April Welch of Simply Organized

April Welch is a Certified Professional Organizer who hails from Leavenworth, Washington.   She began her professional organizing business, Simply Organized, just over four years ago.

How did you get started as a professional organizer?
We moved to a small community and I had one year to either create a job I loved (that actually had an income) or find a "desk" job. After five months, at the bus stop, I created my first client relationship. Our terms were creative - I would work in exchange for word of mouth referrals. Little did I know at the time that she knew over half of the community PERSONALLY! I haven't had to advertise yet for new business ... and yes, I am a FULL time Certified Professional Organizer!

What are your specialties? 
My specialties are children & families. I love working with kids!   They are refreshingly honest!  Public speaking is something I've been able to blend into this career as well.   I'll be teaching my peers how to organize kids in San Francisco and I'll begin teaching my organizing series of workshops at the community college soon.  However, my true passion is the "Chronically Disorganized" person.  That is why I became a member of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization.  I look forward to shining a light on the early stages of Chronic Disorganization in childhood

What was your previous career?
The only CAREER I've ever truly had before being a PO would be as a stay-at-home mom.   However, I was a secretary for many years & managed an Elizabeth Arden counter in Germany during my early 20's.  I'm a typical Mompreneur - many talents that come together as a PO.

What are one or two of your favorite organizing products?
I love the GameSavers game containers - they allow you to toss the duct-taped game boxes from years ago and bring a clean, orderly look to a family/playroom.

And I couldn't possibly live without my "Internet Girl" websites book - it's structured much like an address book only for all your website passwords.  It has saved me hours of torturous memory games trying to figure out a password I created six months ago!

Give us your BEST organizing idea.
The best organizing tip I have is the "Black Hole Binder". Once kids reach school age the amount of paperwork that invades the home can really send someone into cluttered chaos quickly! I advise my parent clients at the onset of September to create a 3-ring binder complete with index dividers as well as plastic pocketed dividers. Label each with appropriate titles - "Menus", "Phone #'s", "Invitations", "Schedules" then assign each family member a plastic pocketed divider. Next, begin putting all those miscellaneous papers into their perspective section. Finally, when it comes time to tell Aunt Jen when little Susie's soccer games are you can grab the "Black Hole Binder" & flip directly to schedules to let her know! (And yes, take complete credit for being SO organized!) Don't forget to place person specific items in their sections (the pockets are for when you don't have time to hole punch something but need to just dump & run)

Tell us about your most interesting organizing experience.
During an attic job, my client had brought me in to help clear out the generations of family items so they could use the space as a hobby room. In the back of a closet (we didn't know existed in the beginning of the project) we found a pair of work coveralls ... covered in spider webs. Using a discarded broom handle to remove it we began the trek for the exit when it slipped off - much to our surprise, it was stiff as a board!