How to organize tools, documents and everything else?

As a Creatives we continuously acquire tools, create works and accumulate documents. And recently I took the time to organize everything. I wanted to declutter my workspace and organize it. In the process I think I developed a system of categorizing everything from digital files to production equipment and material supplies.

Because I'm no stranger to methodologies that promise you a cleaner, simpler, more joyful life but getting rid of everything that doesn't spark joy does not hold up to business paperwork or a a camera bracket you only need once in a blue moon but cost €100 and would be pointless to recycle for scraps.

Some traditional decluttering methods might ask you simple questions to break it into two categories. Keep and Remove. In practice I found that this binary option works well enough for clothing but a lot less so for the files and tools I accumulated over the years.

To deal with that I developed a way to categorize it into one of five categories that get treated accordingly.

Active, Standby, Contingency, Obsolete, Legacy.

I'll explain the details behind that shortly but first I want to share how I arrived there. Because the natural way of organizing work tools and files is in categories that belong together. All cameras in one place, all sound gear goes together, all the files for a project in one folder, ...

That's how I organized pretty much everything in the past.

On self for plates, one for cups, ... you get the idea

The problem with that is that it forces you to create storage space by volume not by frequency and that leads to drawers, selves and bins that are full of stuff you rarely use. What has been driving me for a while is this idea of first order of retrieval. Where the things you need most frequently are the closest and the ones you don't are the most hidden.

That makes the first category the clearest.

Active.

It's the things you use most frequently and are part of the active project. So the drawer in my office that is now labeled Active Camera has everything I need for filming. The current go to camera, the mics, batteries, lenses, and so forth. It's the basic kit I use for 80% of making videos. Excluding lights. Because they are either permanently installed in the room or part of the next category.

Standby.

For me that is most of the bigger production gear I still own. a larger cinema camera, big lights, stands and tripods .... It's all the gear I need on occasion but I don't need it in arms reach. If it takes a few minutes to pull it out when needed that's fine if that allows me to have less clutter around the room the rest of the time. Putting up a big light takes time anyway if I add a few more to pull it out of the closet is irrelevant. Standby items usually have a clear function or purpose that is easy to identify but then there is something more malicious, the items you want to get rid of but that are too useful in particular situations.

Contingency.

In my case that are all the little grip dodads. Magic arms, clamps, screws, an absurde amount of different cables, chargers, and soooo much more. Honestly I'd love to put it all in a bag and toss it out. Just to have less stuff. But none of the items where cheap or are broken. They all work when the need arises and most of the time they are also too tedious to sell. You can list one gobo head on the second hand market but the chances that someone is looking for that specific thing when you do is close to zero, unless you live in NYC or LA. So that stuff can go in a bin without much thought and put in a dark corner. What should stay out of it are items that are clearly no longer useful.

Obsolete.

Unfortunately all gear has a life cycle and some items just stop being usable. This might be because they are genuinely broken or because technology has moved on. The clearest example from my collection is a 3rd generation iPad. A mass produced device that once useful has now become a brick. It's battery is poor at this point and no new apps can be installed on it. even most websites can't be viewed anymore because it doesn't have some security certifications. So even though this was once expensive and is full of valuable raw materials it's just become a dust collection magnet that needs to be properly discarded because there is nothing special about it. If it has an added story, importance or sentimental value to you it can become part of the final category.

Legacy.

I have less cameras now than I used to. But I rarely like to sell them and very often when I did I came to regret it. They are just tools but for me they are also sentimental items that are part of my story. They remind me of the projects I realized with them, places I traveled to and memories I've made. all of which is in my brain but the physical reminder brings it back to life. That's why this category matters. Some items are useless dust collectors but they become something new, an artifact of your story or the technological change.

Right now I'd love to still own my original Game Boy, a Walkman or my very first digital camera but those items are lost to time.

There are even tools I thought were obsolete that experienced a resurgence. Think of vinyl players or the camcorders and small point and shoot stills cameras that made a comeback recently.

How you store them or not is up to you. They can be put on display as physical reminders. They can also end up in a box in the basement. I definitely have both.

Those categories is how I look at everything I own now to simplify decisions around it. While these examples are focused on physical tools I believe the same method can be applied to documents and digital files.

Active is everything you currently work on.

Standby are things that are not finished but can't be worked on right now.

Contingency are files you might need at a later point.

Obsolete are the documents that don't need to be preserved for the future

Legacy are the proofs that something has happened.

I hope this helps you organize your creative work a little bit better