Cease the moment! Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. It’s the perfect opportunity to carve out some time to clear the clutter off of your desk. Here are some steps to get you started:
- Start with the papers right at your fingertips. It’s always best to start organizing with your most current papers. Gather them into a pile and start going through one sheet at a time. Make decisions about each piece as you go. Every time you delay a decision, you build clutter.
- Create temporary files. If your files are all over-crowded, get a file box and create new temporary files so papers can be put somewhere. Remember, everything needs it’s place. One of the biggest organizing mistakes is taking the time to go through papers and then just putting them into another pile! Here’s some more information on how to create temporary files.
- Pare down on office supplies. Take a close look at how many pens, pencils, rolls of tape, sticky notes, etc. you have at your desk. Keeping too many supplies can add considerably to the clutter. Frequently do a supply check to refill or eliminate what you keep right at your desk.
- 3-Way Toss. Divide what you toss into three categories: Trash, Recycle and Shred. Make it easy to fling the papers into something with a wide opening. Quickly tossing can help cut down on the time the project will take.
Take time on this designated day to clean off your desk. You will be amazed how much more productive you can be if you just spend a little time to focus on getting organized!
Today my Friday Favorite involves a personal story that relates to some recent computer nightmares we’ve had here in the office. On Monday morning Karen powered up the computer to a scary looking screen saying it needed to restart—in many languages— major sign of trouble. After restarting several times, I rushed off to the Apple Store only to be told that the hard drive had crashed. Well, I didn’t think of it as a very big problem because we have learned from past issues that it is vital to our business to have back up systems in place. So knowing we were well backed up, I opted to replace the hard drive and reinstall from our backup drive, only to learn that the files in the Time Machine backup drive had corrupted! Thankfully we just recently started a regular upload of our database to Dropbox. It was only because of the Dropbox backup that we were able to salvage our most critical data. We are hearing more and more about “cloud computing” these days and although many people feel that if they can’t see the back up source they’re afraid they can’t count on it. Today I’m here to tell you that Dropbox.com was the only source that pulled through for Chaos To Order and I am a fan. If you have critical data that is backed up locally, consider a second back up on Dropbox, I can’t tell you how glad I am that we did!
In order to have an organized space, you need to have a place to put all of the items you have. I have an 8 year old daughter who loves art, reading and playing with a multitude of “little” things. We moved into our house when she was two and the space was perfect for her then, but as she has grown, so has the accumulation of stuff!
Since I’m always talking to other people about how to put their own stuff in order, it was time for me to practice what I preach with my daughter. Her room seemed to be a sufficient in size, but the problem now was where to put things. Remember, if you want easy access and organization, everything needs a place to belong. Clean up time is a whole lot easier when you know exactly where to put things. So we decided to remove a dresser on one wall and replace it with a desk, but not just a desk because, after all, how much stuff is going to fit into three drawers of a little desk? I consulted with my friend and awesome designer at Closet Works—Sue Tinker. We decided to create a desk surrounded by bookshelves, not just for her books, but also for her many knick knacks and collectables. In addition to the desk, bookshelves and drawers, we also added space for a bulletin board to hang the most recent drawings and creations. The result was the desk in this photo, she and I both love it. My daughter now has the perfect place to sit and color, read, create etc… and I have the perfect storage solution to finally organize all of her “little” things!
This week I am at the annual conference for the National Association of Professional Organizers in San Diego. It’s the place where everything organized happens. Professional organizers from all over the world meet up and the many products that help us organize are exhibited. There are many new and exciting products and ideas that I am learning about. The tote in the photo here is called LifeSTYLE File Tote. You can find it at www.jamieraquel.com. It holds standard letter-size hanging files in a very sturdy box form. It comes in seven colors and is very attractive looking, you don’t feel like your carrying around a file box (even though you are). Check them out, and stay tuned for more posts on organizing products I’m finding at the NAPO Conference.
This is surely the ultimate Friday Favorite organizing gadget. We’ve been hoping that something would be invented that could finally get and keep you organized—and here it is! This terrific tool can do everything from getting your closet in proper order, to organizing bookshelves and spices alphabetically, even papers and files, not a problem— it’s truly amazing! Now you never have to worry about getting things put back into their proper place because the Put It Back Gadget knows exactly where everything belongs, it’s like having a professional organizer move right into your home. Simply affix the little scanning stickers on your items and scan them with your smart phone. Then, put the item in it’s proper place. With GPS technology, the Put It Back Gadget will know where it needs to return when it’s not in use. After you use something, the Put It Back Gadget grabs it and gets it there. So if you want to finally be organized for good, it’s time to purchase the Put It Back Gadget—Gotcha— April Fools!
Cease the moment! Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. It’s the perfect opportunity to carve out some time to clear the clutter off of your desk. Here are some steps to get you started:
