Avoiding a messy situation

Don't get me wrong. I detest filth. But a bit of controlled clutter has always been fine by me.

So when professional organizing consultant Vicki Norris diplomatically labeled my office systems "interesting," I heaved a sigh of relief.

Norris, the founder of Restoring Order, is about more than merely turning piles into files. She strives to minimize mess to begin with.

"Above all, we're problem solvers," she says.

Her Portland-based virtual company employs six people -- including four organizing consultants who charge corporations $175 per hour to create workable systems. Home-based businesspeople pay $125 an hour, and residential customers $85 per hour. There's a four-hour minimum for her company's services.

Typical clients are home-based accountants and consultants -- "people in the billable professions, where it's a matter of professional survival" -- administrative assistants and, sometimes, even CEOs and other upper-level executives. Some jobs last months.

Norris is one of 2,500 professional organizers across the country, according to the National Association of Professional Organizers. Like most of her colleagues, she started out as a sole proprietor. Five years later, she's now one of the only professional organizers in the United States with her own firm.

Perhaps because of a desire for order in an increasingly chaotic world, Norris' business is booming.

This summer, her company plans to roll out a line of fashionable, functional office-supply products designed to minimize "office-supply abuse." Norris also hosts a monthly segment on "AM Northwest" and is a cast member of a show called "Mission Organization" on Home and Garden Television, a national cable network.

Norris says if office systems aren't working, credibility and confidence suffer. Her philosophy is surprisingly simple. Systems come down to storing a diverse array of information in logical spaces, she says.

A few basics:

• Post-it note abuse is "a scourge of mankind."

• Bulletin boards "invite dumping." They should be used as reference reminders, not for actionable items. "Rip everything off that you don't need," Norris advises.

• Women tend to see the relationship between environment and quality of life more clearly than men.

• Almost all clients need more than four hours to straighten out their systems. Homework is involved.

• Imposed systems don't last. People may adopt similar strategies, but invariably put their own mark on them.

As for my own office, Norris labeled my time management and deadline-driven systems "very, very organized." And, fortunately, I'm what she calls "a tosser." I don't keep paper or e-mail around if it has no practical value. And I impressed her with my bulletin-board efficiency and virtually nonexistent use of post-it notes.

My contact and paper management, however, left "room for improvement." In other words, I could better keep track of people I communicate with and organize files in a more efficient manner.

Norris doesn't need any help from me, but I have one piece of advice to boost her business: kids' bedrooms. Imagine the possibilities.