Professional organizer based in Aspinwall takes the stress out of moving

A professional organizer and specialty move manager based in Aspinwall is dedicated to taking the stress and mess out of moving.

Paul Regan, 64, is owner and creator of Paul the Organizer, a personal organization business with a mission to provide efficient and effective organizing assistance based on the individual emotional and physical needs of each client.

Regan is committed to taking the hassle and stress out of moving, and his business primarily assists senior citizens with their downsizing needs.

“Most of my clients are between 70-102 years old,” Regan said. “It can be very emotional for folks.”

Regan is a member of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers and the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Regan grew up with eight siblings in Shaler and his late mother, Patricia Regan, was a master of multi-tasking.

“It was a little chaotic at times,” said Regan of his upbringing. “I think I learned a lot from my mother. She had to really be on top of it.”

Regan graduated from Shaler High School in 1979 and earned a degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.

Paul the Organizer launched in 1990 as a part-time business, starting small and working weekends for 15 years, until 2005, when he transitioned Paul the Organizer to full-time.

He previously worked in the health care insurance industry, in fundraising for the March of Dimes and as activity director for Valley Care Nursing Home.

“My philosophy is ‘I guide, you decide’ and I keep in mind the importance of efficiency while being sensitive to clients’ sentimental attachments to their belongings,” Regan said.

Caring approach

Mindy Norman hired Paul for a recent move to Longwood at Oakmont.

“He was absolutely fantastic. Incredible. I have moved six times in my life and Paul made this move the easiest. He was with me the entire day of my move and organized my entire apartment at Longwood,” Norman said.

Hanging Norman’s beloved picture frames in a creative fashion was one way Regan helped to take the moving day pressures off of his client.

“He turned it into a very beautiful experience,” Norman said.

Providing a caring approach to all of his clients is paramount.

“I love what I do because they can be overwhelmed and I help get them settled.”

One former client has included a woman in Oakmont who had lived in her home since age 2.

“She was quite the character,” Regan recalled. “We always work on what will fit as a person downsizes and I find the Depression era clients tend to want to hold onto things.”

The most difficult items to purge during a downsizing?

“Pianos and china cabinets, they’re not used as much these days,” Regan said.

Paul handles every aspect of moving, including helping to determine what belongings to keep, donate or sell, helping select a mover, customizing a floor plan for the new location, staging furniture, coordinating removal of belongings, and assisting in all aspects of the physical move.

He frequently finds himself working at senior living facilities.

“Paul realizes that he is handling items that have a lifetime of importance. He treats clients and their belongings with a great deal of sensitivity,” said Katherine Vojtko, vice-president of Sherwood Oaks Retirement Community.

The bulk of Regan’s clients are female senior citizens and he charges a flat rate of $75 per hour.

“In the U.S., Allegheny County is the second highest senior population, after Dade County, Fla.,” Regan said.

Demand for Regan’s organizational skills remains steady and sometimes Regan ends up with a waiting list.

“Each person I learn from. The hardest part about my job is when a person is in sad circumstances. I just enjoy what I do and the nice part for me is I feel like I make a difference in people’s lives, because in a time of crisis, moving is one of the top stressors in the world,” Ragen said.

Regan said the process of organizing often begins in the closet.

“Go through your closet and if there are cobwebs on shoes or dust on the shoulders of the clothes, it’s time to let that stuff go,” Regan said.

Organize small and expand.

“Just do one room at a time or one project at a time so it’s not overwhelming,” he said.