Getting down to business

Anyone who has ever spent frustrating minutes hunting for a business card buried under stacks of mail or combed the house desperately searching for car keys could benefit from a few basic organizational skills.

Cindy Vanhoff, owner of Reclaimed Spaces, says Americans can spend up to 25 minutes per day looking for things. That adds up to a whopping 19 workdays per year. “Time is a precious commodity,” she said, “and once it’s gone – it’s gone!”

Which is why Spokane Valley resident Margie Basaraba gave her a call. Basaraba, a certified identity theft risk-management specialist, needed some assistance organizing her home office. She said she knew she needed help when she looked at her desk and couldn’t find her phone.

Vanhoff visited Basaraba’s home office and did a preliminary assessment. The first problem she noticed was that the office had nonwork-related items taking up space. A large corner unit overflowed with stuffed animals and toys. And there were papers spilling out of cardboard boxes on the floor.

Basaraba was clear about her goals. “I want a clean desk,” she said. She also wanted her closet organized for quick access to her forms and pamphlets.

“It will be so freeing. I’ll be able to focus on my strengths,” she said.

After their first meeting Basaraba received homework. Vanhoff asked her to separate her personal paperwork from her business paperwork, and buy a file-management system.

Vanhoff later returned to help Basaraba with the sorting process.

“Basically we made three piles,” Vanhoff said. “A donate pile, a toss pile and a keep pile.” They filled three large garbage bags with stuff Basaraba didn’t need.

“I feel better already,” she said. “This has been weighing me down.”

Next Basaraba ordered customized shelving for her closet from Spaces That Work, a local company. The shelving took a few weeks to be manufactured and installed, so in the meantime, Basaraba continued her paper purge.

A month later the change was startling. No more boxes of papers on the floor, and the formerly cluttered desk was now tidy.

“This feels like a work space instead of a leftover bedroom,” said Basaraba with a smile.

Simple changes added up to big differences. Vanhoff advised putting the computer tower under the desk to save room on top, and she organized all the paper next to the printer in stacking files, so it’s ready for use. The corner unit filled with toys is gone. “It would be too tempting for her to reclutter, so we got it out the room,” Vanhoff said.

The additional space meant Basaraba could have a postage center in her office instead of having to trek downstairs to mail something.

Customized shelving in the closet made the most dramatic difference. Now all the pamphlets, books and brochures are neatly organized, labeled and easy to find.

“It’s so liberating,” said Basaraba. “I feel more efficient and professional.”

Vanhoff said her client worked really hard. Surprisingly, for Vanhoff, the most daunting part of the job wasn’t the piles of paper to sort, but finding good storage items at reasonable prices in Spokane.

“I have to travel to Seattle or Portland to shop organizational stores,” she said. “The inventory changes so much here, you’re never sure what you will find.”

Vanhoff offers clients several options. They can work side by side with her, which she says is the most fun and economical, she can coach them through a personalized plan, they can develop a plan together that the client will implement independently, or she will do all the organizing for the client.

Basaraba is thrilled with the results. “I’m saving so much time,” she said.

And Vanhoff is pleased with the outcome, as well.

“Organizing is a continual process, “she said.