December 31, 2004

Get organized and thrive in 2005

Evergreen entrepreneur shows you how

By Alex Ho
Times Intern

A New Year tradition is to make a resolution to do something for that entire year. Many people should make a resolution to get organized and stay organized.

Diane Sharp started her business Get Organized and More, Inc.

Yet in today’s busy world, most people don’t have the time do to so or they simply don’t know where to start—if they start at all.

That’s where Diane Sharp comes in. Her business, Get Organized and More, Inc., helps busy Bay Area folks get their home, office or dorms organized as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sharp brings in her 20-plus years in organization to help others unclutter an area, from a single room to an entire house.

“I started three years ago after leaving the corporate world as a manager of Intel for 24 years,” said Sharp, who currently works solo.

She started her business because “she loved to help people with organizing and de-cluttering and realized that organization was a skill.

“I knew many people whose lives were as busy as mine, and I had organized family, friends, co-workers and managers over the past 20 years,” Sharp said. “I have a passion for helping people and love making a positive impact on the lives of my clients.”

How it works
So what exactly does Sharp do? First, she meets with the client to check out the area in question to give an assessment. She provides a cost and time estimate and explains the process.

Then Sharp helps the customer get hands-on experience with the organizing. They work together to unclutter as efficiently as possible. When they are done, Sharp implements systems and processes to keep the area organized.

She then checks back with the customer to see how the process is holding up. If it is not working, then they alter the process a little bit until it works. A session of planning and organizing will, on average, take three hours of work.

Before and after: A living room becomes livable once more.

According to Sharp, people have asked for help ending their clutter in many places besides their offices and houses, including vehicles and off-site storage space.

Sharp’s expertise is most often required for organizing paperwork, yet most papers aren’t looked at once people store them, causing a large amount of paper to accumulate.

“Paper invades our lives in so many ways,” says Sharp. “Brochures we bring home, e-mail, postal mail, school papers, etc. Having a system that works for you gives you a home for all that paper and saves time.”

Quick and easy
While most people would panic at the thought of sorting out piles (and sometimes bags) of papers, her calm and efficient demeanor helps people settle down and organize the papers quickly and easily.

So far, Sharp describes her business’ success as “phenomenal” and growing rapidly. She assists between 10 to 16 clients a month.

“Hiring an organizer is becoming more and more common as the profession gains visibility. People want to get organized and be more productive and efficient,” Sharp says.

One can almost imagine how desperate some clients’ situations have become as they call for help. “Some have locked rooms that contain three to five feet of clutter and want to use them [the rooms] again,” she recalls. “Others have offices and spend too much time looking for things to get their work done.”

Do not think, however, that Sharp is a cleaning lady. While cleaning is part of the organization process, she is certainly not a maid. She is more like a coach—someone who will examine what you are doing, help you with a plan and then help you reach your goal. In this case, the goal is to get “de-cluttered and stay de-cluttered.”

Own busy life benefits
Sharp keeps her own busy family uncluttered and organized. Sharp’s husband, a retired Air National Guard pilot, is an engineer at Apple Computer.

Her youngest daughter attends Laurelwood Elementary School, and her sons attend Archbishop Mitty High School and UC-Davis. Her sons are also volunteer counselors for Contact, a hotline for calls ranging from depression to suicide.

In addition to managing her family and business, Sharp is also a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and the membership director of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

If you think it’s time to get organized for the New Year, but you don’t know where to begin, check out Sharp’s Web site at http://www.getorganizedandmore.com for some ideas.

If you feel that you need some coaching to take action, you can e-mail her at getorganized2@earthlink.net or call her at (408)-410-3395 so that you can enjoy the New Year in a neat, uncluttered and organized space.