Dear AT,
My question concerns our office. Originally intended for wine storage, it is very small indeed - only about 9 by 14. Two people work there full-time, and several others work there part-time. We have some filing cabinets and a small rack for mail, but our storage mainly consists of cardboard boxes and wooden wine boxes that we have re-purposed.
We are in the basement with no windows and a single overhead light. We don't have as much counter space as we need, and everyone works very hard and has had little time to devote to improving the space. As you have almost certainly guessed, we need help...
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I am wondering whether anyone can recommend a professional organizer, perhaps - who can help us organize our space, increase storage, and improve our lighting.
Thanks,
M
Dear M,
We did a google search, as this is a topic we haven't dug into deeply yet. The first place we found is Gainer Organizing (GO), a local pro organizing company featured on HGTV. The site looks good, they specialize in both home and office organization, and they feature positive feedback and quotes on the site from Chicago customers.
We also spotted White Space: "White Space™ is a Professional Organizer that combines personal and professional organization, flow and function; creating places of comfort and unparalleled efficiency. Whether it’s a bedroom closet or a 14,000 sq ft. office, the Professional Organizers at White Space™ can customize a solution to add balance, order, simplicity and control to your life." White Space also has a running blog worth checking out.
And lastly, we came across Organized with Style. These look like three good places to start getting information and cost quote.
Can anyone else give us some good tips or firsthand accounts on experience with a local professional organizer?? There must be some great ones out there....
(Image via Organized with Style)
Wow, that sounds like a terrible working environment! Is this a home office or an *real* office?
Be prepared to be down for several days, at least, using a professional organizer. It's great, if you can handle that disruption for your business, I couldn't and found it a painful experience. I'm not hating on organizers I just personally found that disruption costly for a small business. Now, with a floorplan, I head to my local organizing shop (here it's The Container Store) or IKEA and use their space planning help. I can usually corral a few people to spend a couple hours assembling furniture and refiling books & files. That way, with good planning, the disruption is limited to a day or less and everyone pitches in to get it done.
Check the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net). You can search for professional organizers by plugging in your zip code, and then narrow the field using all kinds of different criteria depending on your needs. Good luck!
As a work from home sort of guy I say that getting the work space sorted is one of the most importaint things that you can do. Yes it might cost and it might involve some disruption but the cost and effort will pay dividends by impoving your productivity and mental health long term. I would recommend finding a professional in your area especially if you are planning on using the space for a reasonable period of time into the future.
Try Nina Cowen (Organizational Design Services) at ods@ameritech.net. She's helped me organize my office as well as done some design work for my condo. Reasonable rates--averages about $50 an hour.
I've used Karli with Organized With Style to organize my home office. We started on a Sunday, but by Monday morning, I was back in business and Karli worked around me and my schedule. The transformation was amazing. That was approximately one year ago, and I've retained most of her tips. Considering I'm naturally disorganized, that's a big accomplishment. I was thinking of buying a half day of time for a refresher course.