A Tsunami of Stuff

Dear Clutter Wrangler,

I and my partner are radio reporters in a developing country. Last night, there was a series of earthquakes near here, the kind that spurs people in our kind of work into action. Okay, I don’t at all mean to diminish the struggle of people in the disaster zone today, but I have to say the real disaster for me was right here in my home office.

When something like this happens, a lot of people start yodeling for our attention.

We got a stampede of assignments and deadlines and equipment to manage, but we have about the same organizational skills as a saguaro cactus. We end up running around like wild horses in a telephone booth.

We have this one little cubby where we throw our cords. Mic cords, USB cords, power cords, adapters – they’re all tangled in there like a pile of lassos at a roping convention.

O Clutter Wrangler, can you help us rein in the mess?

-Hog Tied in Jakarta