It doesn’t pay to be messy – until now. Having the messiest garage in the Metroplex could win the homeowner a $5,000 garage makeover from the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

In recognition of Get Organized Month in January, NAPO has teamed up with Easysale, Inc., an eBay auctioning consignment store, and SAM-Store & Move, a portable storage company, to transform a lucky winner’s messy garage into a functional, organized extension of their home.

The winner of the Extreme Garage Makeover-DFW Edition will have help clearing clutter, donating reusables and getting cash from unwanted valuables. To enter, e-mail three to five garage photos with name, address and phone to contest@napodfw.com by Dec. 21. The winner will be announced Jan. 22, and the transformation will take place on Jan. 29 and 30. 

For contest rules and information, visit dfworganizers.com/garage.

Get Organized Month is a national event sponsored by the National Association of Professional Organizers each January. This is the first year the DFW chapter has sponsored the Extreme Garage Makeover, but not the first event the chapter has done to recognize GO Month, said chapter Marketing Director Pam Bowers.

“Get Organized Month is also a time for chapters to give back to their local communities. Last year, our chapter accepted donations for hurricane victims.  This year, we are giving back directly to our Metroplex community with this contest,” Bowers said. Bowers has been a professional organizer for four years and owns Organized Chaos (www.find-my-desk.com).

According to Bowers, the biggest problem of cluttered garages is they’re not being used for their intended use – protecting automobiles. “What's really crazy about this fact is that the value of items stored in a garage may total somewhere between $1,000 and $10,000 while our cars are out in the elements of Mother Nature and are worth a great deal more!” she said.

The winning homeowner has to be present while their garage is transformed to answer questions from the organizers.
 

“It is important that a homeowner be open to the suggestions of the professional organizers, as our group contains the top organizers in the DFW Metroplex, and experience has taught us many ways to store things differently,” Bowers said.  “We're used to thinking outside of the box and continually developing ideas as we go. We're careful to make sure we don't throw something away that is important to the homeowner. Also, if they are interested in selling any items of value that may be located in the garage, a representative from Easysale will be there to discuss with them the possibility of selling those items for them.”

The process begins with removing the current contents of the garage. “The removal includes sorting those items based on whether they are to be kept, thrown away, sold or donated. For this contest, the items to be kept will be stored in a SAM portable storage unit until it is time to place the items back in the garage.

The next step will be cleaning out the garage and removing any unnecessary storage items such as rusty storage hooks, warped wood shelves, etc.  Once it’s cleaned out, the interior walls of the garage will be painted.  

“This is a step that is optional for many of our clients, but for the contest winner, it’s included,” Bowers said. “After the paint has dried, new shelving or cabinetry will be installed based on the homeowner’s needs. Then the personal items will be removed from the SAM unit and placed back in the garage in an organized fashion – one that is most efficient for the homeowner, as well as incorporates all items in a tidy manner.”

The number of hours needed for a garage organization depends on the amount of “stuff” inside the garage. For the contest, several members of the NAPO chapter will be on hand to ensure the makeover goes quickly and smoothly and is completed in the two days allotted.

Costs for professional organizing services vary.

“Since the amount of man-hours needed depends on the contents, the total cost varies for each garage,” Bowers said. “Also, the size of the garage affects the bottom line since a three-car garage can hold a lot more ‘stuff’ than a single-car garage; thus, the time needed for that job will be more.”

Another factor is a professional organizer’s rate, which also varies. 

“Shop around for an organizer who can work within your budget and is one you feel you can trust to help you with your organization challenges,” Bowers advises. 

Bowers worked in administration for 15 years and was always complimented on her ability to keep the offices organized. In 2005, she helped a photographer organize her home office and decided to focus her attention on helping others in the same way. She formed her company, Organized Chaos, in 2006 and writes a blog called Organized Chaos Chatterings, http://organizedchaoschatterings.blogspot.com/.

“Due to my corporate experience, my personal specialty is organizing offices, however, I’m able to organize just about anything,” Bowers said.  “Since the inception of my company we’ve organized many garages, closets, and whole homes in addition to our business client organization projects. I joined the NAPO-DFW chapter almost two years ago and am now serving as their Marketing Director.”

NAPO is a national association dedicated to the field of organizing, founded in 1985 as a nonprofit professional education association. It has nearly 4,200 members nationwide. For more information about NAPO and Get Organized Month, visit www.napo.net.

Formed in 2003, NAPO-DFW, Inc. serves Dallas/Ft. Worth and the surrounding Metro areas. Members are professionals dedicated to providing organizing services, advice, solutions, and products to corporate, small business, home office, and residential clients. For more information about the chapter, visit www.napodfw.com.

NAPO-DFW began receiving submissions to the Extreme Garage Makeover DFW Edition contest last week, and Bowers said the number received each day is steadily increasing.  For contest rules and information, visit http://dfworganizers.com/garage. 

 

- Schedule yourself time to take on this project. Perhaps the amount of time you have is only four hours on a Saturday. Put it on your calendar and don’t miss that appointment.  

- Be patient. Remember that it did not all accumulate in four hours – it will probably not be completely redone in that amount of time. 

- The first step is taking everything out and sorting out what is to keep, what is trash, what is to sell and what is to donate.

- Make as much progress as you can, and be sure to schedule your next appointment to continue where you left off.  Before you know it, your garage will be functional again. 

- Time is the biggest issue. When you find you don’t have the time to handle the project on your own, that’s when you need to contact a professional organizer to help! 

Source: Pam Bowers, Organized Chaos

 

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