Organizing chaos

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—CHRISTY GERGITS We had 95 teams of eight students that spent several months reading and talking about books

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NICKI BLATTNER AND EMILY NORTON

Two local moms can help get your house in good order

BY VALERIE HARDY PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SUSAN PLOCHER PHOTOGRAPHY

Spring cleaning is far from a chore for Nicki Blattner and Emily Norton. Rather, it’s a passion—and a profession. Blattner and Norton co-founded a local full-service home organization company: Good Order Home Organizing. They are available to help clients declutter and organize any area of their home.

"From garage to kitchen to closet—we’re flexible,” Blattner said.

Clients’ reasons for hiring Blattner and Norton also vary. Norton said that many clients seek out Good Order’s services when they are preparing to put their home on the market, or when they are settling in after a recent move.

“Our friend Stephanie Vroman was our first client," she said. "The Vromans were an example of a newly-moved family, still looking to figure out spaces in their new home."

Others just get frustrated trying to pare down or organize their possessions on their own and reach out for assistance.

“It’s not that people can’t do it on their own,” Norton said. “We just help get them motivated.”

But some people are hesitant to reach out for professional organizing help.

"They often say, I’m embarrassed to have you come over,” Blattner said, "because they feel their space is too messy."

But Blattner and Norton don’t judge. Plus, the Good Order organizers can relate to their clients’ mess stress, because they’ve experienced it.

“My kids constantly are in the pantry at all hours of the day—their friends too,” Norton said, "and it can create chaos."

Perhaps not surprisingly, Norton’s need for systems and structures to keep her home tidy and functional “amped up since having kids."

“My house is a little cozy, so any space-saving tricks are welcome," she said. While Norton recalled always enjoying organizing and decluttering, she didn’t consider channeling that passion into a career until after starting her family. Before that, she worked for a public relations firm. Blattner had a commercial background.

“But organizing was my passion—it aligns with my financial-minded point of view,” she said. “It’s also somewhere I can be creative.”

Blattner noticed an uptick in interest in professional organizing within her social circles and beyond—the Marie Kondo phenomenon, for example—and had men

We very much complement each other. What we can both bring to the client is similar and different it works really well.

-EMILY NORTON

tioned her interest in joining the home organizing industry to a friend. Meanwhile, Norton also saw a niche in the market. So when a mutual friend heard Blattner and Norton separately considering starting a home organizing business, she connected them. The pair then turned to another friend, Caroline Shields, who—along with her sister-in-law—runs Line & Lee, a local party-planning business.

“We knew she was our person to talk through small business ideas,” Blattner said.

With a “perfect partnership,” Norton said, and a bit of small business mentoring under their belts, Good Order was created.

“I know pretty things but not always how to put it all together," Blattner said. "Emily puts it all together.” “We very much complement each other," Norton said. "What we can both bring to the client is similar and different; it works really well.”

Ultimately, Blattner said they see their job as doing “the dirty work, so the clients don’t have to."

“We also want to give people tips—best practices we have seen other places or use ourselves," she said.

A few spring (or anytime) cleaning tips from Good Order:

1. Put a basket in every closet in every room of the home. When something is too small, put it in the basket and donate the contents of the basket when it is full. 2. To keep surface areas neat, have a basket for each child’s papers that come home from school or for each family member’s mail. You may still have to go through the papers, but there’s a dedicated space for them.

3. Use velvet hangers in every closet— kids’ closets. They look nice and fit more. 4. Speaking of kids, involve them in the cleaning and organization process. Keeping it really simple helps the kids know where their toys, backpacks and coats belong, and gives them a sense of ownership. 5. Check out Amazon, HomeGoods, Target and similar vendors for organizational products at a price that’s right.

6. Remember, it’s not a sprint; it’s a journey. Do a little once or twice a week. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to do it all at once.

That last tip also holds true for starting a small business.

“Do it gradually," Norton said. "It doesn’t have to be this huge, scary leap. Take a risk, but take your time.”

For more information about Good Order Home Organizing, visit www.goodorderhome. com.