Melanie Wallace, a New Jersey native and lover of very specific brands of cheese sticks, is a hilarious tour buddy of mine from my Disney's The Lion King days. You can see what her face looks like in the photo gallery (below), because I enjoy embarrassing her. Unfortunately for Melanie's severe social anxiety, she was never able to get rid of me. I forced her to like me and she, in turn, decided to find me charming (or so I think). Now we're forever friends and we text about tour adventures as she travels the country as the Merchandise Manager on the Philip company tour of Hamilton. (Shout out to Creative Goods!) She's also taking business courses through Harvard Business School, so NO. BIG. DEAL. She decided to organize her road box, and I couldn't resist an interview. Leggo....
Why did you decide to organize your road box?
I decided it was time to organize because it was giving me shingles to look at the disorganized chaos that was every single drawer, and also because I had two managers swinging in and out of the show who couldn’t ever find anything they were looking for because they weren’t around when the chaos began. (And a little bit because I wanted the fame and glory of being the one to take on the task and tame the mess.)
How did you decide what product to buy?
Through a combination of obsessively following 8,000 organizing instagrams, and then taking measurements and drawings of every drawer I had to work with, taking those to the store, and finding bins that would fit each unique drawer shape and size. I wasn’t 100% confident anything I bought would work for our needs, but was 98% confident I could at least fit everything I bought into a drawer.
What was the easiest part of the process?
The easiest part was actually parting with excess or useless items we didn’t need and had been traveling forever. (Mostly office supplies we had no need for so I donated to the theater we were currently at). It was very calming to know we were finally rid of everything that had just been causing stress because it was taking up space and not being used.
What was the hardest part of the process?
The hardest part was two parts. One was working through the feeling of being overwhelmed by choosing what bins and dividers etc. to buy and second guessing my choices, and part two was biting the bullet to actually dive in and put it all back together, and to not put too much stress on myself to get it right the first time.
Other Thoughts, Mel?
Overall thoughts: the stress and tediousness of some aspects of the process are so worth it because now we have a system in place to keep things organized, and a really easy way for three managers sharing an office to work together on keeping things organized. Also I literally feel calmer and happier just sitting at my desk next to a clean and organized work box than I ever felt sitting next to it before, knowing the horrors that were lurking inside.
Tricia's Takeaway
While Melanie wasn't 100% sure how she would use the product she purchased at The Container Store, she knew she could use the items she chose because she measured. Measuring is so important! She also took the time to label everything specifically so people didn't have to guess which drawer to find things. Applause, yaaaas, Queen! She identified the problem (lack of items having a home) and tackled it by decluttering, sorting, categorizing and containing. She NAILED IT. I'm so glad she is able to feel even a small sense of calm in a chaotic setting.
I hope Melanie has inspired you to organize something of yours. Reach out to me (or Melanie) for tips! Also, go see Hamilton and buy something from Melanie.
Email fourthwallorganizing@gmail.com with any questions or comments! Happy touring.