By Barbara Brewer La Mere
The first clue that Sharon Schneible might someday grow up to own a business called “Organized by Sharon” was when, in sixth grade, she volunteered on a regular basis to straighten her teacher’s desk and clean up areas of the classroom.
Schneible was a member of a large family and sometimes found that she needed to conceal the location of belongings to keep them out of the hands of siblings, she said. Twelve years ago, to make some money for her family while accommodating her children’s schedules, Schneible established a residential cleaning service. Many of her customers were senior citizens and some commented on what a wonderful organizer she was.
As she cleaned, she moved items, Schneible recalled, and placed them in more advantageous arrangements, whether in terms of convenience, aesthetics, or safety. She cleaned and straightened kitchen cupboards, closets, garages, and other storage areas. She rearranged furniture to allow for better traffic flow though the living space.
In some cases, she was helping to make the person’s home a safer environment. At other times, she was helping people to organize in preparation for moves to downsized living quarters and then helping to stage the homes they were leaving for sale. For a time, this became the main focus of her business, she said.
About six years ago, however, Schneible committed to doing less of staging houses for sale and opted to become more involved in organizing people’s living spaces. This marked the establishment of Organized by Sharon.
As a member of National Organization of Professional Organizers, Schneible has become increasingly interested in research by that organization and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization regarding approaches to address issues of people who are problematic hoarders. Schenible’s degree from Empire State College is in community human services with a concentration in psychology and so she has an interest in participating as a member of a research team.
Schneible admits that not even her home is perfectly organized.
“A Martha Stewart world is not realistic in my life, ” she said.
She recently has transitioned her business to full-time status. It continues as a one-woman operation.
Schneible said there seems there is not a lot of competition for the work she does in the area that runs from Clifton Park to Lake George. One of her goals for this year is to establish a couple of particular niches in which her organizing skills are most needed. Another is to increase marketing efforts.
To that end, her website, organizedbysharon.com, is being updated. Schneible plans to continue marketing to seniors via community centers and senior communities.
Organized by Sharon can be reached at 791-5560. Schneible can be e-mailed at sharon@organizedbysharon.com.