Organizing Your Closet, Your Paper Work, Your Time

Spring is here and what better time of year to clean house, get organized and bring order and calm to your home and work?

While some busy people tend to throw their hands up in defeat as chaos overtakes them, more often than not it is only one or two particularly troublesome areas that, with a little organization, could improve the daily flow of an all-too-hectic life.

If the task is too great, professional help is available.

One source is the National Assn. of Professional Organizers. Send a business-sized, self-addressed, stamped (39 cents postage) envelope to NAPO, 5350 Wilshire Blvd., P.O. Box 36E02, Los Angeles, Calif. 90036, for a directory of members. Although most professional organizers could, if called upon, organize several areas, many have specialized. Here are some organized specialists, including firms who can help you climb out of the chaos:

Home--Keeping a house organized, especially for the working mother, can be the ultimate challenge. “Hands-on” help to tackle the out-of-control clutter is available from Cynthia Fuss, No Fuss Management, 237 Kennebec Ave., No. 5, Long Beach, (213) 433-HELP. You can also get help from Creative Time Plus, 2667 Monterey St., Torrance, Calif. 90503, (213) 212-0917. Owner Ann Gambrell uses her experience as a professional organizer and working mother to also offer seminars and workshops geared to help working women prioritize and put it all together without succumbing to the Superwoman syndrome.

Closets--The space that is invariably inadequate is space allocated for closets. The answer to the disorganized small closet problem used to be to move to a larger house or apartment; now the answer lies in the closet companies and designers that can do everything from build a closet from scratch to triple the space in a closet that was built in the 1920s. For vinyl-coated shelving and closet systems or laminated Techline systems at budget prices, you can have your closet installed by the Closet Store, 2801 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90034, (213) 838-0337, or 4451 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Lawndale, Calif. 90260, (213) 371-1177. For deluxe closets with custom cabinetry, fabrication and detailed designs to fit special needs and space requirements for virtually any storage area, call designer Maxine Ordesky at (213) 277-0499.

Relocating--Moving can be the ultimate organizational aggravation, but the process can be less painful by using a professional who serves as the mover’s liaison, helps you make decisions, works with you to eliminate items that you no longer need, switches utilities and handles address changes along with helping you pack and unpack. One such professional is Cheryl Rosoff, owner of Magical Moves, 13141 Riverside Drive No. 101, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91423, (818) 995-3868.

Records Retention--Everyone who keeps records needs to know how long the law says to keep them. Records-retention schedules can help large and small businesses as well as the average taxpayer. Having your records organized to conform to legal and practical requirements can be a financial lifesaver in case of an unexpected audit or other legal action. You can get records-retention/organization services from Project Completers Inc., 315 Arden Ave., Suite 12, Glendale, Calif. 91203, (818) 244-1994.

Address Information--For anyone who has tried in vain to keep an address book updated and get holiday cards out on time, the answer might be to have your own “white and Yellow Pages” through a word-processing firm. Special events, such as birthday parties and holiday mailing lists, are typed into a system to be printed on brightly colored labels whenever needed. Updating the list is equally simple. Your personalized “Yellow Pages” can make special events and holiday gift giving a fraction of the work they were before. Professional organizer Sally Westwood offers these services at her firm, Westwood Systems, 2373 Westwood Blvd., Suite 3, Los Angeles, Calif. 90064, (213) 474-5676.

Office--Organizing an office can be formidable, whether it’s at home or in a large corporation. Files that haven’t been organized in years, inadequate record-keeping systems, lack of storage space and what new furniture and equipment to buy are a few of the problems one faces, whether a start-up business or an office being overtaken by piles of paper and disorder. Because carving out the time to organize the office can be almost impossible in the average workday, hiring a professional is often the only answer to instant organization and, ultimately, increased efficiency and productivity. Firms that specialize in office organization are the Business Doctor, 2265 Westwood Blvd., Suite 846, Los Angeles, Calif. 90064, (213) 838-2035; the Office Organizer, 5267 Coldwater Canyon Ave., Suite D, Van Nuys, Calif. 91401, (818) 363-8444, and, for seminars on the organized office, call Positively Organized!, 3420 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 3060, Santa Monica, Calif. 90405-3305, (213) 452-6332.

Procedures and Policies--Establishing consistent plans for both new and senior employees can be the key to organization in businesses, large and small. Firms that specialize in writing policy and procedure manuals are often expert in organization as well, and can offer advice on the most efficient procedures as they write the manual for you. Two firms that write these manuals are J.A.K. Networks Unlimited, 11917 Juniette St., Culver City, Calif. 90230, (213) 822-5673, and Organized Outcome, 2210 Wilshire Blvd., No. 435, Santa Monica, Calif. 90403, (213) 285-3061.

Financial Records--Keeping your financial house in order can include everything from a filing system for paid bills to reconciliation of monthly bank statements, a tracking system for accounts receivable and accounts payable, tax records, cash flow projections, a household budget and a record of investments. You can find a full range of accounting services for business and personal needs at Business Organizers Inc., 37 Avenida Corona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. 90274, (213) 547-1464.

Time Management--Finding the time to get everything done can be difficult, if not impossible when a significant amount of time is devoted to running errands--from picking up the cleaning to going to the post office or the DMV. You can have more time to organize other areas of your life if you use a professional errand service. Two such firms: Errands Unlimited, 419 N. Larchmont Blvd., No. 182, Los Angeles, Calif. 90004, (213) 655-7788, and Executive Runaround, 2631 S. Kenwood Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90007, (213) 734-4017, (818) 501-6466 or (213) 713-4727 (car phone).

Cleaning--Once organized, you’ll want to catch up on cleaning. The detail work involved in cleaning can be a thankless task, and one there is never enough time to do. Luckily, there are firms that love the challenge of going into a home or business to give special attention to light fixtures, walls, tile grout, refrigerator vents, stove hoods, dirty brass fixtures and blackened bottoms of pots and pans. Although most cleaning services do not organize, one that does both is Sally’s Accents, 9223 Mel Dar Ave., Downey, Calif. 90240, (213) 861-5680. If it’s a cleaning crew you need for thorough cleaning before or after a special event, for your spring cleaning, or for regular intensive maintenance, Mommie Dearest Cleaning Service offers detailed work that they describe as “the fine art of cleaning.” The address is 279 S. Beverly Drive, No. 242, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212, (213) 969-8481.