I love my work. I love walking into crowded, cluttered, over-used spaces, and leaving them organized and more spacious. Give me time with a disorganized garage, closet, desk drawer or closet and I’m happy. I’ve felt this way since I was a child. When I was 10, I had to walk through the family laundry room to reach my bedroom. It was the tidiest laundry room ever!

My friends think I’m a geek until I clean out their junk drawer.

I’m not alone in my unbridled passion to clear any path. My membership in the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) affirms that there are many others like me. We love what we do so much that we have dedicated January as Get Organized (GO) month!

NAPO members nationwide celebrate GO month with workshops, community projects, and events. The Los Angeles NAPO chapter hosts an annual red-carpeted awards banquet honoring our country’s best organizers, organizing products, and television shows www.napola.org

Professional organizer Stephanie Calahan, of Bloomington, IN created the GO month Great Organizing Giveaway. Stephanie asked professional organizers around the country for tip sheets, complementary consultations, software samples, e-books, PowerPoint presentations, and much more.

Visit Great Organizing Online Giveaway and register for this free event. Hundreds of downloads are available.

At the Great Online Organizing Giveaway, the “how to” tips alone are worth a look at the website. Participants learn how to de-clutter and organize paper and business cards, prepare for tax season, and simplify the workplace. One of the giveaways, “How to Set Up a 'Command Center' to run an efficient home” includes a free phone consultation.

There is obvious need for this much advice. Studies show that one-quarter of people with two-car garages don’t park in the garage because of all the clutter. Twenty-three percent of adults pay their bills late because they lose them. More than one in ten people in the US spend an average $1000 month in storage unit fees. Being disorganized at work is also costly. A national study shows an executive spends four to five hours a week looking for lost papers. A salaried employee at $30,000 will use approximately $3,500 a year in lost time searching for files and notepads. And a staggering 80% of all filed papers are never looked at again.

Clutter and disorganization does not have to be the norm. The Great Online Organizing Giveaway can inspire the most cluttered and disorganized among us. Stay firm in your resolve to clear the path to feel good about where you live and how you work.