Paper Eradication

This before and after shows how much we can do together in one hour!

This client is a dedicated elementary school teacher in the Brooklyn Public School System.

He is so gifted that his career has grown from specializing in math to becoming a leader in integrated curriculums for early learners and mentoring other teachers.

His breath of curious research and the amount of work it produces from his kids creates an enormous amount of material that overwhelms him at times.

I help him with periodic updates, but this goes to show you all that we can accomplish in one hour.

Closet Office

In Spacial Rehab vernacular, what you’re looking at is called “Mom’s Ground Control”, or “Mom’s Cockpit.”

When she’s done for the day, she folds in her station, and closes the door.

This is the before and after of a closet office I designed, sourced and implemented with the assistance of my New York Associate organizer, Laura Sewell.

My client is a working mother and wife on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

She works in the demanding publishing industry and needed a home office that was a no drop zone for her kids, dogs, and husband.

We chose the hall closet that yielded enough space to pull out a three tiered accordion desk, where Mom could sit and work and her brood could still easily pass behind her. We worked with the building’s super to install outlets and a charging station inside the closet.

Shananay

This little cat’s name is Shananay and she is the official Spacial Rehab paper eradication mascot.

She earned this title the moment she jumped into a sorting box adding instant comic relief as her mom and I were working.

Often things pile up because of an unexpected turn of events, and that’s the case for Shanaynay’s mom.

This client’s an artist who migrated to NYC years ago and became a pioneer in a then dangerous area that rented cheap warehouse space to creatives.

For fun and company, she and her friends started a private supper club that morphed into the first quality bar and restaurant in the area, instantaneously becoming the village green for the surrounding artist community.

As gentrification set in, its status as the cornerstone of the neighborhood exploded.

Success is a positive thing, but its unrelenting demands caused Shanaynay’s mom to struggle with maintaining her personal space for years. She called me in for triage which is not a picnic in the beginning, and little Shananay did her part.

Brainstorming

Helping a client who is challenged by CFIDS and Fibromyalgia.

One of the many symptoms is feeling profoundly overwhelmed on a daily basis. She’s also a dedicated elementary public school teacher, artist and yogi with many interests!

What we’re doing is creating a filing system. I adamantly believe in creating solutions in collaboration with my clients rather than dictating a cookie cutter template. The result is that they understand it on a deep level and can maintain it because it originated directly from who they are. The solution is intrinsic rather than imposed.

I love this example of working intuitively because of its ingenuity in meeting my client’s special needs with a fun strategy to break through what felt so impenetrable to her at the onset. We decided to invent a board game using her business cards. Through play, we came up with categories, nomenclature and a flow chart to build a structure that belonged to her.

Along with fatigue, she also has to cope with short-term memory loss. Constant anxiety tends to do that to us humans. But because all the triggers in the system were true to her nature, she could wrap her brain around it and even direct it. And that’s a real triumph.

RECENT PROJECTS

Here are some of my most recent completed projects and client testimonials.

Jim & Linda

Spacial Rehab literally saved us. Its proprietor, Sono Osato, is a genius — one part organizer, one part artist, one part psychologist. Our tight New York City apartment was like a confederation of warring tribes. The 7-year-old twins had their space, I had mine, and my husband his. Sono united the kingdom — without forcing any of us to surrender things we cherish.

Our place has never looked and functioned better and that has had an enormously positive impact on our family life.

We have been enthusiastically recommending Spacial Rehab to all our friends.

Amelia

When I first met Sono, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I knew I needed an organizer to help me sift through my clutter, but she ended up being so much more. I recently made a move and she helped me with everything from A to Z: downsizing, organizing, packing, moving, shopping with me, and setting everything up in my new place. She also happens to be an excellent decorator and helped me place all of my furniture and accessories expertly. She has that “gift” of knowing exactly where everything seems to fit.

She made everything so easy for me and took the stress out of the dreaded task of moving. If it weren’t for Sono, I honestly don’t think my apartment would feel like a home.

Without hesitation, I recommend Sono for any and all organizational needs.

Sarah

Sono did a lovely job with my apartment – in this case an exercise in transcending both very limited space and very limited resources!

Undaunted, she enthusiastically stoked my imagination in creating an environment that both reflected my loves and personalty and accommodated my need of a combination work/play haven. (I work from home.)

She thoughtfully balanced my pre-existing inventory and found pieces – as well as furniture she constructed from found elements – with special, strategic artisanal splurges. Her artist’s eye brought a very cool, funky finesse to my decorating, without imposing a foreign-feeling signature.

The final result is my first real ‘grownup’ apartment – one that really speaks to and for me, and that I’m incredibly happy to hang and work and entertain in pretty much all the time.

Thank you so much Sono!!

Anne & Antonio

[From Anne] My husband and I combined three residences into our current home. Semi-chaos reigned for longer than I care to mention, until Sono came to our rescue. What had been to us a task impossible to contemplate because of a basement so packed to the gills with stuff that finding things was a day-long effort, was to Sono just a challenge to be met and conquered in a series of organized, task-oriented weekends. She came up with an itemized plan and followed it to the letter, taking each piece of the job as a small chunk, devouring it and moving on to the next.

Although there are still some things to go through and make decisions about, (more photographs, more books, etc.) the amazing difference we felt when looking at the prospect of a house full of guests for Christmas, was incredible. No feeling of panic that things wouldn’t get organized in time for all the guests, that we wouldn’t be able to find all the towels and bedding, the turkey roaster, the Christmas lights, etc…. No, all the linens were where they were supposed to be; all the bedrooms were set up with beds unencumbered by boxes; there was space to pull out the pull-out couches; the living room had end tables for every drink; overflow pots, pans and holiday decorations were waiting on accessible shelves, marked and ready to be used; and family photographs were on the wall up the stairs to make everyone feel at home.

What a difference!

I thank you Sono for every patient, tactful minute of the time you spent, every day when I come home.

[From Antonio] When we engaged Sono to basically reorganize decades of “stuff” and move through it to a more livable and personal home, we were immediately struck by several things – she was straightforward, clear and well-organized in her approach, sensitive to the nuances of such intimate, personal work, adept at striking a balance between being diligent and giving us distance and space between visits, staying on task, and always doing more than what we expected of her.

In short, a total professional and a caring human being. How can you ask for more?

Jude

In just a few days, Sono transformed my apartment full of packed boxes and broken sculptures into something beautiful. Her artistic eye of what should go where is incomparable. Add to that that she is a true pleasure to work with and you have a unique and joyous experience. Thank you Sono!!

Randi

As the Development Director of the Bolinas Community Center one of my duties is to organize and manage an annual “white elephant” silent auction fundraiser.

For several years Sono has participated in the setup of the auction. Her eye for beauty and sense of organization are tremendous. She takes donated items of every type and value and creates a four star environment. She is pleasant to work with and very dedicated. A joy to be around.

Diana

I’ve been meaning to tell you how much I love that long table, it was great for figuring out taxes and so many things. I love this new set up, it makes me want to trust you, no matter what you advise…I feel you have great ideas, you’ve made this office so cute. I feel you brought the most out of all the little shelves and cubby holes. You just made it into this fun perfect…and I’ve put up art everywhere in both rooms that we liberated.

Robin

I have used Spacial Rehab extensively this summer, clearing out large portions of two different residences. Our main focus was to sort through children’s rooms to move them from “child at home” to “child at College” and “child home from college”. This involved going through accumulated treasures, trash, old clothes. Toys, school projects, souvenirs and piles and piles of items that had accumulated over eighteen years.

Working with Sono was a pleasure. She’s all business and energy and focus. She is sensitive to items that may still matter and careful not to throw anything away before asking the original owner directly! The work is hard and rewarding. Sono helps organize and then thinks of everything and, with her little truck, clears out years of gathered STUFF leaving one with a blissful, exhausted sense of having done something wonderful. Whole rooms are rediscovered!

A pleasant aside is that all three of our kids enjoyed working with her and loved the sense that they cleared out without losing the things that mattered. The entire experience was wonderful.

I have several other areas that need focus and, as soon as I am able, will be calling Spacial Rehab to set an appointment for another round of sorting. Slowly, my companion and I are getting our homes back and ready for the future.