Home Office Disorder
 Keeping up with an orderly office
In a recent poll at Organized-Living.com, the home office was voted as the #1 "most difficult area at home to keep organized."
Here are the results of this poll taken by 100 individuals:
30.5% - home office
18.6% - kitchen
16.9% - bedroom
6.8% - garage
6.8% - living room
5.1% - kid's room
5.1% - attic / basement
5.1% - bathroom
3.4% - den / family room
1.7% - dining room
I really wasn't surprised by the poll results. The home office typically deals with more daily activities and longer hours spent in than any other area of a home. After all, this is the place where the work involves paper ... lots of it ... and keeping up with it can be challenging, even with paper-flow systems in place. Without paper-flow systems however, the area (and work) can be overwhelming.
In one of my articles "Managing Paperwork," it describes implementing a paper-flow system to manage the flow of paper and work.
"A system needs to be in place to handle the flow of paper so that it flows in and flows out. Imagine a traffic cop who allows cars to come into an intersection but doesn’t allow them to leave it once they’ve arrived. A pile-up occurs and the flow of cars stop with a jammed up intersection." In a related article "Paper Management," it talks about the steps to manage paper. "The management of your paper flow means getting rid of any paper stacks and handling each piece so you know what you have to deal with and how to find something easily and fast. Everything should have a "home," meaning there is a place for it. The piles may initially appear like it would take weeks, even months, to sort through, but they won't." You can find other related and helpful articles on managing work at www.organized-living.com/articles.
Junk Drawers
Even Doodads Need a Place
I got a real chuckle at reading a commentary about junk drawers -- "Treasured Memories of a Junk Drawer." This piece had my full agreement, so I must share pieces of it (although I recommend you read the whole thing!):
"...a junk drawer is a mysterious and benevolent thing. It giveth you things you occasionally need, and it taketh away things you don't want to look at on a daily basis...the main problem a lot of people have with junk drawers...finding the thing you need. But, for me, that's the very heart of why I love my junk drawer." I love my junk drawer and must have one in my kitchen, no matter what. I don't care if there isn't enough drawer space for other things ... I must have a junk drawer!
And, if I may add another part of this article without stealing the whole thing, let me add this part:
"Above all, a good junk drawer is the drawer of the optimist. It is hope, incarnate. Hope, that I will find that thing I need. Hope that an answer exists for most problems at hand. Hope that I have the right-sized wing nut or some kind of a thingamajig that I can somehow twist or cut or flatten into some kind of a thing-a-ma-dude to prevent the gutter from falling down. Hope that I don't have to run to the hardware store and buy something (sorry Manny) and make a fool of myself in the process by asking for a "thingamadude." I want to shake this writer's hand, I'll tell you.
Scraps Into Art
Turn Your Keepsake Papers Into Works of Art
Browsing through news headlines often gives me some interesting topics. And, one in particular has really earned an honorable mention: "Scraps of Paper Become Works of Art" by Molly Gilmore-Baldwin.
She wrote about an artist who turns scraps of paper -- like advertisements, flyers, envelopes -- and creates layered art pieces.
“It’s about finding beauty in what people normally would consider trash, and it’s about finding something new in what people would consider trash,” said (Mark) Schultz, now of Tacoma, who’s been creating the collages for 14 years and has had several solo shows, most in California." Finding beauty in trash ... I don't think I would've ever thought of that! But, that's what I call creative recycling! And, it takes me to another thought: what about turning your boxed-up keepsakes into works of art? That would be one way to display and appreciate them, now wouldn't it?
Oh, the wonders of creative thought!
Getting Organized
 The Organized Home Club -- Coming to an area near you!The launch of The Organized Home Club (TOHC) is official, and registrations are beginning to come in!
It is a community of people who want to get together and share organizing ideas, issues, problems, solutins, whatever! There's a Discussion Board, a discussion email list, an interactive calendar, and a chat room. In-person group meetings will be taking place in your community, as more and more people come aboard, too!
Check it out now and join in!
Cyndi Seidler
Group Leader, Los Angeles SFV area
The Organized Home Club
www.theorganizedhomeclub.com
Off-site Storage
How to choose an off-site storage facility
 I came across a very informative article within the Yahoo Small Business information services that gives advice on storing away archived documents. In an excerpt from this article (found in Yahoo Small Business Resources, Office & Technology, Business Services) it states:
"When choosing an off-site storage facility, you'll want to keep a number of criteria in mind. First, ask yourself how often you will need to access the documents. If it is more than once a week, off-site storage may prove to be more of a hassle than a space reliever. Also, if you know that you'll need to access records regularly, choose a facility that is close enough to offer delivery service in your area, as opposed to a cheaper one located further away."
Read the full article.
Preparing for taxes
Organizing your papers for tax time
 "Being organized not only saves time, it can also save you money," says a CPA in an article "Plan now to get a jump on tax time." (he's not the only one who says that, of course!) He reports that some taxpayers are still showing up with disorganized tax records, leaving it for him to sort out. This can be costly.
For those itemizing deductions, those receipts have value and should be added up to get you a better deduction. In my article, "Take the Pain Out of Organizing Your Taxes," I wrote about being prepared for tax time and the value of organizing your tax papers early.
Some articles on the Internet that might help in organizing for taxes are:
http://www.organizetogether.com/taxes.html
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/news/20001117a.asp
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/tips/organize_before_you_itemize.jhtml
Our Own Lost Treasures
Sorting Through Our "Goodies"
As we go through life, many of us acquire a lot of things that we hold reminiscent of our past. Some of it is just stuff that doesn't hold much value to us anymore, but some of it presents historical value.
In a column by Al Neuharth of USA Today entitled "When you die, where should 'goodies' go?" he writes of donating his historical first edition papers and other valuable keepsakes to the Library of Congress. I admired his willingness to let go of these and donate them for others to enjoy before he dies.
While we tend to keep a lot of our treasured keepsakes in stored boxes among rows of other boxes piled around each other in hidden storage areas, you have to wonder what value these really have to you. How is it appreciated hidden away?
In one of my columns, "Toss your junk while you still can," I talked about other people going through our stuff after we die, although this relates more to our junk, not our treasures. It still makes a valid point on going through our stuff now, while we're still alive.
Sorting through our stuff can be a good experience ... and letting go of it now can be rewarding, as we see others enjoying those things we've treasured.
Lowes Organizing Clinics
 Lowes Helps Individuals Get Organized for 2006
In a recent press release from Lowes (Jan. 19, 2006), it stated that 86% of U.S. adults have indictated that some space in their home needs organization for the new year -- per their recent survey.
The company resolves to help homeowners get organized this year and have launched a nationwide free How-to Clinics every Saturday starting in January. For information about this, click here (or type / paste www.lowes.com/clinics).
|
Keeping up with an orderly office
