# How to manage requests without making it complicated

Give each pool a request process that matches how the group gets things done.

A request might be a tile saw for Saturday or a couple of people to move a couch. Each pool can use a few short status labels to make the next step clear.

## Start with a small process

Go to Requests in a pool and switch to View as Kanban Board. Open and Fulfilled are there to start. Add only the steps your pool actually uses, such as Waiting for a reply or Arranging pickup.

A mutual-aid group might use New, Coordinating, Scheduled, and Done, with the labels dragged into the order the work usually follows.

## Move the request when the next thing changes

Pool admins can move any request, and other members can move one they posted or one where they revealed themselves in the chat. Move it from any status to any other one, so a pickup that falls through can go straight back to Open. Anyone who can move at least one request in the pool can also add, rename, reorder, and remove that pool's status labels.

Say you post Need a pressure washer, which starts in Open. When someone offers one in the chat, move it to Arranging pickup. If the timing fails, put it back in Open. Once you have the washer, move it to Fulfilled and leave the request around as a useful record.

## Use the view that fits the moment

A pool's Requests page opens as a list, with a status dropdown on every request you're allowed to move. Switch to View as Kanban Board to lay every status out as a column. Drag a request to another column or place it higher or lower in the same column; the board saves that order. If you're working from a keyboard, use the arrow buttons on the card instead. My Requests stays a list and shows the request's status separately in every pool where you shared it.

The board stretches across the window and scrolls sideways when its columns need more room. Drag a column by its handle to reorder it, or use the arrow buttons beside its name with a keyboard. Choose the pencil button to replace that column's cards with its rename and delete controls. The plus button after the last column opens an inline form where you can name a new status.

One request can be Open in your neighborhood pool and Scheduled in a repair group at the same time. Open it from a pool to see that pool's status. My Requests shows every pool's status together.

[Open your pools](https://toolpool.garden/pools) ## Keep the labels useful

Rename a status when the group finds better words. Before deleting one, move its requests somewhere else. Garden keeps a status that still holds requests, because deleting the column would leave those cards with nowhere to go.

This tutorial was last updated on September 2026. If this isn't making sense anymore, please let us know at [support@toolpool.garden](mailto:support@toolpool.garden) and we'll try to update things as soon as possible.

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