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Entries Tagged 'Office, Paper & Productivity' ↓
Paper piles can equal:
1) Stress
2) Wasted Time
3) Wasted Money
4) Lost Money
5) Stuff slipping through the cracks
6) Missed Events
7) Embarrassment
Did I mention stress? Oh ya, #1
To expand on time and money lost, here is a statistic courtesy of GOSystem.com:
Lost Documents
“30% of all employees’ time is spent trying to find lost documents.” *(2.4 hours per day!) At this rate, if you have 10 employees paid at $30/hour (including benefits) wasting 2 hours/day, your company could be losing $144,000/year!
With that in mind, here are 10 reasons why paper organization is awesome!
1) You can get your hands on what you need in just a few seconds-time saved!
2) You can feel confident that you have what you need at your fingertips.
3) You will feel less stress when you don’t have to dig and search for your paper.
4) You will feel calm when you open a nice, labeled, organized file drawer-so pretty!
5) If the IRS needs some documents, you won’t have to freak out. At least not freak out about knowing where they are.
6) It will be easier to gather your tax documents at tax time.
7) You can be a helpful resource for people who can’t find their papers.
8) You will be able to focus on your work in your office instead of the mess.
9) You will appear pulled together when someone else comes into your office-appearances can be powerful.
10) You may even find misplaced money in the form of cash, gift cards or uncashed checks.
If you liked this, then you’ll love reading 10 more reasons organization rocks!
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, IRS, paper organizing
The kids are back in school and a new routine has been born-hooray! My kids and I are more night owls than morning birds and we’ve had to adjust to an early morning schedule but frankly I think my kids are doing better than I am. At the same time, I really am loving the new freedom of having a quiet office by 7:30 am and how much you can actually get done when you get up early! Once I’m up I’m OK, it’s just getting out of my warm bed that’s challenging. And it’s going to get harder as colder, gray northwest morning start setting in… Actually, it’s gray today, imagine that.
So, this morning I walked back in the door after kid drop-off and started with breakfast. I have a healthy to-do list to tackle today including creating a PowerPoint Presentation for a talk at our local elementary school. As I was moving about my house I noticed my phone sitting by the back door. Now how did that happen? It’s always connected to me. But oh how freeing! Amazing that I was plugging right along without thoughts of texting or the compelling need to look over at my phone. I left it where it sat and here I am type, type, typing away listening to music on Pandora. While typing, something came up that created a “need” to send a text. But oh no, I will not stop now, I’m on a roll! Although, it’s amazing how strong the pull is to run down and knock out a text.
So, once again, it goes to show that you really can be more productive if you put aside distractions. I know, I know, you can’t run away from phones, instant messages or emails all day, but at the very least, you CAN focus on your most critical task of the day by eliminating distractions. Even an hour of distraction-free time will help you accomplish awesome things! Man, can I make it for a whole hour? Ooooh, I think I already have half an hour of credit! 
Tags: critical tasks, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, Pandora, phone, PowerPoint, texting
Household Hub Notebook
When school starts, the paper keeps on a rollin’ in! When I work with clients they often struggle with the paperwork for upcoming events for school and sports as well as party invitations . These papers usually end up on the kitchen counter in piles, on the fridge or plastered all over a bulletin board. Enter the ‘Household Hub Notebook’ that I created and use with my clients who have children. This is a notebook to store the backup information for upcoming events. You enter the event into your planner and then keep the backup info. in the notebook. When the event has passed, pull it out and recycle. And I’m going to tell you how to create your own!
The front of my notebook has a reminder sheet slid into the front of the binder for the types of papers that I recommend storing in your notebook:
1) Sports Schedules
2) Snack Schedules for classes or teams
3) Team Phone Lists
4) Part Invitations
5) Travel Itineraries
6) Event Invitations such as weddings & birthday parties
7) Gift Cards
Many people like to have a “Menu” section for take-out menus and coupons
9) School lunch menus
10) Event tickets or event flyers
Start with a sturdy 3-ring binder. In the front of the binder you may want to place business card pages for frequently used cards:
Then I place a sheet in a page protector for emergency contact information:
Next I place a sheet for emergency health information should someone have to contact 9-1-1:
Next I use page dividers labeled with each family member’s name so they have their own section:
Many families like to have a section for each family member as well as school & menu sections.
In each section I place 5 heavy duty page protectors so you can slide the information into each section easily:
The “Household Hub Notebook” is stored near where you would want to access these papers on a regular basis. Families love this notebook because everyone knows where to look for their event information, even Dad and it eliminates piles! For more organizing tips for paper that comes home from school, please read more here.
Tags: DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, household hub notebook, organize paper
Picture walking into a room and looking at the desk in front of you, a desk meant for your child to sit at to complete their homework. The desk is sporting an empty chip bag, some library books, a few Legos, coloring paper, random toy cars, 3 puzzle pieces and pencils and markers are strewn about. Or is this your desk? Either way, it’s not a desk that is functioning properly for anyone to work at.
Let’s turn that around and easily turn a cluttered desk into a fully functioning desk-yeah! Just follow these easy organizing tips to help your child clear a space and get their homework done with fewer hassles.
Organizing Tip #1: Remove everything from the desk that shouldn’t ‘live’ there, this is the time to remove wrappers, puzzle pieces and Legos, etc.
Organizing Tip #2: Place items that are used less frequently further away from the workspace. A great solution is to place shelves above the desk to house reference books or extra supplies like computer paper. This is a great way to use often overlooked wall space.
Organizing Tip #3: Place items that are used the most, closest to the workspace and don’t keep more than you need; you don’t need 3 pencils cups when one will do. Place items like scissors, glue and pencils close at hand.
Organizing Tip #4: If your child likes to move around your home to do homework such as on the floor or in another room, then create a mobile supply caddy. For more on how to create a homework supply caddy, please read more here.
Organizing Tip #5: Help kids maintain their now neat desk by decluttering and organizing on a regular basis. Just like areas in our own home don’t just stay organized, neither will theirs. Set a schedule to deal with the wrappers and toys that may find their way back to the desk once again. When you have a system in place, restoring order should be much easier than it was starting from scratch.
Help your child learn valuable organizing skills while getting homework down with fewer headaches because who really needs another headache anyway?!
Organized Children's Desk
Tags: Decluttering, DIY organization, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organizing kids, organizing skills, organizing tips, paper organizing
File Box for Paper Organization
When kids go back to school, paper come home from school, lots and lots of paper. What can you do as a mom to bust paper piles and master paper organization? Well, let’s break this down by the different types of paper coming in with the following 5 paper organizing tips:
Paper Organizing Tip #1: Make sure the backpack is cleaned out on a regular basis to avoid important papers & invitations getting lost in the black hole. I wrote a whole blog post on backpack organizing tips if you would like to read further tips on this topic.
Paper Organizing Tip #2: Make sure kids have a place to store their homework that is separate from all other types of paper. This is a ‘homework only’ zone. I actually wrote 5 organizing tips for homework as well. I’ve been on a roll!
Stacking Tray for Homework Storage
Organizing Tip #3: Use a file box such a the one at the top of this blog post with a folder labeled “To Do’ for papers that come home that require some action on your part. This gives those papers a temporary home until you have time to take care of the ‘actions’ and prevents them from getting lost in a paper pile. No more paper piles-yeah! Examples of types of papers you may come across are forms that need to be filled out, registration forms for activities or sign ups for a volunteer position.
Organizing Tip #4: Use a file box with a folder labeled “To Read” for the newsletters, letters from the teacher and articles that come your way. When you use a folder it will be mobile so you can grab it and go to catch up on your reading when you know you’ll be sitting for a while at the doctor’s office, on a trip in the car or on a plane. Yeah, you’re going somewhere!
Organizing Tip #5: Create a “Household Hub Notebook” for upcoming event flyers and schedules. This is for all of the papers that end up in piles on the counter or all over the refrigerator: lunch menus, party invitations, sport’s schedules, snack schedules and phone lists. I think I will need to write a full blog post on how to make a household hub notebook so please watch for that one coming up.
Paper comes at us all the time and we need easy strategies to stay on top of it all and not have things slip through the cracks. For more organizing tips for back to school, please keep reading here.
Tags: blog post, DIY organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, kids organization, mom, organizing tips, paper control, paper organization, paper piles, school papers
I’m a professional organizer and from time-to-time I have my own light bulb moment when I realize I’m not being as efficient as I could be. Just recently I had my own home office organization blunder occuring repeatedly due to my computer mouse. For whatever reason, I’m suddenly burning through batteries in my mouse. Since I now must be ergonomically correct (translates as getting old), I have my laptop raised while I use an ergonomic keyboard and a mouse. The mouse would die and I would be too busy or focused to get up and get a new battery. That means I had to reach up and use my laptop which was uncomfortable, slow and inefficient. But what was really inefficient was the fact that my batteries are stored downstairs (in a clearly labeled box of course) in my hall closet. A trip downstairs meant taking time away from my work and it was a hassle, despite the fact that it’s only 15 stairs and I can stand to use some exercise. Light bulb moment: why don’t I bring some AA batteries upstairs and place them in my drawer right next to the computer? Wow-hard to believe I hadn’t thought of that the first time I blew through a battery or two or three.
The moral of the story is you should always place items that you use frequently close to where you are using them to save time, save energy and be more efficient-simple as that! To read more tips on home office organization, please read about my story about own office organization file adventure.
Tags: computer, DIY organization, efficient, home office organization, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog
Email Management
What’s a not-so-beefed up subject line look like? It may land in your inbox looking a little something like this:
- 1) Upcoming Meeting
- 2) FYI
- 3) Update
- 4) Empty Subject Line
- 5) Meeting Notes
What’s wrong you may ask? What’s wrong is these 5 examples are not clear, concise subject lines. This will make it difficult to find the email again if you have to file it in a folder. It’s even more difficult for multiple people to find if you are sharing files & emails on a project.
Here are 3 super, simple ways to beef up your subject line and make it much easier to file & find your emails!
- 1) Use your subject line to write your entire message if it is short. Your recipient won’t even have to OPEN the email! Example: Today’s board meeting is @ 11:00 am. (End of Message or EOM)
- 2) Use concise language so there is no doubt what the email is about.
- 3) Use a date in the subject whenever applicable.
Here are some examples of more concise subject lines:
1) Board Meeting Notes from 12/10/11
2) 6/11/12 Johnson Account Update
3) I will be at the board meeting 8/8/11 (EOM)
Get a better handle on time management in your office when you get a better handle on email. When you can find your email quickly, you will save time! For more tips on email management, I’d love to share more with you right here about how to get less email in your inbox.
Tags: DIY organization, email managment, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, office organization, subject line
My Croweded Files
OK, so I am using the word, “Adventure,” quite loosely…But I was excited to tackle my own home office organization project that I had been putting off, it was finally time to reorganize my own file drawer! I had been breaking all the rules: I didn’t have 6 inches of wiggle room to get my hands in and files out, I hadn’t purged in a long time and it appeared that I had outgrown my sole file drawer. It wasn’t that my files were disorganized (professional organizer’s disclaimer), they just needed some purging and overhauling.
So, this is what I did, I pulled out the files out and placed them in organizing bins.
home office files
And cleaned out the empty drawer…
Empty File Drawer
Then I looked for more storage space next door…
Archive Tax Files
Since the file drawer next door was filled with archive taxes, I loaded them up into a banker’s box and stored them in my closet. Oh, of course I added a label…
Banker's Box for Archive Taxes
I purged my files and spread out across two files drawers. I placed the files I felt that I would access the most closest to where I work for convenience.
I got rid of a lot of beat up folders and purged some files too:
I already had labels on all of my hanging file folders as well as the manila folders inside. So I just loaded up both drawers for plenty of wiggle room and easy access to my files!
Reorganized file drawers
Ta da!! It was such a relief to get this done and it really didn’t even take very long once I just sat down and did it! For my home office organizing tips to bust paper, please read more here.
Tags: archive taxes, banker's box, file drawer, files, folders, home office, home office organization, home office organization project, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organizing bins, paper
If you want to get a handle email management & reduce how much email you have coming in, you have to start with your own email sending habits. According to Mike Song from the Hamster Revolution, for every 5 emails that you send, approximately 3 will require a response. So, if you send 5 you can pretty much expect to get 3 back in your own inbox. Reduce how many emails you send and you will reduce how many emails you receive-yeah!
So really think before you hit send. Does this person really need this email to perform their job? Does this person really need to be included in this email string? Do I really need to send this joke and risk getting an “Lol’ back?
Isn’t it great that the first step to email management is in your own hands? Make, “Send Less, Get Less” your new motto every day at your computer or smart phone and see your inbox numbers decrease!
Tags: computer, email, email management, home office organization, Home Organization, homeo organization blog, inbox, Mike Song, smart phone, The Hamster Revolution
Organized Coupons
I’ve noticed that I get asked how to organize coupons on a regular basis from women when I am teaching organizing classes on other topics. Now this is just for small-scale coupons, we’re not talking Extreme Couponing here, that’s a whole ‘nother blog post! So I thought I would put together a few quick and easy coupon organizing tips:
1) Just clip coupons for products you really know that your family will need and use. Don’t buy something just to get a good deal, that will create more clutter!
2) If you have just a few random coupons from local stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohls, etc., like I do, then you can get away with using a zippered pencil pouch. This keeps them rounded up and not floating around your purse or your car. Since there aren’t very many, it’s easy to find what you need.
3) If you are a little bit more of a serious coupon shopper, then use a coupon organizer or accordion file folder with dividers that can be labeled according to type. This will make it easier to zero in on the correct coupons when you are in the store.
4) Keep your coupons with you, either in your car or in your purse. It stinks to make an unexpected stop at the store and realize that all of your good coupons are back at home!
5) When you make your shopping list, draw a star or highlight the items that you have a coupon for so you remember to have the coupon ready at the register.
It all comes down to having a clear ‘home’ so you know where your coupons are when you need them so you can save money!
Your Home Organization Expert-Monika
Tags: coupon organizing tips, coupons, DIY organization, Extreme Couponing, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, home organization expert
