Case Study : This non profit agency had a large cluttered storage area crammed with 40 years worth of items (see pictures below). There was a water heater in the room (not visible in pictures) and one day the fire marshall made a surprise visit, they were given a month to clear the area and abate the fire hazard.
Problem solving:
the contents of the room were sorted, one section at a time. Unneeded items were discarded or donated if possible.
- shelving was added to maximize space, to work with budget constraints we re-purposed "found" lumber and concrete blocks to make shelving
- doing the above allowed us to spend the entire supplies budget (under $100) on containers, empty 5 gal. pails were re-purposed as continers for large tarps, tents, etc.
- zoned room belongings according to function and mapped it. The map was posted at the entrance so anyone can easily locate items.
- painted a yellow 3’ perimeter marking 360° around the water heater and used additional concrete blocks as barriers so that no items can be moved within the marked area.
Result :
- approx. 60% of the room contents have been removed permanently, many were donated.
- items are now simple to find and return to their "homes".
- the fire marshall cleared them of all violations on his return visit.
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