How To Organize Your Space Like Professional Organizer Jamie Hord from Horderly

Welcome to our first ever Covey Expert Confessional! This is a series created for our Covey community to give you insider tips, information & valuable insights on the routines of industry leaders. 

Covey Expert Confessional: Jamie Hord, Founder of Horderly

From spring cleaning to unpacking a new move, dealing with miscellaneous clutter can be an overwhelming task. But not for Jamie Hord. Co-founder of Horderly, an NYC-based professional organizing firm, Jamie is the clutter magician you need. Daily she helps clients transform messes into miracles with clever organization hacks and the passion to make you feel excited about your space. 

Always keeping her things tidy and organized, Jamie’s love for cleaning and organizing started as a young girl. While working full time in Manhattan, she was introduced to the world of Marie Kondo which inspired her to pursue professional organizing as a side hustle.

“I was so inspired by Marie Kondo’s book and discovered that professional organizing was a real career path,” said Jamie. “I started organizing as a side job on weekends and late nights and decided to go full time with my now husband in 2015. Now here we are five years later with 20 employees.” 

Jamie is thrilled to live out her dreams of bringing the joy of organizing to people around the country. From the most cluttered New York City apartments to some of the largest homes in Beverly Hills, she has brought order into countless homes and offices.

Your home should be your ultimate safe haven. We asked Jamie to give us some of the best organizing tips to spark joy in our own personal spaces:

How did you start your journey in professional organizing? 

It all came very naturally because I truly enjoy organizing and making things neat. When I first started I learned so much about myself through working with clients. I realized that not everyone thinks the way I do and that my passion for this work was unique. I really learned that this career takes a lot of discipline and well...organization. 

What is your mission or why for doing the work you do?

My why is changing our clients lives through organizing. The organization process saves so much time, money and frustrations. Horderly was solely built from passion and I truly love doing the work and that is so important in a career. 

Tell us your perfect organizing routine? 

1. Declutter - Before you even start thinking about organizing you need to decide if it’s a keep. Does it have meaning to you in some way? 
2. Measure - Don’t just buy any bin or box that you think is pretty or is on sale. It has to be the right size to maximize your space 
3. Contain and Label - A lot of people don’t realize why some areas turn into a cluttered mess so easily. Containment is key and labeling. Labeling creates a new habit and puts that stamp on creating a specific home for each category or item. 

Who inspires you the most?

Marie Kondo is my given inspiration but first and foremost I would say my husband and my team. We have such a diverse and strong team that constantly blows me away. I enjoy getting to know each and every one of my employees. 

What is your form of self care?

Organizing is definitely a form of therapy for me but I also run almost every day so that’s another form of self care.

What is a step of your morning or evening routine that you would never skip?

For the morning it is breakfast. I am a big breakfast person! In fact, I probably eat way too big of a breakfast *laughs*. For an evening routine, I like to watch TV or movies to get my mind off the day. 

One of the most important things you’ve learned as a female business owner?

Having confidence is so important. I never once thought I would have my own business and when I started this I thought I was crazy. But yes, definitely confidence. Also, learning to delegate is so important because there are certain points where you feel like you can do it all but delegating helps you grow in so many ways. 

What is one organizing secret that you would share with your dearest friend?

Buying organizing products is NOT getting organized. They help with putting the system in place and maintenance but it has to be the RIGHT product. Many people purchase the products only but organizing is much deeper than that.

Best piece of advice someone in the industry has given you?

Specialize and find your niche and run with that. Don’t try to spread yourself too thin. For example, Horderly specializes in unpacking and setting up your home. We don’t offer things like packing services, although we get asked a lot but I wasn’t passionate about doing that. We delegate that out and stick with what we are good at. 

A covey is a group of birds who flock together and that is the inspiration for our brand. Who is in your Covey?

Our entire team. We all help each other and they are totally my covey.