Glossary of Organizing Terms

Want to sound like a pro next time you peruse the isles of the Container Store? This quick glossary will get you up to speed on our industry's lingo in no time!

• Organizing - De-cluttering, arranging and maintaining items and data to ensure that we can find and access what we need when we need it.
• Professional Organizer - According to the National Association of Productivity and Organization (NAPO), a professional organizer supports the evaluation, decision-making, and action around objects, space and data thus helping clients achieve desired outcomes regarding function, order and clarity.
• Productivity - The art of getting things done; producing the desired results and achieve your time management goals.
• Productivity Consultant - NAPO also defines a productivity consultant as someone who supports the evaluation, decision-making and action around time, energy and resources, thus helping clients to achieve desired outcomes regarding goals, effectiveness and priority.
• Categorizing - Arranging in categories or classifications based on similar kind, function or use.
• De-clutter - To remove mess or distraction from a space in order to organize and prioritize.
• Backsliding - The reversal of previously made organizing progress. This can happen for a number of reasons, including new life events, failure of maintenance systems and sabotage from others in the household or office.
• Chronic Disorganization - A state of disorganization that has not been resolved with repeat attempts to organize, negatively affects the quality of life of the disorganized individual and requires continued support of a professional to sustain any level of organization.
• Hoarding - The collection or maintaining of a high volume of items that include those that serve no purpose to the individual. These items clutter the living space and prevent those spaces from being used for their intended purpose, thus causing distress or problems for the individual's day-to-day activities.