Get Organized Month profile: Seattle professional organizer Karen Pfeiffer Bush

January is Get Organized Month and throughout the month, this Examiner is featuring Seattle area professional organizers. Karen Pfeiffer Bush is a Professional Organizer and the owner and general manager of LifeSpace: Home Organization and Transition Support.

Pfeiffer Bush opened LifeSpace in 2009. Prior to that, she offered organizing services under her other company, Housewarming Home Staging and Design, which was established in 2005.

We interviewed Pfeiffer Bush about her services:

What kinds of organizing projects do you do? We specialize in transition support for downsizing seniors and others who are moving, but we also do residential and small business organizing.

Who is your typical client? Our clientele varies by service. Our transition support primarily services senior citizens who are planning or in the process of moving,

Our residential clients range from people who have a specific organizing project like a garage or kitchen to those struggling with chronic disorganization.

Our small business organizing clients are typically “solopreneurs” or businesses with 1-10 employees experiencing fast growth and interested in establishing workflow and organizational system development.

What training or certifications in organizing or related areas do you have? I have a background in Project Management. I have also taken many organizing courses, currently working toward my Certified Professional Organizer designation. I am also a professional home stager.

What is your organizing approach? My first goal is to learn my clients’ goals and challenges in order to develop and execute a customized plan or process.

Do clients work directly with you, or do you assign an employee and/or subcontractor? I have a team who handles most of the transition support projects. However, I usually meet with the client to develop a plan which is then executed by my team.

I personally handle most of the residential and small business organizing projects, which are usually multi-session hands-on projects. In 2013, we will be increasing our capacity by hiring and assigning some of the residential and small business projects to others on the team.

What is your fee structure? For our transition support projects, we offer a complimentary initial strategy session followed by a written action plan and bid. For our residential and small business organizing clients, we offer a fee-based needs assessment session and written action plan. Beyond the needs assessment session, we present a written proposal for ongoing service or additional sessions.

If a potential client has tried unsuccessfully to get organized previously, how will working with you be different? I pride myself on understanding my clients and focusing on what makes sense to them. I focus on identifying at least one system that is already working for them and applying similar features to other systems and processes.

To learn more about Karen Pfeiffer Bush and LifeSpace: Home Organization and Transition Support, email Karen@lifespaceseattle.com or go to www.LifeSpaceSeattle.com.