NAPO LA Organizing Awards – Professional Organizers in Good Company

Today, I’d like to share some good news.  I’ve been in Los Angeles for the NAPO-LA 7th Annual Organizing Awards!  What’s that you’re wondering? Well, it’s a fun, red-carpet event and the perfect opportunity for me to spend a Saturday night, dressed up with my fellow professional organizers. It was my first time attending and I was there because I’d been nominated as Best Chronic Disorganization Expert. In addition, I was asked to present an award, for Best Organizing Product Retailer.  I’m delighted to report that I won the award I’d been nominated for!  (Hoarders won two awards!)

It was quite an event! An enjoyable, exciting evening spent mixing and mingling with many accomplished and well known professional organizers, authors, speakers, TV personalities, and productivity experts including: Julie Morgenstern, Peter Walsh,  Trish Suhr, Standolyn Robertson, and Barry Iszak. Oh, and some of the most beloved brands in the industry, including The Container Store (which won the award I presented), Office Max, and Real Simple magazine were represented too.

Winning this award is very special for me because votes come from my peers; the nominees are determined by NAPO-Los Angeles members.

The evening is really quite a spectacular production! It’s a glamorous red carpet affair complete with photographers, interviews, and even a really nice gift bag filled with all sorts of goodies related to productivity and organizing.  I’ve never been to the Academy Awards, but I feel like this ceremony gave me a little taste of it!   Many thanks for nominating and voting for me.

If you’d like a few more details, here’s a press release:

Cary-based organizational expert Geralin Thomas won the award for “Best Chronic Disorganization Expert” at the 7th annual Organizing Awards presented by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers. The awards ceremony was held the of January 26 in Los Angeles.

“I’m honored to be recognized by my peers with this award,” says Thomas. “Being in the company of the organizing industry’s best minds, people like Peter Walsh and Julie Morgenstern, is very humbling!”

Thomas, a prominent figure of the organizing field, was tapped as a presenter during the annual ceremony, where she presented the award for Best Organizing Product Retailer, taken home this year by the Container Store. Other nominees included OfficeMax, OpenSky and Target.

Thomas is one of just two dozen organizers worldwide to achieve the designation Master Trainer as conferred by the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (www.challengingdisorganization.org).

She specializes in chronic disorganization and hoarding and works with teens and adults challenged by mental health issues, including anxiety and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

In addition to operating her North Carolina-based consultancy, Metropolitan Organizing, LLC, Thomas is an instructor for both the Institute for Challenging Disorganization and the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.NAPO.net).

Thomas, who opened Metropolitan Organizing in 2002, is a past-president of the North Carolina chapter of NAPO, and provides phone coaching for organizers around the world. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In addition, she has appeared more than 20 times as an expert on the Emmy-nominated A&E program, “Hoarders” since 2009.

7th Annual NAPO-LA Organizing Award Winners

• Best Home Organizing Product – Ziploc® Bags
• Best Small Space Organizer – Elfa (The Container Store)
• Best Organizing Technology – Applie iPhone
• Best Garage Design Firm – Gladiator Garage Works™
• Best Organizing Book – “Lighten Up: Love What you Have, Have What You Need, Be Happier with Less” By Peter Walsh
• Best Services Provider to the Organizing Industry – ShelfGenie®
• Best Green Organizing Service – Eileen Koff, CPO, To The Next Level
• Most Valuable Educational Resource – Institute for Challenging Disorganization
• Best Closet Design Firm – Elfa (The Container Store)
• Most Educational National TV Show About Organzing – Hoarders™
• Best Organizing Product Retailer – The Container Store®
• Best Publication Featuring Organizational Information – Real Simple Magazine
• Most Supportive or Organizer-Friendly Charity – Goodwill Industries®
• Best Organizing Mobile App – Evernote®
• Best Show Incorporating Organizing on National TV – Hoarders™
• Best Organizing Website or Blog – Unclutterer
• Best Office Organizing Product – Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners
• Best Business Organizer – Donna McMillan, McMillan & Co Professional Organizing
• Philanthropy Award – Barry Izsak, CPO®, CRTS, Arranging It All®
• Best Photo/Memorabilia Organizer – Photo Savvy Organizing
• Best Chronic Disorganization Expert – Geralin Thomas, Metropolitan Organizing®
• Most Innovative Organizer – Regina Lark, Ph.D., CPO® A Clear Path
• Leading Edge Award – Katherine Macey, Organized to Excel, Past President, NAPO-LA
• Volunteer of the Year – Jean Furuya, The Office Jeanie
• Raising the Bar Award – Tara Kenavan, Twenty-One Times Organizing

About Geralin Thomas

I'm an organizing consultant located in the Raleigh area. "Metrozing" (my company's nickname) specializes in helping chronically disorganized clients. If you, or someone you care about, needs help organizing an office, home, time or life, we can help! Or, if you're interested in becoming a professional organizer, please explore the many ways I can help you build a better professional organizing business that is sustainable and sensible via phone-coaching sessions. We can socialize on: Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter [@Metrozing] and LinkedIn. Or leave a message on my office phone: 919 380-7718 Looking for resources? Click the "SHOP" button located in the upper right corner of my website.

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