Organized Interiors, LLC in Richmond, VA use a human-centered approach to create holistic organizing solutions for Home and Business
Sarah Gould, Certified Home Organizer® and owner of Organized Interiors, LLC in Richmond VA believes in creating holistic solutions tailored to her clients.
We recently interviewed Sarah to learn more about her and what you can expect from a typical organizing session.
What (or who) inspired you to become an Organizer?
Growing up, my home environment was not particularly organized, and organizational skills such as decluttering, were not prevalent either. That said, I always exhibited some innate tendencies for organization…I preferred my “stuff” and spaces needed to be balanced, orderly, symmetrical, etc. As a young adult, I noticed that during times of stress, I would instinctively undertake organizing a space, such as a closet. It gave me a sense of control in stressful times and was cathartic, and I’d notice it would have long-lasting benefits in my day to day living. Over time, I realized that I was at my best when my spaces were devoid of clutter and effectively organized.
Then came the pandemic. Like many of us, the down time prompted a great deal of introspection for me regarding my professional purpose in life. After 25+ years in corporate America, I could no longer ignore that needed a major change. My corporate career was just not aligned with who I was as a person, and I was burned out. During the Covid lockdowns, I found myself tackling some organizing projects, when it clicked…this is The Big Change I was looking for. I knew I loved organizing, found great relief, satisfaction and peace from a well-done project, realized that pro organizing is actually a “thing”, and embarked on my journey to research starting up such a business. And, I felt like I had a natural understanding and lack of judgment of my future clients and their challenges, and wanted to be able to help them in their quest to simplify, organize and be efficient as well as effective.
How has becoming an Organizer impacted your life?
Many are familiar with Simon Sinek, who has written and spoken a great deal about finding one’s “WHY” (the main thing that gives a person a strong sense of purpose and well-being). While I’ve always known that being in a helping profession makes sense for me (I was a Psychology major), it was by working through his methodology that I realized organizing could truly fulfill my “why”. Even in my corporate roles, I’d find whatever “helping” connection I could to my business partners, and it would sustain me knowing I was a conduit to them succeeding in their roles. But, after 25 years, I came to terms with the fact it was not enough, and I was not honoring my “why”.
Now that I’m a professional organizer, I experience a profound sense of honoring my “why” each time I work with a client. Even at the start of working with a client, I sense their relief that “help is here”, as well as throughout the project, and then at the conclusion. I’m often moved to happy tears when observing clients take in their reclaimed spaces, and hearing them talk about the new skills they’ve learned that they’ll use for a lifetime. There is no better feeling as a professional organizer than witnessing my clients’ reactions.
How has your past career or education tied in to becoming an Organizer?
My educational background includes a major in Psychology, with a minor in Social Work, and seeking to understand and help others has always been important to me.
Professionally, while my corporate roles weren’t directly related to organizing, I draw on those skills daily in providing professional-level service to my clients. Over 25 years, I gained experience in so many disciplines, such as project, program, and process management, business HR consulting, peer to peer coaching, developing learning programs and working with related vendors, and even compliance and risk management. I apply all of these skills, whether I’m planning and executing an organizing project, coaching clients in adopting new skills, or managing the business fundamentals, and more.
Who are your ideal clients (or what is your niche)?
I have a dual business model: I am a functional organizer serving both residential and business clients.
Our residential clients are often busy professionals seeking help for their most used areas such as closets, kitchens/pantries, and home offices. Plus, we tackle unusual projects as well, such as organizing a triathlete’s voluminous and specialized gear and ensuring quality storage solutions for expensive, delicate road bikes.
Our business clients are typically solopreneurs, small businesses and non-profit organizations. Typical spaces include executive offices, main offices, storage, and multipurpose areas. Plus, we are unique in that we also provide process-related services regarding key business procedures in parallel to the physical organizing, to identify and address any failing or at-risk processes and improvement opportunities (e.g. documenting and updating procedure materials, and training backup performers).
Recent projects by Organized Interiors LLC
What drives your clients to hire a professional organizer?
My residential clients want to do more of what they’re passionate about (hobbies, travel, entertaining, etc.), to be unencumbered by clutter and present-day systems that do not work. They want thoughtful functionality that has been designed with them in mind so they can easily maintain.
My business clients are focused on building, growing and operating efficiently and effectively; and if there is clutter, poorly designed organizational systems, and/or process issues, they are significantly hindered in reaching their goals, and delivering on their present day mission, and future vision. Smaller entities, such as solopreneurs, small businesses and nonprofit organizations, may have limited internal personnel with the bandwidth and skills to remove these obstacles effectively and sustainably, and they will seek an engagement with us.
Our residential and business clients come to us essentially for the same thing: we clear the way so that they can do what they crave in life and work.
Is there a popular season or off-season for professional organize in Richmond?
In my area, there isn’t a material seasonality for clients seeking pro organizers. We’re a 4-season climate, there is always a space that is conducive to an organizing project regardless of time of year, whether for residential or business clients.
Tell me a little bit about how you approach organizing--or your philosophy?
Regardless of the magnitude or complexity of an organizing project, I believe in relationship-based vs transactional engagements with my clients. I believe the best and longest-lasting outcomes result from working with my clients with a human-centered approach. My clients are at the center of all that I do, and my goal is for the solutions to be holistic and tailored to my clients. I value learning as much as I can about my clients, their needs, motivations, prior successes and challenges with getting or staying organized, etc.
What sorts of challenges can you help with? What opportunities are individuals likely to miss if they try to complete the organization work themselves?
With my background in psychology, learning and development, as well as peer coaching training, I love coaching others in adopting new organizing skills in ways that equip my clients to better sustain their newly organized spaces. Plus, my process management experience enables me to spot opportunities to simplify ways of doing things, at home or the workplace.
Without any guidance, DIY-ers often find themselves wasting money on products that may be “pretty”, but aren’t really going to serve the function they may really want or need (they also spend a LOT of time searching for products, and time is money, so more waste there). They will miss out on the professional guidance, support, and skills training that will be gained from working with a pro. That means the DIY-er runs the risk of becoming disorganized all over again in short order. (By the way, at Organized Interiors, LLC, we understand some have a preference to DIY, so we offer a specific service providing pro-level guidance for our clients to efficiently and cost-effectively DIY successfully.)
Is there anything you wish your clients knew before contacting you?
There is zero obligation or pressure to move forward from the exploratory conversation. (We don’t like to be “sold” or pressured, either.) So, in addition to learning a bit about your organizing needs and challenges, my goal is to be informative about what to expect when working with us as your pro organizer, so our potential clients can make a truly informed decision if/when they move forward with us.
Are there any current projects or services that you'd like to highlight?
We offer 3 ways of working with our clients so that we can meet them “where they are”, both literally and figuratively:
Traditional organizing - in person, on site, full service, end to end decluttering and organizing project management and execution
DIY organizing - in person consultation to provide the client a lower cost solution, including a professional DIY blueprint to declutter and organize independently and according to the client’s own timeline
Virtual organizing - for clients who prefer professional guidance and support throughout the project, but all from a distance utilizing video conferencing technology
You can reach Sarah at:
Email: Sarah@OrganizedInRVA.com
Website: www.OrganizedInRVA.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/OrganizedInteriorsRVA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrganizedInteriorsRVA
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahtgould/
