The Hunt - This Time, Function Wins ANDREW MELLEN had a housing situation so enviable that everyone told him he was crazy to give it up. When Mr. Mellen moved to Manhattan in 1996, a chain of friends led him to a rent-stabilized one-bedroom in the East 80s. It had only about 325 square feet, and was on the sixth floor of a walk-up. The landlord rented it to him in "as is" condition for around $500 a month. Over time, the rent rose to $840. The low rent enabled him, a few years later, to buy a second home in Milford, Pa., in the Poconos. A three-bedroom, two-story lakeside house, it cost $227,000. Mr. Mellen, a native of Detroit and a graduate of Northern Michigan University, began his career in the theater, acting, directing and working in arts management. He was asked to organize a photo collection, which led to a referral to an accountant, who told him about disorganized potential clients, some of whom showed up at tax time with duffel bags stuffed with receipts. Every job led to more. "It was coming at me so powerfully," Mr. Mellen said. So he became a professional organizer. Two years ago, his book, "Unstuff Your Life: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good" (Penguin Group), was published. That "prompted a lot of shifts in my life," Mr. Mellen said. He began traveling often, to speak and lead workshops. He said he loved "getting to see the transformation in people's lives." But he felt encumbered by his apartment. His tiny one-bedroom was like "a ship's cabin," he said. The light was good in the morning but waned by late afternoon. The ceiling leaked for more than a year before the management company did repairs. The windows, which led to a fire escape, were gated. "I was living behind bars," Mr. Mellen said. He didn't want to be trapped by the fear "that this is the best apartment I will ever get, pricewise, so I have to stay here, a prisoner of not a great apartment," he said. As for that second home? Soon after he bought it, he found structural defects that resulted in a lawsuit, then a gut renovation. Friends said, " "You put your blood and soul into your house, how could you let it go?" " Mr. Mellen recalled. He loved the house, but with his new travel schedule, he was rarely there. He practices what he preaches or, as he says, he walks the talk. So, despite others" opinions that he was crazy to do so, he decided to relinquish the rental, sell the house and rent a bigger apartment, where he would camp out for a while to see how his new schedule took shape. He sold the house for $380,000. With the cost of repairs and renovation, he estimates he broke even. He sold or donated much of his furniture and took a sun-filled one-bedroom for $1,600 in a new building in Harlem. Then, last year, he began the search to buy a co-op. For no more than $400,000, he hoped for a bright one-bedroom facing south. Mr. Mellen enlisted the help of Mark Weitzman of Prudential Douglas Elliman, after inquiring about one of his listings. "He is the most organized guy I've ever met," Mr. Weitzman said. On Broome Street on the Lower East Side, Mr. Mellen saw a nice renovation at an income-restricted co-op. The price was $375,000, with monthly maintenance of almost $500. But the neighborhood was desolate, and Mr. Mellen knew he would find walking to and from the apartment depressing. The price is now $329,000. One place in Chelsea had a problematic railroad layout; one in Kips Bay had a loft too low-ceilinged for standing. An estate sale on the top floor of a charming building on East 17th Street needed a gut renovation. The price was $350,000, with maintenance in the $700s. "That little part of me that loves a project was completely engaged," Mr. Mellen said. I was seeing my new stackable Miele washer-dryer in the corner and thinking the sky's the limit and I will turn this into a minipalace for myself. His bubble burst when his offer of $335,000 was declined. That apartment is now in contract for the asking price. His friends also told him that they would be reluctant to visit if he moved to another sixth-floor walk-up. He realized the lack of an elevator was a deal-breaker, as was the lack of a doorman. If a package arrived while he was away, he said, "I don't want to come home to a bunch of yellow slips stuck to my door." Mr. Mellen hunted throughout Manhattan, driven primarily by price. "I thought he was looking at a little too much and might be able to narrow it down," Mr. Weitzman said. So the focus for Mr. Mellen became a neighborhood below 34th Street and west of Second Avenue, where he had many clients and friends, and where he could walk or bike most places. He didn't want a studio "until I saw the horror shows that are called one-bedrooms," he said. "Aside from being very organized," Mr. Weitzman said, "Andrew has a very Zen mentality and is able to make do with less. He didn't need a one-bedroom just to have stuff in it. So, when they came to Victoria House on East 27th Street, off Third Avenue in Kips Bay, Mr. Mellen was captivated by an alcove studio with bright southern light. The sponsor unit was listed at $399,000, with maintenance in the mid-$800s. He first offered $370,000, and ended up buying the place for $382,500. "There's that horrifying math: a three-bedroom three-bath house on a lake is equivalent to an alcove studio with a doorman," he said. Only in Manhattan could that be real, but it is. Mr. Mellen moved in the spring. He especially appreciates the elevator and the doorman when he returns from a trip. "It's nice to come home to a helpful, friendly face," he said. He fits easily into his studio. "I am fond of shelving systems," he said. He is judicious about every purchase. I make choices all the time when I bring things in - where is this going to live? He plans to install a Murphy bed. "Function wins," he said. I have made choices to live with less. I am fortunate that in my life I don't have a lot of things that are not important to me.