How often do you organize your closet? If the answer is never, you are not alone. As the pace of life speeds up, more and more people find themselves too busy to take care of their clothes in the closet. This has given rise to a brand-new career: the wardrobe organizer.

Unlike the traditional ayi, wardrobe organizers often have a professional knowledge of clothing maintenance, a higher-education background and a bigger wage.

Deng Mei from Chengdu set up her practice last year.

While working as a maternity matron, she saw the opportunity after volunteering to help her client tidy up the closet. That family was impressed with her work and encouraged her to expand on it as a business.

While tidying is a purely manual work, wardrobe organizing combines strength and skill. It requires special knowledge, special distribution and appreciation of the beauty. Photos: Courtesy of Deng Mei

She has so far served 100 clients, and her rates vary according to the size of the wardrobe.

"I charge 100 yuan ($14.95) per meter width of closet. An average reorganization costs about 600 yuan and takes six hours," Deng told the Global Times.

Deng said her biggest client bill was 10,000 yuan for two days' work, organizing two large wardrobes in a villa.

Her daily income is roughly 1,000 yuan - far higher than the average 30 yuan per hour for an ayi in Chengdu.

To justify the fee, Deng stresses that her work is different from an ayi's.

"While tidying is a purely manual work, wardrobe organizing combines strength and skill. It requires special knowledge, special distribution and appreciation of the beauty," Deng said.

When organizing a closet, she pulls all the clothes together, folds and organizes them according to color, season, brand or wearing occasions. Then she labels different clothes so that they can be easily found.

In general, such reorganizations can be maintained for at least a season, but it depends on the client, Deng said.

Her customers are mostly the affluent and in their 20s to 30s. Most of them are middle-class women with a large collection of clothes.

Deng is very proud of the positive feedback from her clients.

"They are very pleased with the organized wardrobe. Some said it gives them a pleasant state of mind. It gives you a relaxing and refreshing environment, where you can work more efficiently and keep it together just as a journey or a cup of coffee does," Deng said.

It sounds good to make a fortune with little or no investment, but Deng said the market is still young.

"The service is not widely known. Many potential clients can't find me," she said.

More recently Deng has set up trainings to teach people who want to enter this market. She said she hopes to create a professional team to be more competitive.

Others are also eyeing this potential line of work. According to the Beijing Morning Post, Yu Jia manages a small team doing a high-end service in wardrobe organizing. In addition to helping organize closets, it also pairs clothes into outfits for her customers.

"A coat can match with three or four different other items. It looks more businesslike with a blouse and a skirt, and more casual going with a T-shirt and jeans," Yu said.

She charges 680 yuan for each meter of closet width, and one client visit usually costs 2,000 yuan. Her small company also offers a shopping service, advising customers for 280 yuan an hour.

Naijia, a closet organizing company based in Beijing, also offers other luxury services besides organizing closets.

A customer-service representative from the company told the Global Times that many of its employees have a college degree in hotel management and interior design. Fees range from 498 yuan to 898 yuan, depending on the size of the closet.

However, in most cases the line between closet reorganizing and housekeeping service is still blurred.

Baidu keyword searches for closet organizing services in Shanghai yielded dismal results; one customer service rep from an ad listing told the Global Times that their company only helps fold clothes.

For service reviews, online ads and listings offer few order histories and comments, compared with the huge demand for housekeeping. It begs asking whether people are fully prepared to this new service.

Some say they feel it's unacceptable and unnecessary.

"It's a waste of money to pay somebody to do what you should do yourself. It also feels awkward to expose your sizes and all your personal belongings to strangers," Ding Jiahui, a postgraduate student, told the Global Times.

Regarding safety and privacy, Deng Mei said she is confident that the customers who want the service are unconcerned and that she would let them check their belongings after service.

The Global Times found that many online ads also posted a friendly notice asking clients to mind their belongings.