Gold in Those Garages

Diva has a tip for retail designers who lose their jobs this year (not being pessimistic, but there are Federated/May Co. layoffs pending): consider going into garage design. The New York Times recently reported that this is a hot new profession, with clients paying $12,000 or more to have their garage clutter organized and whipped into shape. After the boxes of Christmas décor and tools are tidied-up, some suburban residents even opt for upscale flooring, the best storage systems from California Closets, and even garage feng shui sessions, to be sure the energy is propitious. Here’s the best part—what got Diva’s attention—the article reported that Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers, says fees paid to garage designers “can run upward of $200 an hour.” (A lot of store designers don't make close to that.) Diva isn’t into career counseling, but with garage makeovers accounting for 10 percent a year growth, and with current expenditures of $800 million annually for garage organizing products, it’s the fastest growing segment of the home improvement market. Retail designers polish up on your racetrack layouts, and what about face-outs for those garage walls? After the shopping spree of the past decade or so, most garages are stuffed with tons of junk consumers can’t find room for inside their homes. Diva says: Maybe I’ll take a shovel to my garage, and then reward myself with a $600 check (figured at $200 an hour, for three hours—conservative estimate of the time it would take). That’s enough bucks for a brand new Diva-size splurge. Watch out Nordstrom; now Diva’s got an empty garage to refill!

--Diva