ORGANIZING OFFICE

I keep my office nice and tidy by filing and clearing my workspace at the end of each day. It has become a habit...now I just do it automatically, I don't even think about it! I keep everything sorted and purge what I have no use for. Therefore, I usually go through everything twice a year. I adopted this from years working in an office...I liked the system so much, I brought it home! I didn't miss my job, but I missed the system.

Home offices often become a dumping zone or a storage area for anything you are not using on regular basis. Anyhow, I do have some tips to share with you on how to become organized and stay that way. It's a breeze, once you get a hang of it. It only takes me 5-10 minutes a day.

-Lets start at the beginning. Just like with any other clutter, empty your desktop, drawers and shelves. I usually dump everything on my office floor (always keep your papers separate...we'll get to them later). Sort each item into piles. I have little bins that I find extremely useful for sorting my office supplies.


-Place all like items together in a separate bin or pile (pens, pencils, markers, whiteout,paper clips, staples etc.) I purge as much as I can as I go through this.

-Put the office supplies back to where they belong: either using drawer organizers, or if you don't have drawers in your desk, there are plenty desktop organizers available...choose what will suit your needs the best. You can also be creative and make your own! Just make sure that everything has its designated storage area.

-I also use a lot of little decorative cardboard storage boxes with labels (eg. stationary, business cards, tapes, cartridges etc) and put them on my shelves, along with books and framed photos. It looks neat, and I know exactly where everything is!

-Keep all frequently used reference books on lower shelves, where you can access them easily. Categorize them by subject and in alphabetical order.

PAPERS

-Again, same idea...sort through your papers, keeping everything in categories. Throw out unnecessary papers.

-Establish a broader category and sub-categorize all papers.

-Make sure you write the category and the year on each label.

-I keep all my active files separate from my archives. I archive my files at the end of each year and keep them in a small plastic bin in my storage area. These are the items that I have to keep for records, but don't use.

-My active files are placed into my filing cabinet...easily accessible. Alphabetical order.

-I also have a four-tray organizer on my desk. I labeled them:

• Incoming
• Outgoing
• Processing
• File

• Open all mail daily. Discard envelopes. Staple papers together, stamp with date or write date received. Put into the Incoming tray.
• I keep keep folders in my incoming tray labeled:
• bills
• to do
• Once you pay your bills, stamp with "paid" and date it. Put into filing tray, and outgoing mail into Outgoing tray. I also keep my postage stamps and address labels in the Outgoing tray.

-My ongoing projects I keep in color coded binders on my Processing tray.

• If you have due dates for each project, mark it in same colored marker on your desktop calendar.

-Take 5-10 minutes at the end of the day to clear off your desktop and file all papers from you Filing tray. Voila! Your job is done.

I hope my system helps you. It makes my life a hell of a lot easier.
If you have any questions or tips, we would be more than happy to hear from you.

Happy organizing guys!

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