Spring cleaning means organizing your home

For many people, spring means cleaning out and decluttering. One local professional says it's all about simplifying.

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Julie Drew, the owner of The Clutter Fairies in Evans, has been in business since 2005 helping more than 100 people organize their offices and homes. Identifying problem areas is first and foremost.

"It's different for everyone," she said. "A mother with many children would probably say the laundry room, kitchen and kids' rooms. An executive would probably say filing is a challenge and putting their hands on things they need quickly."

Drew said the most common areas where she brings organization and a sense of cohesiveness are closets and garages.

"It's not areas that are kept as organized as they should be because if company comes, they can shut the garage door and the closet doors," she said.

Helping people tackle their clutter and finding an organization solution is a multifaceted approach that is determined based on the type of individual.

"I approach each client differently based on their needs," said Drew, who employs a team of eight women who work throughout the area. "In my experience, our society boils down to two types of people: visual -- stickies, piles, notes and calendars everywhere, out in plain view, but they have empty closets and drawers and non-visuals -- aka 'stuffers.' The surface looks impeccable, but don't open that drawer or closet!"

Drew said some people fall into both categories and both types -- visual and non-visual -- are "outside the realm of severely chronic disorganized folks and hoarders."

Among some of the tips that Drew offers her clients are to take 20 minutes a day to do something that is organizational, such as filing or labeling. She also recommends going through mail as soon as it's brought in and separate it into two piles -- an "act on" stack that needs immediate attention, and a "review later" pile, which means it will need to be reviewed within a few weeks.

"Not two years, within two weeks," Drew said. "Remember, this pile constantly grows."

She also suggests filing and shredding mail as it comes in to avoid clutter.

Drew said when working in homes, she takes everything out of the room or area, sorts, purges and then puts everything back in an organized manner.

"You can't imagine how many clients have said to us, 'Oh, thank you! I've been looking for that," Drew said.