Last summer, Jennifer Johnson knew her son would attend kindergarten in the fall, so she wanted to do something to get back in the workforce. As she researched, she discovered that starting a personal organizing business might be just the ticket, so she went for it. After helping a couple clients, word spread about The Orderly Space and now she has work booked for months.

“Organization is something I’ve loved and craved since I was a child,” said Jennifer. “I figured I could coach people but even better I would work with them as we physically declutter and simplify their spaces. When I got this idea, I went for it.”

 

She started posting her work on Instagram and quickly started to grow a following after Marie Kondo, author of “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up,” reposted one of her photos. So she kept posting her tips and talking about the services she offers to help people optimize their space. She uses her Silhouette machine to make labels and also sells those labels in her Etsy shop.

Now she has a team of assistants that help with the bigger projects. She does everything from refreshing a pantry to cleaning out a 1000 foot farmhouse that’s gone through generations of the same family.

“As a creative person, I thrive on new experiences and being kept on my toes,” she said. “Constantly being challenged and being in new situations, I love it. I like to be active and serving. I could never have a desk job.”

In college, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and finds ways to utilize that knowledge in her work by helping people let go of things physically and emotionally.

“Sometimes I get to play a psychologist role. There’s times when clients cry. We talk about things that are difficult,” she said. “When clients that reach out, something in their life is stressful. There’s something they can get a grasp on. There’s a divorce or a death or some kind of pain point where they need help.”

One of her favorite things is to make a space more uniformed and less cluttered. She loves to use canisters, bins, and jars to make a space look more uniform. And that mentality started at a young age.

“Even as a kid, I wanted to be an interior designer. I would rearrange my room multiple times, and I was constantly cleaning and organizing,” she said. “Growing up, I had a giant craft room, and everything was perfectly organized and put together. I would spend hours creating.”

By making a home visually less cluttered, Jennifer hopes to bring more order and joy into her clients’ lives.

“I can see that visible weight off people’s shoulders,” she said. “There’s a physical shift in a session where their shoulders look visibly lighter. I leave and there’s so much joy and they look so much lighter and happier. To know you helped somebody achieve that, it’s just very empowering. I love that I get to be a part of transformation.”

To anyone wanting to start a business or work on a creative venture, she says to jump in and that by working hard, everything will fall into place.

“People who create something tend to be perfectionists,” said Jennifer. “There’s never going to be a perfect moment to start a business. If you waited for all of those things to be perfect, it wouldn’t happen.”

Follow her on Instagram @theorderlyspace to read her tips and see her inspiring spaces. You can also find her at her website, her Facebook page, and her Etsy shop The Orderly Space.