Organization Technology

By Cyndi Seidler

(reprint of article in "Organized Living" newsletter, Mar/Apr 2000 issue)

Organization is not recognized as an art or a science or as a subject or an industry. Yet, it is all of the above. As there are rules and policies to govern our lives, there are guidelines to structure our lives. These guidelines are the basis of being able to function in any activity.

First, let’s take a look at how organization is a technology that can be applied. When we think of technology, we think of the application of scientific methods and materials used. With organization technology, we're looking at the concept of applying methods and materials to create order. The principles of organization might, for example, carry the assumption that, in order to create an orderly space, there would have to be a place for everything and everything in its place. So, creating an orderly environment, even if that environment is as small as a single drawer, certain materials might be necessary (like, a drawer organizer).

As an art, organization can evolve as a creative process. Here, we might use our originality to come up with an imaginative approach to solving the problem of how to store shoes in an over-crowded closet. Or, finding some interesting items and gadgets to stop clutter from piling up on a desk.

Combine technology and art and you'll get solutions. A person can draw upon various resources to achieve solutions. Organizing products exist just about everywhere, if we just look at what's around us when we walk down an aisle at a department store. Pretty boxes to hold photos that often get lost in drawers, decorative door racks to hang coats that would normally get tossed on a chair, nice containers to place keys or things pulled out of pockets when entering the house. There are endless items that can be utilized for unlimited, creative use, see?

If, for example, mail always piles up on a table and becomes clutter, than establishing a method for what to do with the mail when it comes in and how it is tackled would need to be considered. Stacking tray baskets is a tool that provides a place to put the mail when it comes in and for placement of paper to be filed away. Desktop file holders, files and filing cabinets are tools to organize and store paper (rather than on the desktop). There are many other organizing products that exist to suit a system that would work for you, just browse through a catalogue to get ideas.

The placement of these organization tools is another element of the technology. If an item is used to organize something, that item must be strategically placed so that is is, indeed, used. Putting it in a spot that is not convenient to the habits and routines of the individual would not ensure that the organization you’re trying to implement would be maintained. It has to be efficient. In other words, it has to be situated where the person does their operation.

A bookshelf to store their books and magazines would not be utilized if it were too far from the person’s work space, for example. It should be placed within reach, if that bookshelf is used to organize certain things that end up on the desk. Get it?

With any endeavor, there is a certain amount of trial and error. But, with enough “trials”, we’ll get there!

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