Local Entrepreneur Using Natural Skills to Declutter Area Homes

When M. Colleen Klimczak was planning a garage sale, she had no idea it would lead to a major career change and the start of her own business.

As she sought advice on how to best put on the garage sale, someone suggested that Klimczak hire a professional organizer to display the items. But after realizing that was something she could do herself, and for free, a new business was born.

"I said, 'I don't want to hire one, I want to be one,'" Klimczak said. She stuck with her health care management job until the summer of 2003, when she made the official leap into the field of professional organization by opening M. Colleen Klimczak, Certified Professional Organizer.

"I have kids and needed flexibility and needed to be closer to home," Klimczak, who was working downtown, said. "I have a knack for it and I am good at it."

There weren't many barriers for those entering the field in 2003, like there are now, she said. Klimczak recently renewed her certification in January and is a member of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

"Since then, the industry has grown leaps and bounds," Klimczak said. "We do have a curriculum now."

Klmiczak specializes in organizing homes and home offices, she said, adding that there are probably about 70 different specialities for professional organizers to focus on.

"There is such a wide range of things that it falls under," she said. "It's astounding. I do attics, basements, kitchens, garages, a lot of home offices for paper management. I have done small businesses in their offices."

Klimczak has seen a lot of unique items from her clients in the past eight years. She's organized everything from wigs to Halloween items --- where she realized her advice of, "We should put the tombstones in first," could sound fairly odd if taken out of context.

"You name it, I've done it and I've probably figured out how to store it better," she said. "I've done clothes, kids' things, photos. I've done clients in Mount Greenwood and they have amazing collections, from movie posters and an entire wall of media and amazing collection from both world fairs. He had things that are over 100 years old."

When Klimczak walks clients through the organization process, she said it is important to first make a plan before buying storage and organizing supplies. It is also important to purge items that are simply causing clutter in the home.

Klimczak also makes sure to first attack an area of the house that will most benefit from being organized, thus starting in a kitchen before attic.

"If we spent two hours organizing your kitchen today, it would help you immediately," she said. "Start with what's going to help the fastest."

Since Klimczak spends a fair amount of her working life up to her elbows in people's possessions, she makes it a priority to not only respect their privacy but has a confidentiality clause with clients to put them at ease.

"They need to be able to trust me with everything," she said.

Klimczak's knack for the job and her college experience help her with those job aspects. She has a degree in business management with a minor in psychology, she said.

"I have a knack for it but I'm lucky to have an education for it, too," she said. Her background helps her with the classes she teaches about organization. After initially starting her business, which has the motto, "Organizing for Your Peace of Mind," she was approached about presenting on the subject. Today, she speaks about eight different organization subjects.

While the economy hasn't significantly hurt Klimczak, it has definitely affected it.

"Where I had 10 people before (in my classes), now I have six," she said. "... It's kind of a luxury to some people. I have some faith that it will go crazy again."

Despite some economic challenges, Klimczak recently met with an attorney to officially form her company as an LLC. It will soon become known as Peace of Mind Professional Organizer LLC, she said.

"I'm excited for the formality," she said. "I thrive on structure; it's what I do."

Klimczak also produces a weekly newsletter, writes a blog, has a Facebook fan page, and drives a van plastered with her business information, in order to get word out about her business.

To learn more about Klimczak's business, visit her website or her blog, or call her at 708-790-1940.