Dirty Little Secret: Home Chaos and Professional Organizers

Abstract

Accumulation of possessions is a common phenomenon in an affluent society such as the United States. People increasingly share a common ideology that more is better, thus legitimizing acquiring ever more stuff. The dramatic accumulation of possessions and the limitation of organization skills among individuals create frustration and panic in managing time and space, resulting in home clutter and chaos. In this study, we collaborated with a professional organizer in order to explore how such organizers interact with their clients and implement their three‐stage organizing system—“See it, Map it, Do it” in helping their clients in a process that moves from identifying to solving the problem of clutter and disorganization in their homes. We use a video ethnographic approach and draw on depth interviews with professional organizers and their past and current clients as well as observations in informants' homes. The research was conducted in order to visualize the issues in disorganization and frustrations of home clutter and chaos as well as the methods and results of the organizers. The meanings of clutter were explored by studying the life stories of our informants and observing the services in our informants' home. Finally, the deep meanings of clutter and the notion of dirty as well as the attachment of possessions are explored.

Keywords:

• Professional Organizer
• Home Clutter and Chaos
• Disorganization
• Dirty
• Video Ethnography