Living Out of a Box

February 3, 2009 By 6 Comments

boxesFor those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know that I’ve spent the past few weeks preparing to move up to Boston.  This week was the big week and we moved on Friday and Saturday.  So, that means that right now I’m living out of boxes.  While some may not like this because they feel unsettled and unorganized, I love it.  I hate moving, don’t get me wrong.  But, I love unpacking because it signifies the opportunity for a fresh start.

Moving allows me to evaluate my organizational processes, both at home and at work, both personal and professional, and make changes, experiment and have a little fun.  When you’re settled into your day-to-day life it makes it really hard to take an objective look at your processes.  It makes it even harder to make real changes.  When you move, however, especially when it includes a job change as well, it provides the perfect opportunity for this type of self-evaluation.  As someone who is focused on productivity and organization, I welcome the opportunities to conduct these evaluations.  I try to regularly evaluate my processes but it never happens the way it can when you have a new space.

Not moving or changing jobs any time soon?  Well, you can have a fresh start in your current house or office.  Try taking everything in the space you want to organize and pack it into boxes.  Then clean the entire space corner to corner.  Try moving the furniture around so it will feel and look different.  Next, go through the boxes you packed up.  Make sure you evaluate every single sheet of paper and all of the items that you have packed away.  Now put everything that you have gone through away.

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Photo by: the_amanda

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Productivity Tagged With: ,
  • http://rachelreuben.com Rachel Reuben

    I’m happy to know I’m not the only one who thrives on opportunities for fresh starts through re-organization. I moved last summer from a 2 bedroom apartment into a 3 bedroom house and loved every minute of re-evaluating where I put stuff, how I organize my personal life, etc. I’ve also been know to move my office around at work once every year or two — it’s crazy the new perspective you can get in the same space, just facing a different direction. And this can be carried over into so many things we’re doing professionally, as well as personally.

    In fact, now that I mention it, I’m having the itch to move my office around again. It’s been a little over a year, so it may be time. :)

    Enjoy the re-organization, fresh start, and of course, the pirate ship gig!

  • http://TheOperationsGuy.com/ Apolinaras Sinkevicius

    When I was a kid, my dad would make my sister, brother, and me to put all our “junk” in the middle of the room (including stuff from shelves and closets) and than we would have to put everything where it belongs. At the end of re-org, we usually ended up with a small pile of broken toys, stuff that should have gone into trash, and other junk. This stuff went into recycling and trash.
    I think his other purpose for that exercise was to remind us how much “stuff” we had and that we did not need more.
    Maybe such exercise has a place in personal and business life when we are adults.

    Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius’s last blog post..Get over yourselves! Things are not as bad as you paint them!

  • http://leanstartups.com Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius

    When I was a kid, my dad would make my sister, brother, and me to put all our “junk” in the middle of the room (including stuff from shelves and closets) and than we would have to put everything where it belongs. At the end of re-org, we usually ended up with a small pile of broken toys, stuff that should have gone into trash, and other junk. This stuff went into recycling and trash.
    I think his other purpose for that exercise was to remind us how much “stuff” we had and that we did not need more.
    Maybe such exercise has a place in personal and business life when we are adults.

    Apolinaras “Apollo” Sinkevicius’s last blog post..Get over yourselves! Things are not as bad as you paint them!

  • http://rachelreuben.com Rachel Reuben

    I'm happy to know I'm not the only one who thrives on opportunities for fresh starts through re-organization. I moved last summer from a 2 bedroom apartment into a 3 bedroom house and loved every minute of re-evaluating where I put stuff, how I organize my personal life, etc. I've also been know to move my office around at work once every year or two — it's crazy the new perspective you can get in the same space, just facing a different direction. And this can be carried over into so many things we're doing professionally, as well as personally.

    In fact, now that I mention it, I'm having the itch to move my office around again. It's been a little over a year, so it may be time. :)

    Enjoy the re-organization, fresh start, and of course, the pirate ship gig!

  • http://www.santaferanch.com Rustic Furniture

    well I hate moving and unpacking. this looks like a new start, but having said that, moving to a new place and unpacking and organizing stuff in a new environment, means going back to the beginning. But goodluck with your new environment… :D

  • http://www.santaferanch.com Rustic Furniture

    well I hate moving and unpacking. this looks like a new start, but having said that, moving to a new place and unpacking and organizing stuff in a new environment, means going back to the beginning. But goodluck with your new environment… :D