you can’t even see the desk.’ It doesn’t mean she’s disorganized. If she knows where her things are or if she doesn’t feel frustrated, then she’s organized. If she feels partly like that, but not totally, then that’s where I come in.”

 

Shockley admits she needs help.

 

“I used to have things to where my desk was cleared off, and that’s where I’d like to go back to,’’ she said. “I want it separated so when I’m home I can feel that it’s home and not work.”

 

And Shockley isn’t the only one in need.

 

The National Association of Professional Organizers counts nearly 4,000 members in eight countries – 124 in Florida alone.

 

From self-help publications such as Organize magazine, which hit shelves this summer, to The Container Store, which provides countless shapes and sizes of boxes to stow stray items, there is a mainstream market for getting things at home and at work in order.

 

But for some people, the problem goes beyond a messy desk and unopened mail.

 

Beneath the clutter may be furniture unseen in years, but behind the piles is often a deeper problem; which is why for professional organizers, helping clients establish an organizing routine often means playing psychologist.

 

“This is a void in someone’s life,” said professional organizer Jane Samargedlis, referring to a picture on her laptop of what used to be a living room.

 

The tangle of papers, clothes, and other misplaced items has taken on a life of its own throughout the home, invading the tub, the couches – any flat surface.

 

“Something has happened – sometimes it’s traumatic,” said Samargedlis, who started Naples firm Designed 2 Organize in 2004. “And they will find a way, whether it’s online shopping or QVC, and they just buy and buy and buy to fill that void.”

 

Web sites such as childrenofhoarders.com create an online community for those affected by the chronically disorganized. Even Oprah had a special on hoarders in November.

 

Figuring out the underlying problem is step one; finding the solution comes next.

 

“I have to figure that person out and how they work … I really pick their brains. I could be there for three hours. I really want to know what’s going on, what’s happened,” Samargedlis said.

 

The same problem may not necessitate the same solution for different people; getting to know habits and personalities is essential in retraining people’s organizing habits, Colleran and Samargedlis agreed.

 

For some clients, they are a coach, teaching new habits and cheering them on; for others, having a professional organizer come in is their method of straightening up.

 

“I wish I had that magical ‘This is what you’re going to do and your husband’s going to do it,’” Samargedlis said. “I tell them, ‘You have to sit down and talk about things.’”

 

Sometimes the presence of another person is motivation enough to get someone in organizing gear.

 

“Some people have me come back because they just want to keep it up,” she recalls. “Other people will say to me, ‘I learned so much from you, I feel confident to go ahead.” Working within budget and space limits means creative thinking is a daily part of the job.

 

For Shockley’s home office, Colleran would recommend putting it in a different area than the kitchen.

 

“But that’s just not an option for her, so I have to work with what she does have,” she explained.

 

In this case, they are considering a new desk with more vertical storage space.

 

“(Tracy) is giving me different ideas that were staring me in the face but I didn’t even think about,” Shockley said. “I think it’s a matter of procrastination … and this is where she comes in to force me to fix it.”

 

Although some solutions may seem obvious to a professional organizer, or to someone who has a system already worked out, the same problem in a different home or office won’t necessarily be resolved the same way.

 

“Things that have worked for me before might not work for you,” Samargedlis said.

 

From time to time, she has to rethink an organization solution doesn’t work for a client, getting feedback on why they didn’t find it helpful.

 

“I can’t guarantee that people will learn if they’re working with me, but a lot of people will learn from me. It’s a lot about retraining yourself and changing your habits. You have to be really willing,” Samargedlis said.