debra baida - professional organizer

Rebuilding Together San Francisco
March - May 2008

As a volunteer Project Leader with Rebuilding Together, I worked closely with a homeowner in San Francisco's Mission District to prepare her office, kitchen, and bathroom for painting and various safety improvements which were scheduled to be done on April 26th, Rebuilding Together's National Rebuilding Day.

Over the course of a month, we worked side-by-side to sort, purge, organize, and stow the contents of these rooms. The photographs below summarize the transition of her office space.

This was my first view of the office from the doorway. The closet (see photo below) would be a few paces in toward the left. The filing cabinet was one of the few fixtures that was permanently removed from this room.

Here's a view of the office facing the closet during my initial assessment visit. The entrance to the room is to the left of the closet (partially obscured by the curtain.) Boxes of photographs and artwork are on the left, and the desk is on the right of the image.

The interior of the office closet during my initial assessment visit. The majority of items in the closet were no longer needed by the homeowner. One of the first steps was to remove these items from the premises and provide access this much-needed space.

Standing near the desk, here is another view of the office during the initial visit.
There is a window behind this curtain.

After the homeowner and I determined which items in the apartment needed to be removed, I requested assistance from Rebuilding Together. They graciously sent a team consisting of two big wonderful guys with a big truck to remove items that were destined for donation, electronic recycling, and the dump. (Watching them manuever the large items with relative ease, I fantasized what it would be like to be over 6' tall with the ability to carry a filing cabinet over my shoulder while trotting down a flight of stairs.)

Here's the back of the truck almost fully loaded. Another small load of donations was to be assembled weeks later, and throughout the process, at least three large household bins each of recycling and trash were removed from the premises.

Once the under-utilized closet was emptied, shelves were purchased and installed. The space is now a centralized archive for storing photographs and artwork that the homeowner has created and collected over the years. And oh, the relief she expressed to have landed an organizer who knows how to handle artwork!

Many hours, days, and trips up and down the stairs later, the room was nearly empty.

Open space in the closet turned archive (above: doorway with boxes) was used as temporary storage for assorted office items packed in preparation for the big work day. Many other boxes of items were stowed in spaces throughout the apartment - in another closet, the kitchen pantry, and even under the bed! The surfaces of the drafting table and desk (in foreground) were finally visible...but not for long.

The table and desk were place side-by-side after the room was painted. All computer equipment, which had previously resided on and around the kitchen table, now has a permanent home in the office. A much loved purple textile replaced the old curtain covering the entrance to the closet. Other textiles cover the computer equipment to keep them dust-free.

With the desks full of computer equipment, a shelving unit emptied in the transformation of the space was reused to provide storage and access to frequently used items.

And to quote the homeowner, "I love my new office! Thanks so much for everything."