Do you like to keep things clean and in order? Have you helped friends arrange their house or their life? Are you the one at work who’s developed the filing system and organized the closets? Then you might be perfect for a career as a professional organizer.

If you like reality TV, you’ve probably already seen shows that highlight the work of organizers. They come into a house or office, clean out the clutter, install organizational equipment and teach the owner how to keep it going. A professional organizer does just what it sounds like they do; they get your life, office, house, or anything else you need in order. They might develop a new filing system, clean up and organize a room of your house, or simply give you tips on how to make yourself more organized.

The beauty of being a professional organizer is that it’s a very adaptable career. There are all kinds of things that people need to be organized, so you can choose to do what you like, or what there’s a market for in your area. You can also adapt your business around your schedule and other personal needs.

There are a few skills that are key to being a successful organizer:

* Organization. This seems obvious, but if you’re going to be a professional organizer, you need to be organized. You may be great at organizing, but if your life is obviously not organized, no one is going to hire you. This also means being very punctual and exact in your business. But just being organized isn’t good enough, you have to LOVE organizing. And just because you’re good at it, doesn’t mean you can teach people to do it. If you aren’t passionate about organizing, it’s going to show through to your clients and you probably won’t be as successful.

* Adaptability. Just because you are great at organizing your own life, doesn’t mean you’ll be great at organizing for someone else. You know your likes and needs and how to work with them. To become a professional organizer, you need to be able to understand the needs of others and adapt your methods to the individual.

* Teaching skills. You can’t just organize someone’s life and business, and then be done with it. You have to teach your customers to maintain the changes you’ve made and make them permanent. This means you not only need to be able to communicate effectively, but you must also be able to read and understand individual people, and have patience if they don’t catch on as quickly as you like.

So if this sounds like you, how can you get started?

The easiest way is to start with what you know. You can talk to friends, neighbors, people who use the same daycare center, or someone in line at the grocery store. Often an organizer will make such a difference in a person’s life, they’ll be more than willing to spread the word about you, even if you don’t ask them to. If you need to be more active, you can make flyers and advertise in your neighborhood, or make a website and promote yourself online. Once you get your first few customers, you’ll probably find that the business keeps rolling in.