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How I keep project clutter under control
I’m a project guy. It’s rare that I don’t have four or five small projects going on at once, and since I’m not a neat person by nature, it’s very easy for me to let clutter get out of control.
About six months ago, I replaced the shelf that I was storing my printers on with Elfa drawers. This created the opportunity for a whole new project organization system.
Several of the drawers on the left serve as storage for office supplies. Most of the drawers on the right are for my photo printer paper. And the drawers in the center are individual projects.
Each drawer slides all the way out, so when I want to work on a particular project, I can bring the whole drawer to my desk. When I’m finished, the entire project slides back into the cabinet. I never feel like I’m actually cleaning up, but everything remains much more organized than it would otherwise be.
The whole thing is on casters, so I can roll it out away from the wall when I’m printing with really large paper, or I can store unfinished paintings against the wall behind it.
19 comments posted
Posted by Lose That Girl - 10/07/2009
See! It can be done! Time to show this post to all messy husbands!
Thanks for the post, Brian.
Posted by KeROB - 10/07/2009
I LOVE this! Especially the fact that the whole drawer comes out. I frequently like to take the entire contents to my work area without fishing around for items one by one!
Quite pricey though…
Posted by Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard - 10/07/2009
And it looks so much nicer than a filing cabinet.
Posted by James Tenniswood - 10/07/2009
I have one of these but they don’t suit heavy items as the supporting frame often comes apart leading a collapse. I’m sure it could be improved with some hackery
Posted by Beth - 10/07/2009
I like this a lot! In the process of reconfiguring my workspace at home, I was thinking of doing something similar. The modularity of it is so pleasing … while customizable, this Elfa set offers a uniform appearance when it’s all together, and still lets you add or divide when needs change.
I’ve been doing this (on the cheap and much less cute) in my closets using the plastic drawer units you can buy from big box stores. Those white and clear plastic units that come in a stack of 7 or so can be popped apart and reconfigured so you have the height and arangement you want. When I place them on a shelf in the closet, I put a small screw through the frame and into the wall to stabilize it and keep the unit from toppling when the drawers are open. As I said, it’s not so attractive, but it is functional.
Posted by Ange - 10/07/2009
I have a similar setup w/a rolling file caster that I got from Costco. It has 7 drawers: household, financial (receipts, checkbook, bills), to be filed, biggest client, business financial, all other clients, and scrap paper on the bottom. I love that I can roll it to to my desk and work with it, sticking papers in the to be filed drawer when I’m done with them, and roll back when finished.
Now that I think about it, might be finally ready to submit to Flickr pool!
Posted by Lori Paximadis - 10/07/2009
What a great idea! I currently keep my projects on shelves, but the bins would be a great way to keep all the little bits together. And I love that you can pull the whole drawer out. Best of all for visual but easily distracted people like me, you can see that there’s something in the drawers to be taken care of, but it’s not smacking you in the face and jumping up and down saying “pay attention to me!”
Posted by Jessica Chandler - 10/07/2009
Very interesting concept. What kind of “projects” do you work on that require such dimensional space?
As a knowledge worker, most of my projects are merely the summation of information – paper and/or digital – but I still do have “piles” of articles, research etc. I wonder if this would work for people with such piles.
Posted by Heather - 10/07/2009
Thanks for this posting! This is such a simple but genious concept. One I can certainly put to use with my craft projects that often get ditched because when I put them away it’s out of sight out of mind.
Posted by Kari - 10/07/2009
The Elfa systems can be really transformative. About six months ago, we got a five foot high, 10 inch (I believe) wide unit of drawers for a really stage space by our frig (which is in its own cubby space in the kitchen area. With those six new drawers, we were able to completely change our kitchen storage–before we had drawers that were over-full and really a pain to find stuff in. Those shelves, in an otherwise useless space, allowed us to divide and conquer. Now everything has its place and finding stuff in any of the drawers is a breeze. Well worth the investment!
Posted by Dawn F. - 10/07/2009
I L-O-V-E Elfa shelving. The rolling casters make it so versatile. Your manly-looking cabinet system makes me want to dig through it and see what cool stuff I can find!
Posted by Nicki - 10/07/2009
This right here is exactly what I need. I was just thinking about this the other day, actually. A drawer system for every person in my family, and one for me and my projects (because I too have a lot going on at once, usually). Too, too perfect!
Now if I could find an extra $275 to make my first system…
Posted by Elizabeth Newell - 10/07/2009
I like the plastic drawers too, myself. They also have the benefit of keeping the contents more free of dust.
Posted by Brandy - 10/07/2009
This is so cool. I don’t see it replacing my filing cabinets, and I don’t have space for it now, but this is definitely a keeper for future inspiration.
Posted by denise - 10/07/2009
what you have looks efficient and work friendly. I went to the website but i could not find exactly what you have. did you add the top part, the flat surface, or did it come like that. can you direct me so i can find it. thanks.
Posted by sandra - 10/07/2009
I got some Elfa drawers like this, which I like, but they were harder to put together than the guy in the store indicated. They didn’t just snap together but required hammering, and you were actually supposed to use a special rubber hammer that they sell. Container Store has tons of Elfa.
Posted by Brian Kieffer - 10/07/2009
Denise,
My setup basically consists of three of these. http://www.containerstore.com/.....d=10006089. I opted for a narrower center frame so that I’d have more variety in drawer size.
They sell the tops in all different sizes to fit the various available frame widths, and as you can see, the drawers are available in different depths as well.
The whole thing is surprisingly sturdy, but the casters do seem a little wobbly. But I’m pretty sure they never intended for someone to pile so much on top of them. The connectors for securing the frames together are pretty flimsy as well, but it’s held up so far. I may end up bolting them together or something. Another project
Posted by My Incoming Drop Zone Dream | Off the Beaten Plan - 10/09/2009
[...] Wednesday, Brian at Unclutterer.com posted about how he keeps his project clutter under control. Of course I checked out the link in the post, and I was greeted by this beauty – the elfa [...]
Posted by Linda - 10/11/2009
Love to see this type of set up. It is very simple and very useful!
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