Whether you are organizationally challenged, highly organized or somewhere in between, there are times when we want to enlist help. That help can come in many forms like hiring organizational professionals, reading books about organizing, or finding the perfect storage container. Organizing resources are abundant. The sheer volume available can be overwhelming. To help you get started, I’ve narrowed down the options.

10 Best Sources for Organizing Help

1. Best Association for Finding Professional Organizers: National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professional (NAPO)

With over 4,000 professional organizers in NAPO’s easy to search database, you will surely be able to find an organizer. My post, 6 Tips for Hiring a PO can help you evaluate which one is the right fit for you.

2. Best Information on Chronic Disorganization: Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD)

This organization is the premier resource on chronic disorganization with top-notch education and strategies for the disorganized, professional organizers and related professionals. I’m looking forward to attending the annual conference this September, Overcoming Obstacles in Chicago.

3. Best How to Organize Book: Organizing Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin

This book is well organized, easy to use, and features multiple ways of approaching organizing challenges. Donna recognizes that there isn’t a one size fits all method of organizing. For each challenge, she includes multiple solutions supplied by various organizers. You can read the entire book or just the passages that apply to your particular organizing issues.

4. Best Book about Challenging Disorganization: The ICD Guide to Challenging Disorganization edited by Kate Varness, CPO-CD, MA

This newly released book is a fabulous guide for understanding some of the core issues surrounding disorganization. The collection of articles by 32 industry leaders includes topics such as learning styles, hoarding, ADHD, depression, and collaborative therapy. I’m honored to be one of the contributors.

5. Best Variety of Organizing Products:  The Container Store

This favorite store (online and in-store) is the best place to find consistently stocked, interesting, durable, and beautifully designed organizing products. The staff is well trained, knowledgeable, courteous, and helpful. It’s this organizer’s dream store.

6. Best Stylish Organizing Products:  See Jane Work

When I’m looking for unique organizing products, I love visiting this website to see what Holly Bohn, the Founder and Creative Director of See Jane Work has discovered. She has a great eye and finds wonderful new products to add fun and pizzazz to the organizing experience.

7. Best Virtual Organizing Help:  Clutter Diet

Lorie Marrero, author of The Clutter Diet and creator of ClutterDiet.com has developed an innovative program allowing anyone to get expert virtual organizing help and advice at an affordable price. Her website is filled with tips, videos, and organizing support. This past spring, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lorie about clutter for our “Ask the Expert” feature.

8. Best Organizing App:  2Do: Task Done in Style

There are hundreds of to do management apps, and new ones keep coming. I haven’t tried them all, but I do use this one on a daily basis and absolutely love it! Not only does it appeal to my visual sensibility, but also it allows me to organize projects, actions, grouped and sorted, as I like. It has reminders, alarms, and syncing capabilities. How did I live without it?

9. Best Organizing Tips Blog: Peace of Mind Organizing

My friend and colleague, Janine Adams is a wonderful writer and blogger with a fabulous sense of humor and style. Just visiting her blog leaves me feeling uplifted and calmer. She always has something interesting to say or share about organizing, products, and habit changing.

10. Best Organizing Blog Featuring Professional Organizers: Professional Organizers Blog Carnival

Janet Barclay, Founder of the Organized Assistant, has a blog with monthly themes like organizing closets, computers, email, and families. She invites professional organizer bloggers to submit posts on a particular topic. Her blog is a wonderful resource for learning about different strategies and getting to know lots of organizers. Later this month, I’m looking forward to sharing my interview with Janet about enlisting help for our “Ask the Expert” feature.

Everyone needs help now and then. If you’re ready to reach out, these “best” resources are a great place to begin. Do you have a favorite organizing resource? Do you have any thoughts about a resource mentioned above? Come join in our conversation.

Geralin Thomas, Metropolitan OrganizingWe’ve had a tremendously positive response to our “Ask the Expert” feature on The Other Side of Organized blog. In February, John Ryan of The Life Change Network talked about change. In March, Yota Schneider of Open for Success spoke about next steps. This month, I’m excited to introduce you to the vivacious professional organizer, Geralin Thomas to share her wisdom with you about letting go.

Geralin is a wonderful friend and colleague with tremendous energy, style, and grace. My gratitude and thanks goes to her for taking the time to join us.

Geralin Thomas is a professional organizer that trains new professional organizers, provides residential organizing services, and works with hoarding clients. She is founder of Metropolitan Organizing and has been featured on A&E’s Hoarders, The Nate Berkus Show and Today. Geralin is a wife, mother, gardener, painter, documentary lover, and has a passion for fashion. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, blog or website.

Linda:  You are a professional organizer helping clients transform their homes from chaos to calm. You also specialize in working with people that hoard. Why is letting go so challenging for some?

Geralin:  Some folks are sentimental savers. They might say, “Oh, my son made this macaroni necklace for me when he was in 1^st grade; I’ve gotta keep it.” Others are utilitarian savers. They could say, “The reason I hang onto all these old tuna cans is because I plan on welding them together to make a lamp for my dog’s house.” A person with a hoarding disorder has these same exact struggles, but they are much more intense. They over-accumulate and find it extremely difficult to let go of things they’ve acquired.

Linda:  If someone is struggling with letting go, what do you suggest?

Geralin: When someone is struggling with letting go, I encourage them to read a blog post I wrote related to this topic, “The 4 Personalities that Save Stuff.” It’s been useful for many of my clients. In addition, I’ve heard from several therapists and social workers that shared it with their clients say it was helpful for them as well.

Linda:  What has been your biggest personal challenge around letting go?

Geralin: Oh, I always dread this question because I’m not a sentimental person and our culture seems to believe that women are supposed to be sentimental.  For me, letting go isn’t a challenge. I don’t save cards, awards, certificates, photos, trophies  – none of that stuff matters to me; it’s just stuff.  Same for projects – I’m very aware of how much or little time I have for projects so typically, all those DIY projects look and sound great but at this point in my life, I don’t have time for them so I don’t accumulate a lot of task-related stuff.  I’d rather spend my time painting or gardening.

Linda:  Do you have a letting go philosophy?

Geralin: I ask someone struggling with clutter if they want to surround themselves with meaningful things. If they answer in the affirmative, I ask, “Is this [thing] beautiful? Useful? Helpful? Does it resonate with who you are right this moment?”  Sometimes people hang onto things that represent who they used to be. Examples include “special occasion” serving dishes or “trophy” sizes of clothes.

Linda:  Is there anything you’d like to share that I haven’t asked?

Geralin: How about I share one of my challenges?  We all have our challenges and mine is packing a suitcase. Let’s just say that if you are stuck on a runway for three hours, you want to sit next to me because I’ll have nuts, chocolates, reading material, manicure supplies, dental floss, tissues, etc.

Warmest thanks, Geralin for taking the time to share your insightful, clear thoughts about letting go. I invite all of you to join Geralin and me as we continue the conversation. What are your thoughts, experiences or questions about letting go?