'Hoarding' show features C.R. organization business

NORTH LIBERTY - You probably have a stack of unopened mail sitting somewhere in your home. Or a closet packed full of stuff, or maybe a room clogged with clutter. Spurred by the popularity of cable TV shows about 'hoarding' - when clutter is taken to an extreme - companies designed to help people get organized are popping up all over the country.

TLC's 'Hoarding: Buried Alive' recently featured the staff of one such Eastern Iowa business, Get Organized.

Teresa Sea's North Liberty home used to have a spare bedroom that had become a messy magnet for clutter.

'There was just so much stuff. It was overwhelming,' Sea said.

But today it's not even recognizable as the same room.

'I'm so glad I reached out and asked for help.

Now my home is much more organized,' Sea said. 'It's enriched my family life and has made my life much easier.' Sea contacted Get Organized, Becky Esker's Cedar Rapids-based company, a few years ago.

Now she's become a regular customer, going back about twice a year for what she calls a 'booster shot' to keep her organizational skills on track.

'I'm trained to see where the barriers are and where the systems are breaking down,' Esker said. 'Our biggest challenge is the coaching and the counseling . . .

dealing with the emotional issues.' Her service helps people rearrange their rooms and their lives. The company works with 100 to 150 clients each year.

She launched the company in 2001 and now employs eight people. Five or six independent contractors also work with her staff.

'It's not about taking over or they'll do it for you. It's about teaching you how to do it,' Sea said.

Esker said it's important to develop systems that make sense to you.

'Clutter is simply the failure to make a decision,' she said.

Sliding shelves and hidden slim drawers tucked under cabinets have allowed Sea to take charge.

'Instead of taking up precious closet space, I put it down there,' Sea said.

It's just one of the many simple steps she's taken to clear away the clutter and get her family organized.

Esker said she always tells her clients to follow three basic rules: Keep similar things together, contain them in some way, put everything away.