Thinking Outside the Box

Much of my time as a Professional Organizer is spent helping people to put things into containers and boxes. But, success in this business requires as much thinking "outside the box" as it does about putting things into containers. I was reminded of this recently, while consulting with clients who own a large, well-appointed suburban home. Two of the issues that the clients presented were the lack of closet space on the main floor, and the constant clutter on a small, built-in desk. Limited closet space resulted in coats' being deposited in the front entry. Shoes were removed inside the garage and dropped on the floor, by the other door into the house. The homeowners were tired of tripping on shoes. And the last thing they wanted (guests) to see was a wall of coats hanging in the foyer. So, the challenge was clear: This active family needed more closet space.

The second problem was the built-in desk. Located adjacent to the kitchen, the desk was an obvious clutter trap. It was probably designed as a bill paying area, or maybe a place for children to do homework. But, the family had a home office, and the children were teens. Over time, this space had become a phone desk, magazine dump, mail dump, clutter repository, etc. So, I asked the client some questions:

"Do you use this desk?"

"A little. For this and that."

"Do you need the desk?"

"No."

"Would you miss the desk if it went away?"

"No."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking about ripping out the desk, adding some doors, and turning the space into a closet. Is that what you're thinking?"

"Exactly."

What's the point? The architect designed a built-in desk, the builder built a built-in desk, and the homeowner bought a built-in desk. But, the space wasn't working as a desk. So, we took the same space, and gave it a different name: closet. Same space-different use. Better use of space. More productive use of space. More effective use of space. The ability to make these connections, and visualize new uses is part of thinking out of the box. Sometimes we have to stand back, remove the preconceptions, and let our imagination work. Containers and boxes are important. And sometimes we need to put the containers aside, and think out of the box. It's an important part of learning to become organized.

© 2005 OASIS professional organizers?

Marc Rifkin is a Professional Organizer, and owner of OASIS professional organizers, which provides home and office organizing solutions in Greater Seattle.

©2005 OASIS professional organizers
may be reprinted with full author credit, bio, and all links intact only

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/10/06/daily43.htmlcid=1256149417ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNEN-R-ZmA5t5HGOdx3NOUP9MM0Z6AVoters favor status quo in labor-business balance/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1bOrganizing/b workers into unions does not need to be made easier. There is a good balance between labor unions and business in Colorado. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/2008/10/10/olympic2010_ticket_packages/cid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFZSCOGIx6nMd2WOdDG70lQaeJdPAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Orqw_HFO8wQJimgurl=www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/2008/10/10/vancouver2010_courtesy_400.jpg width=80 height=45 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Sportsnet.ca/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ivoQMQaBny6i4SLFcAKC5mgjLewQcid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGNZf9E9YemZshaH_UqMMz4CjnHFAPricey private ticket packages offer first crack at 2010 Olympic seats/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Canadian Press,nbsp;VANCOUVERnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Hotel rooms are scarce in Vancouver, with most already booked up by the borganizing/b committee and related partners such as security and government agencies. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-Q8hAgiLWXQ1Ly8GkX7owG8UYrAD93INOPO1cid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNH2n3VZz99DojU-RC_IMP5YVzxiwA2010 Olympic ticket sales begin Friday/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10690806cid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNEuthA2msZB08D7WN3M6aziMxbUqATickets on sale for Vancouver 2010 Olympics/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSan Jose Mercury News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html%3Fid%3Dcb3b434c-008c-468b-8ce8-24a224272981cid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNHnarEKZyAx3I04Yp7qHhz4kf4_fAAccommodation and ticket bundles for 2010 Olympics on sale today/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCanada.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/10/c5494.htmlcid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFOZABE3aY4GXvaU45RSXCGLRjxjAnobrCanada NewsWire (press release)/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/2008/10/10/olympic2010_ticket_packages/cid=1256226537ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFZSCOGIx6nMd2WOdDG70lQaeJdPAnobrSportsnet.ca/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256226537hl=ennobrall 14 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/10/11/organizing_for_election/cid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGa0dTZ_62qlvgnjRjyuTBbx0e1ywimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=qcV6iAuw-_IJimgurl=images.publicradio.org/content/2008/10/10/20081011_organizing_for_election_1_27.jpg width=73 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Weekend America/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/10/11/organizing_for_election/cid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGa0dTZ_62qlvgnjRjyuTBbx0e1ywbOrganizing/b for Election Day/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWeekend America,nbsp;MNnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1When Lighton says quot;block walk,quot; he#39;s talking about a common borganizing/b tactic - getting volunteers to hit the streets and canvass for their candidate. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.cnsnews.com/public/checker.aspx%3FrsrcID%3D37265cid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFBrDHw1gUUcyjQ9NB6pZpMWnZ1jQRapper Wyclef Jean Backs Obama Because of His Community bOrganizing/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNSNews.com,nbsp;VAnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Nicholas Ballasy (CNSNews.com) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s work as a community organizer in Chicago is why Grammy Award winning b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.smartbrief.com/news/leadership/storyDetails.jsp%3Fissueid%3DAF2042E4-DBD6-4B9C-902F-DE12134556E2%26copyid%3D35144B48-BBEA-4247-A3AF-C34F0212E259cid=1256080460ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNEwGzVs1637k2QiiqwdnQ_XlEcTEwThe US Army seeks its next borganizing/b principle/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSmartBrief,nbsp;DCnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The American military is grappling with two competing ideologies: the Powell Doctrine, which calls for overwhelming force, and the lessons of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp%3Fz%3D31%26a%3D365739cid=1256224128ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGC2Jnndf4uYijWkPo2HlYrpfgQiwTake command of clutter/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPost-Bulletin,nbsp;MNnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;Many people feel overwhelmed when they think of borganizing/b their space,quot; said Cathy Amundson, who is the owner and operator of Rochester business, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bignews.biz/%3Fid%3D787695%26keys%3DCPO-Seattle-Organizing-Worldcid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGzoNZRXJdfZSRD9pU1aXzmLrR76gSeattle Professional bOrganizing/b Firm Employs the Most CPO#39;s in the b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBigNews.biz (press release),nbsp;MAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Seattle, WA, 10.10.08 – Eliminate Chaos, an borganizing/b services firm based just outside of Seattle, employs the most CPO’s in the world. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/inaugural-national-summit-on-personalized,573785.shtmlcid=1255841339ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFaW7kNPMGNqVfj5UUH_-zq5gSzXwAuthor : The bOrganizing/b Committee for the National Summit on b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEarthtimes (press release),nbsp;UKnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1SALT LAKE CITY , Oct. 9 -- The bOrganizing/b Committee for the National Summit on Personalized Health Care (NSPHC) today announced that its inaugural event, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1130ap_voter_fraud.htmlcid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNFZn7AHwxYEfoSdCo9CdGeYbMklZQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=z2p2AKOJPc4Jimgurl=seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/aponline/55192.39Voter-Fraud-Probe-.sff.jpg width=80 height=57 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Seattle Post Intelligencer/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-ostertag/mccain-palin-demonizing-t_b_133812.htmlcid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNE9pPskiTjCZ8nSeALj7qlj7DiSUgMcCain, Palin: Demonizing the Poor/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHuffington Post,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1ACORN is a national community borganizing/b group that works with the very poor, and has been doing so since 1970. bOrganizing/b really poor people is difficult b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/10/mccain_memo_attacks_obama_on_a.htmlcid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNG5C6YfbzJiX5WpHBDevVK8LA7ozAMcCain Memo Attacks Obama on ACORN/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrRealClearPolitics Blog/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://washingtonindependent.com/11785/cnns-mis-reporting-on-acorncid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGL1uPPXfKHgLlc6crlLxskNy8apQCNN’s Misleading Report on ACORN/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Washington Independent/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/us/politics/11acorn.html%3Fref%3Duscid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNGle3VYoluuruhT5dLFrg6d5zJyVgOn Obama, Acorn and Voter Registration/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-acornoct11,0,1168347.storycid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNEr7E_LO1M-kujXqXff8JJjAF80BAnobrChicago Tribune/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/mccain_goes_aft_3.htmlcid=1255205671ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNHYMoPJTyDM6ROXuhRUST2nB5gp_AnobrBoston Globe/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255205671hl=ennobrall 1,018 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/6iframes/FrontEndArticlesDetailPage.aspx%3FArticleID%3D21329%26NoFrame%3D1cid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNHsGLcLTbMTnaDfzf4hge7_5cCwRgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=6KOCtq344ZcJimgurl=chicago.ibj.com/repository/ibj/2008/10/06/3/Img/Pc0030800.jpg width=47 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Indianapolis Business Journal/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/6iframes/FrontEndArticlesDetailPage.aspx%3FArticleID%3D21329%26NoFrame%3D1cid=0ei=V0PwSO6vFajs6gPxie24Bwusg=AFQjCNHsGLcLTbMTnaDfzf4hge7_5cCwRgSuper Bowl group taps CEO/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fIndianapolis Business Journal,nbsp;INnbsp;-/font nobr8 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Melangton will be charged with borganizing/b every aspect of the event to be held Feb. 5, 2012, including putting together a staff of 13 to 16 full-time paid b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
organizing - Google News


Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Clutter Control

Remember when you charged into the office that first day,... Read More

Organization Tips - How to Organise Your Computer Files

Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer,... Read More

5 Steps From Clutter To Control

Are you overwhelmed by clutter wherever you turn? Here are... Read More

Do You Have Scatter-Brain-Itis?

In your quest to get 'up and running' so to... Read More

Secrets to Eliminating Emotional Clutter

Are you plagued by clutter in your personal or professional... Read More

35 Santity Savers - Get More Productive

Use these 35 sanity savers this year to help you... Read More

Six ADD Tips for Organizing Everyday Things

Life with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) can be a constant... Read More

Are You A Collector?

Collections are the outward manifestation of a deeply-felt principle or... Read More

Digging out of Paper Clutter - part 1

Digging out from under stacks of paper might seem like... Read More

Get Organized -- Every Home Needs An Office

EVERY HOME NEEDS AN OFFICEYes, it is true that every... Read More

Effective Closet Cleaning Tips - Let Go of More Than Skeletons

I know I have a problem when I have to... Read More

Change the Way You Think and Change Your Life

Dennis is working as a factory worker during the day... Read More

10 Minute Tricks to Help You Get Organized

Whoever thought you'd be able to get organized in just... Read More

Be More Productive at Work: Avoid These Eight Traps

Obviously, productivity involves producing. Producing widgets, events, reports, sales. The... Read More

Tired of Endless Chores and To-Dos? Stop Running Around in Circles and Enjoy Life Again

Do you feel like you are running around in circles,... Read More

Digging out of Paper Clutter - part 2

We previously noted that papers must be sorted before they... Read More

Choose Spice Racks That Help You Organize Your Home

Today you have almost as many choices of spice racks... Read More

Organize Your Children & Save Your Sanity

It may be difficult to relate saving money with organization... Read More

10 Simple Steps to a More Organized Household

1. Divide big jobs into smaller jobs. Make a list... Read More

Cleaning Out Your Closet

Helping people clean out their closet is something I love... Read More

Stress Management: 10 Universal Laws to Get and Stay Organized

1. The Law of the 1st StepA good first step... Read More

Organisation - Getting Back To Basics

If you look at any major organisation, there is this... Read More

Without a Plan, You?re Doomed to Failure

"My job is an endless series of deadlines, I am... Read More

It?s Spring Cleaning Time? Let?s Make Room For Abundance!

I gathered some things you can do this spring while... Read More

Creating The Perfect Closet

Your closet is often the first thing you see in... Read More