DIRTY RICHMOND

It seems as if everything in Kristen Ziegler’s humble Fan District apartment has effortlessly been placed in perfect order. This is exactly what is expected of a young entrepreneur that has fearlessly founded her own professional organizing business, and continues to debunk the myth that professional organizing is a field exclusively of hobbyist. Holding a Certified Professional Organizers license, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and a background in architecture, Kristen has an uncanny sixth sense super power of looking at a space beyond the clutter and seeing what it has the potential to become.

Minima is not just the name sake of the professional organizer’s business but a philosophy that has holistically been adopted into her life. “Minima, it doesn’t get more simple than that. It is the root of minimalist, the spirit of the person, the spirit of the place. It’s about rawness and honesty.”

Tip From a Professional Organizer #1: Only keep enough serving ware (i.e. dishes, cups, utensils) for one day’s use. Store extras on a high shelf for guests. This will prevent the inevitable massive dirty dish pile up.

Tip From a Professional Organizer #2: Use matching hangers in your closet so that you can focus on the clothing itself rather than be distracted by an array of different sizes and colors. Also organize by sleeve/pant/skirt length (and color if you’re feeling ambitious). This method not only helps you see what you have, but also see what you might need. For instance - by putting all of your long-sleeve button up shirts together, you might realize that you have an overabundance of the same color or style. Next time you’re out shopping, you might decide to invest in something less redundant.

When speaking of her path to launching Minima, Kristen describes this as a perfect storm of events that she had to get through with complete honesty; losing her architecture job during the peak of the recession, the dissolve of a long term relationship, and oh yeah, fighting cancer. Kristen Ziegler is a bad ass in every sense of the word and truly believes that the services she provides as an organizer go beyond aesthetics, but leads to helping people in a real way. “You can’t control life,” says the 29 year old entrepreneur, “but you can control your environment and that can give you a sense of control.”

Tip From a Professional Organizer #3: Create a “landing zone” (i.e. hooks and a bench or credenza) by the door to keep everything that comes and goes on a day to day basis - keys, bags, store returns, hats, coats, etc. I also keep all of my shoes and jewelry by the door with a mirror to check my completed outfit before leaving.

Kristen is a burst of energy and a pleasure to be around.The Minima owner is an active member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and currently serves as the Communications and Technology Director for the Richmond NAPO chapter. For more information on Minima and the services she provides visit the Minima website or follow Minima on tumblr.

Posted August 1, 2012 at 11:26am in Richmond Feature At Home Organizing Lifestyle || home