piler v. filer - on the case

lately i've been thinking about pilers and filers. most everyone falls into one of those two categories. while pilers often feel bad about their piles and filers are often proud of their files, the truth is that one is not really better than the other.

for pilers the problem is obvious. it's usually right out there creating a shameful space (a space of shame) and making it hard to find what they're looking for. one place to look but so much to dig through.

filers, on the hand, may look great on the outside but sometimes, an organizational nightmare looms within. some filers have a tendency to over file. it's hard for most people to even imagine that over filing could be a bad thing (or even a thing) but it happens. the situation here is that enthusiastic filers make files for everything. every little thing and tiny category gets its own folder. the result can be the same as for the pilers -- it's hard for filers to find what they're looking for! many places to look and still, so much to dig through.

so that's what i've been thinking about. it's interesting to me that totally opposite behaviors result in incredibly similar problems. i think i'll be looking for more paradoxes as i organize my way through 2008.

fame becomes us

apartment therapy is a fabulous website started by interior designer maxwell gillingham-ryan (yes, he's been on oprah!). their goal (if they do say so themselves) is to connect people to the resources they need to improve their homes, while reducing their reliance on stuff.

today they're connecting people to spruce! i give them one big thumbs up for meeting their goal. see for yourself at apartmenttherapy.com

tip time! verticalize (is that a word?)

what is the number-one thing you can do to make a difference in your home office?

contain, contain, contain . . . home offices often get bogged down with all manner of mail and bills and school work and kids art. it becomes impossible to find anything. a great way to get it under control (and still have a work surface) is to create vertical piles by using standing magazine holders. label one for each member of the household and toss in paper that applies to that person: the current little league schedule (toss last season in the recycle bin), the book club choices, the address list you've been meaning to enter into your computer. this gives everything an easy to find home (and you'll probably be able to get rid of lots of stuff along the way). later, when you're on the hunt for sydney's birthday list just pull down her magazine file and search one pile in one place.

don't forget . . . while it may be tempting to choose a different color box for each person, your best bet is to keep all of your containers in the same color family. this will reduce visual clutter in your tidy new office. (see post from september 8, 2007 for more on this idea)

where in the world are the sprucegirls?

small businesses start out small. sometimes they don't stay that way. that's the good news. the bad news is that sometimes systems which are perfectly reasonable for keeping track of things when they're small don't translate so well as the business scales up.

such was the case this week at a one-gal-show in san francisco. this small company has been doing great with one large client and several smaller accounts. all of that changed recently when the owner landed two large, ongoing clients to add to her list. others followed and it looks like 2008 will bring more of the same.

we spent lots of time talking with the client to learn about what her work is like, what her process is for each client and how things have worked thus far with her organizational systems. she loved that we pushed her to really think about her work, right down to the nitty gritty and consider if what she was doing really helped her bottom line. "that's a great question," she kept saying.

in the end, we were able to put together a system that works well for her now and will accommodate all the growth that lies ahead. she's poised now for business to quadruple before she'll need to have us back . . . and, thanks to the spruce simplicity, she'll be able to manage it all without hiring an assistant!

the spruce it is a-changing

today spruce is officially introducing a new phase of our business designed to help you help yourself. for years now people have been asking me, spruce founder, rachel siegel, for my advice about all sorts of organizational issues. "where should i put my . . . .?" "how do i deal with all the . . . ?" "what in the world should i do with my . . . .?

well, i'm ready to share the answers. beginning this month, i'll be available for private consultations on an hourly basis. if you're a bay area local, just invite me over, tell me what's bugging you, show me what your space is like, and i'll give you recommendations for how to solve the problem. i'll also make suggestions for my favorite, spruce-sanctioned products and tools and let you know where you can find them. finally, customized solutions for you to tackle at your own pace. if you live in another part of the world, we can do the same thing electronically and on the phone. (i just did three closets in brooklyn last week!)

it's what everyone's been clamoring for and it's here, just in time for the holidays. check out the website for more information and let the sprucing begin!

tip time! *and* where in the world are the sprucegirls...

all rolled into one! this week the sprucegirls helped a busy family get their house ready for a party. toys were corralled, the mail sorting station was tamed, and all horizontal surfaces were weeded of errant items. the house is now looking very festive and ready for its close-up.

you can perform the same disappearing act for your own party-pooping piles--with a little strategy and prioritization. your job here is to make things look good. don't get bogged down in details that won't give your house visual party-bang--alphabetized cds are great, but not the best use of your time in this mission. focus on the obvious: the surfaces. the idea behind this tip is to think like a party guest--take a good look at your house like you're seeing it for the first time. go out the front door and come in like a guest even, and focus on the trouble spots that catch your eye.

next, do a sweep and gather. take a laundry basket with you and pluck all the visible items not invited to the party. now this is the important part: sort and distribute them *immediately*. seriously. no party until that basket is empty. it'll go quicker than you think--don't linger over each item, just hunker down and dispatch them to their homes.

lastly, make sure categories that do live out, haven't grown to un-party-esque proportions. if the kids have a basket of toys in the kitchen, make sure *all* the toys fit in the basket. you might not notice the overflow on a daily basis, but your guests will. the same goes for mail. nothing kills the fun mood like a pile of bills. neaten and contain your everyday paper, thin out your message board area--the less that's out, the better.

now make a few pigs-in-a-blanket and party already!

tip time! the rule of seven...

this tip mines the history vault. benjamin franklin may just be the genesis of this idea by commenting that fish and houseguests stink after three days. what does that have to do with organizing, you ask? simple. ol' ben had a deadline in mind, and no matter that fish and guests seemed like different problems altogether, he knew that one deadline kept his life simpler.

we take this approach to paper archives that have a habit of building up in filing cabinets. we've seen some magazines advocate for a complicated system of different deadlines depending on the type of paper--frankly, it makes our heads spin. so our solution? seven years. keep your paper trail for seven years. at the start of every new year, pull all of last year's paper, tuck it into sturdy envelopes and (this is important) add seven. this becomes your destroy date. write it clearly on the envelopes, and when the date rolls around, the paper heads to the shredder. simple.


oh, and ben may have said a little something about death and taxes too--and that's our one exception to the seven year rule: taxes stay forever.

where in the world are the sprucegirls?

today the sprucegirls are busy working with a client to prepare for her upcoming remodel. the client, who has lived in her house for over 30 years, has wisely brought us in to help clear her storage room for demolition. we're busy dividing things into four categories: things she needs access to during the remodel, things to store during the remodel, things to store after the remodel and (our favorite), things to pass on to someone else.

remodels and additions are the perfect time for a good sprucing. most people need to move quite a bit of stuff around so, if you're touching it anyway . . . you might as well consider what's worth keeping. after all, you're about to have a fabulous, new space. the last thing you need is to junk it up with the same old stuff that junked up your old space.

the right stuff

yup, it's a file folder. this is one of the products we use most in our organizing work. the key to making it work well is the tab. we always choose third cut files with tabs on the right (also known as position 3 tabs). line these up in your file cabinet and you're suddenly free to add a new file any time without "messing up" your order. what a great and simple product. they're right there in your giant stationery store among the regular boxes of assorted tab files. seek them out . . .

tip time! easy on the eyes...

quick--what's your favorite color? if you can answer that, you're well on your way to a streamlined and clutter-free house. often, even our best organizational intentions are tripped up by that spice of life: variety. our eyes are smart. it's not just things piled out of place that we perceive as clutter--we're constantly playing the "one of these things is not like the other..." game, whether we realize it or not.

this holds true with the storage containers we select as well as the decor we choose to display. too many colors or patterns, and our eyes give up--without cohesion, anything can become exhausting visual clutter. defy this phenomenon by embracing uniformity. one key color will make a landscape of unique objects, read as a clean, inspired design choice. make that favorite color your best friend when selecting items for your home, and you'll be--and LOOK--organized.

where in the world are the sprucegirls?

last week we completed a home office. here's a look at a little piece of the project . . .

the challenge here was that there was virtually no hidden storage. that meant no place to hide office supplies or software or electronica. (the good news for us was that this client did not have a huge paper problem. she actually had a pretty reasonable amount but needed help with systems to keep track of it.)

enter the boxes . . . our solution here was to use all manner of boxes and holders. the magazine files hold paper and, you guessed it, magazines. the document boxes hold more paper, memorabilia and photos. the larger boxes stacked like a pyramid hold office and craft supplies. the client's files are now stashed away in file boxes. the key to all of this is that while the boxes come in all shapes and sizes, the color and feel are unified. this ensured that we weren't substituting one source of clutter for another.

the "after" picture also shows a complete lack of clutter on the shelves. the "before" situation meant that to get a book out, you probably had to move a photo or tchotchke. it's usually fine to do that because the book is desirable and worth taking the extra step for. putting it away, on the other hand, is a whole other story. nobody wants to move the photo or piece of tchotch to put the book away so . . . it doesn't happen. we lightened the load here in terms of these small items and found other places (like a window sill) to put the client's favorites.

tip time! stop clutter at the source...

it's labor day weekend! that means picnics, roadtrips and days at the beach--and lest we not forget that most sacred american tradition: the labor day sale. everything from mattresses to tires, at slashed prices. what's a bargain lover with a matching desire for an organized home, to do?

here are some spruce hints for savvy shopping (and it begins way before you swipe that card...):

-ask yourself, if you would you pay double. if not, perhaps you don't really want it in your home, and you've been tricked by the thrill of the "bargain".

-challenge yourself to name three instances when you'd wear a piece of clothing, or imagine three ways you'd use an item-- before you buy. make sure the utility matches the price.

-if the goods have passed the above requirements, then decide which item the new treasure is going to replace. swap them, new for old, immediately when you get home.

-and watch out for bulk deals: 10/$1 spiral notebooks seem great, if you can imagine where you're going to put the other 9 in waiting. if you don't have space, it's not a steal.

shopping and organization aren't mutually exclusive, as long as you buy thoughtfully with an item's home in mind.

where in the world are the spruce girls?

if you listen closely you might just hear a flurry of backpacks being zipped, pencil cases packed, and apples shined--ah, it's back to school!

last month, the spruce girls were on campus for a little summer school of our own. the assignment: a school office that was far from making the grade.



after many afternoons of playground paper tackling, this office is an A+++.



want to see how it turned out? stay tuned for the full story, coming soon in case studies: the case of the avalanche of paper.
find all our case studies on our website, sprucegirls.com

join up

we officially need another team member. as word spreads that organization is a good thing, the spruce girls are everywhere sharing happiness and joy. so, we need another spruce girl or boy join us. if you or someone you know likes the idea, check out the job description and drop us a line.

all charged up

pottery barn is definitely on the right track with its daily system recharging station. good work hiding cords and getting electronica up off the horizontal. sadly we can't really tell what is going on in the back. from the description it seems like the whole thing should be plugged into the wall. we don't get why we don't see a cord coming down. does it only look good if you have a plug in the middle of your wall into which to plug the whole thing? also, we wish that it didn't come with the white board. it would be much better if they were separate components so that if you're anti-white board like we are you could still have the benefit of a cord-hider recharger. nice work on the three color choices and lots of matching coordinates.

welcome to the spruce files

follow along as we explore spaces and places throughout the bay area and beyond. we'll be sharing our thoughts on new products, providing hot organizing tips and giving you a glimpse into where in world we are. stay tuned . . .