productivity

HOME OFFICE ORGANIZING A by Esmi Gonzales – Sort It Out A home office can easily stray from its tidy, organized and strucone piece at a time tured state. It happens to all of us. These tips and instructions are • If you have a bookshelf, a printer table, a file cabinet, stick for the person who works out of the home. with one piece until you are completely done and satisfied.

First make this project an appointment on your calendar. Remember, no other interruptions. Devote the time you feel you TIP: Decorative items like boxes and bowls are a “catch-all” for you can apply yourself to get as much done without getting burned out to unknowingly place paper clips, loose change, pens, pencils and odds or overwhelmed. Set your deadline goal but be realistic. This may and ends. This creates clutter. Truly use these decorative items for be a day’s work or broken out into three different dates, your choice just that. The less of these types of items you have around the less but keep your true deadline. likely you are to use them as storage and a catch-all. Second, have all your organizing tools available for office before you get started. • Tackle each piece of furniture from top to bottom. Make sure

Last, when going through your belongings remember to ask to use the Organizing Signs – Keep, Donate, Other Room, Discard, yourself “Do I really need this? Have I used this in the last year?” Recycle, Sell. Use cardboard boxes or bins to collect the different 1. Break room (or area) down into 4-Zones • So basically this is 4 corners of the room or space you are categories. This will make things easier for you to haul off to appropriate destinations. working in • Do not stray from one area of the room to another even if you are tempted. Stay focus on one zone at a time. (This strategy 3. When going through your file cabinet or file drawers, make sure to shred/recycle any outdated paperwork. will help you to really get some work done. You will have a real visual of your labor. This will be a true motivation to help keep you going because you are seeing actual results.) TIP: If space allows, place file cabinet and printer table close to desk for ease of use. You don’t want to have to walk across the room to pull a file or take something off the printer. 2. Start with Zone 1 – if there is furniture in any Zone focus on

TIP: Office supply stores like Office Max, Office Depot, Staples and some UPS stores offer shredding services usually running about 99 cents per pound. Very safe process. This is a great option if you don’t have the time to sit and shred or if you have a large amount of shredding to accomplish.

4. When working on your desk, start with the desktop. File whatever paperwork needs filing, or trash or recycled. Keep items on your desktop limited for work space such as computer, phone, notepad and pens and pencils • Donate duplicate items such as calculators, rulers and old printers. • Next move into the desk drawers. Designate items in drawers for ease of use. You want to be able to reach supplies quickly you use on a daily or weekly basis. • Next move to the floor around your desk. There is a “home” for everything. Once you’ve gone through these items, can you place them in drawers and cabinets with other “like” items. If space has not yet been created for these items, set them aside with a Post-It-Note to be placed and put away later. • Labeling will help keep you from misplacing items and mixing items up and definitely help keep you organized. Stick a label outside the drawer or place a label from your label machine inside the drawer if you prefer to hide the labels. Or simply make a label from a piece of paper and place a piece of packing tape or scotch tape over it and place in drawer.

5. Always keep “like” items together in drawers or cabinets, this helps with locating items quickly.

And it helps when you are running low on your supplies. You are also creating a “home” for these items. Use Post-It Notes to help identify the different piles of items while sorting and paring down. • For example, Writing Supplies – notecards, thank you cards, stationery, envelopes and stamps. Computer Items – manuals, printer paper, ink cartridges, CD’s, DVD’s and flash drives. Office Supplies – post it notes, pens, pencils, markers, tape, hanging files, manila folders, paper clips, rubber bands etc. • Use drawer dividers to help keep supplies separate and tidy. These products can be found at any office supply store, Target or Walmart. Or simply use small boxes you may have lying around the house.

TIP: When you come across a box or container with lots of small items or paperwork or a mix of both set that box or container aside. This is what I consider “homework.” At a later time (remembering to keep your deadline goal) sit down at the kitchen table with your favorite morning beverage with this box along with a trash bag and a shredder. If you do not have a shedding machine, use another bag to separate papers that should be shredded. Or sit in front of your favorite TV program and go through the items in the box. Before you know it the box will be empty. Don’t stop there! Make sure and put everything away. If you have more boxes, set another time to go through that box or if you are motivated and have time go through it at that time.

6. Go through each zone one at a time remembering to not stray and stay focus. You are creating “homes” for your items, supplies and paperwork. continued on page 19

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