Simplifying Your Life
Organizer takes clutter by storm

From an unhealthy shoe obsession and pack-ratism to disorganization and a hectic schedule, women have multiple excuses for a cluttered home. But see how one Queen City organizer helped a Cincy Chic staffer transform the mess she called a home office into an efficient and effective work space.

Spring is in the air, and many have adopted the "spring cleaning" mindset and attitude. Somehow, no matter how hard we try, we always have a massive task ahead of us in the organizational department every year. But you don't need to go on TLC's "Clean Sweep" or any other reality TV show because Jen Swendiman, owner of Really Neat, makes it her business to organize yours and set up systems that will take root easily and keep you organized.

Cincy Chic Photographer Neysa Ruhl decided to tackle her own organizational dilemma with Swendiman's help. Ruhl maintains a home office for her photography business, and her office started expanding to other parts of her house in piles. Overwhelmed by stacks of papers and clutter, Ruhl spent more time trying to find what she needed and more time stressed out by the visual chaos of her office.

Ruhl had met Swendiman at a Cincy Chic photo shoot and a spark lit in Ruhl's head as she talked to Swendiman. "I didn't realize there were people who did this," Ruhl says. So a couple months later, Ruhl had had her "wit's end" with her office and called in the professional at Really Neat. "It came down to time. I thought, 'I'm spending way too much time doing things I shouldn't be.'... I didn't feel like I was using my space very well," Ruhl says.

To start the process, Swendiman came to Ruhl's office to evaluate the space and Ruhl's work ethic. Swendiman likes to do in-person consultations in the actual space because she can better evaluate what the individual root problems are and what solutions will cater to those specific issues and the space at hand.

And for a better evaluation, Swendiman asks her clients to work as usual and not clean up to impress her, she says. Many people think that Swendiman will pass judgment on a person because of clutter and inefficiencies. "I say toss all that out the window," Ruhl says.

After Swendiman evaluates the problems and determines probable solutions, she presents each client with a range of estimates based on how many hours she expects the project to take. She charges $50 an hour, and the range includes the span from a do-it-yourselfer who just needs a little nudge here and there to a helpless cause who needs all the help she can get. So the more the client does herself, the less she'll have to pay. 

Also, Swendiman does not charge more than the highest estimate if the project takes longer than expected (as long as there isn't an overwhelming number of hours left of work still to be done after the time runs out). This allows clients to rest assured that Swendiman isn't out to "get" anybody with low estimates followed by upcharges.

Once Ruhl agreed to the estimate, the office organization began. First, Swendiman and Ruhl worked to separate out the clutter into like piles, meaning that like items were sorted with like items (mail, office supplies, client documents, etc.). The clean sweepers gave each pile a home that related to the frequency of its use and where Ruhl was most likely to use it, Swendiman says. For instance, computer paper and ink cartridges were stored near the printer.

Then Swendiman tackled one of Ruhl's personal obstacles: filing. "I tend to become paralyzed when it comes to doing anything like filing," Ruhl says. But through simple organization and setting up a filing system, Swendiman significantly cured that paralysis and decreased the time it took Ruhl to file a single document from seven minutes to 40 seconds.

Swendiman also worked to make the office more functional in the furniture realm. "I had furniture in my office that wasn't usable," Ruhl says. Also, Ruhl had been considering hiring an assistant, but she wanted her assistant to have her own desk in the office. "In my brain I was thinking, 'There is no way that she'll be able to fit two desks in this office' -- and she did," Ruhl says.

Now, Ruhl has an assistant with her own desk. "It's frustrating because bringing someone else up to speed takes so much time. And you're already low on time (that's why you need an assistant) and don't have time to hire them," Ruhl says. But after Swendiman's help, Ruhl spent only one day to train her new assistant because of the easy, effective system that she and Swendiman had created, Ruhl says. This system also involves a quick five- to eight-minute cleanup at the end of each day so that the space is ready for action the next morning.

In addition to the efficient work environment, Swendiman worked to make the office more aesthetically pleasing by bringing some of Ruhl's creativity and personality into the room. Because Ruhl is a photographer, Swendiman used pictures of friends and family to make the space more inviting and comfortable for Ruhl.

"I love coming into my office and working now.... Before this change, the minute I walked into this space I was stressed out. One hundred percent stressed when I came in," Ruhl says. "It wasn't a good environment for work....Now my stress level is down to zero as far as the space."

Because of the success in her office, Ruhl has brought Swendiman back to conquer another cluttered room to turn it into a guest room. "I tell everyone that I can: 'If you are thinking about anything like this, call her.'...I'm hooked," Ruhl says.

For more information about Swendiman and Really Neat or to set up a consultation, visit her Web site, call her at (859) 468-7588 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it her. And don't let the clutter bug infest your house!

PHOTO CREDITS
Photographer: Neysa Ruhl Photography
Model: Jen Swendiman