Use Your Space & Conquer Office Workflow by Heather Cocozza
No matter what your office setting, you can be organized! There are organizing solutions for every type of environment that I'll be discussing: business office at home, cubicle environment, on the road, in a private office, home office (personal), and more. My emphasis will be on paper management and use of space.
January 1st is a transitional time across the US; the time to make new resolutions and start fresh. For Americans with school-age kids, this is another important transition time…..the kids start a new year in school. Use the "back-to-school" momentum to organize your office.
You're already in the fresh-start mode with organizing your kid's new school supplies and clothes. Now take that energy and organize your office. You may not be going back to school, but you deserve a few fresh organizing supplies too. It is also a good time to revisit your time management skills, because the fall usually brings another set of scheduled activities into a household.
You have permission to buy yourself a...
If you need items removed from your office but are unclear about what should go or stay, hire a professional organizer. If you are very clear about what should go, hire a junk removal company who provides a range of services and can simplify the purging process.
One such company is College Hunks Hauling Junk. College Hunks Hauling Junk will provide all the labor and loading, retrieving the items directly from your office. They will provide all the sorting to ensure everything is properly recycled, disposed of or donated, including...
Do you have very little space in your office but need immediate access to a range of binders and reference materials? There is a unique bookcase available that is only 2 feet wide, but provides 4 feet of book and reference material storage.
It's a book carousel available at Levenger. A book carousel is a bookshelf that spins around, storing books in the front and back. If you don't see the book you want, just spin it 90 – 180 degrees, and you'll have the rest of your materials at your fingertips.
What's a Bagster? It is a dumpster in a bag! If putting a big, scary ugly dumpster in your driveway is beyond comprehension, and your organizing project is smaller in nature, try the bagster. It holds 3 cubic feet of junk, compared to a small metal dumpster which holds 9 cubic feet.
You buy the collapsible bag at your local or big-box hardware store. Open it up in your driveway when you're ready to begin your organizing project. Fill the bag with items that you no longer need and don't want to donate (e.g., broken items). When you're done loading, call Waste Management (WM) for pick-up. This service is available in almost...
My favorite organizing tool for the office is, believe it or not, a cardboard box! However, it is a special Bankers Box cardboard box that I can only buy on-line called Hang'N'Store. These special letter and legal size boxes come with built in plastic hanging file rails which allow you to hold green hanging files. You can then place manila folders in the green hanging files and still put the top on the box without crushing any files. When the boxes are not in use, they fold flat for easy storage.
I use these boxes when I am sorting and purging papers with a client. They make great temporary file...
One of my goals as a professional organizer is to maximize storage space around your desk. Why? Ideally you should store the items you use most frequently within arms-reach while you are sitting at your desk. This level of convenience supports an organization system where items are easy to access and easy to put away.
To maximize often unused space, go vertical by adding storage above the desk. Here are 3 easy ways:
Buy a hutch which attaches to the desk and includes one or two shelves as wide as the desk
Do you think organizing is boring? If so, you're not alone. It is one of the most common reasons people have organizing challenges. In the exciting, fast pace lives we live, slowing down to file papers can be boring.
However, if you're not organized, life can get discombobulated. So, if you thrive on fun, make organizing exciting. Use color in your organizing system. Make your system inspiring! I always use colored folders for reference files, and gorgeous patterned folders for Actions folders.
Put on music as you organize (see the upbeat playlist on my blog). Many of my clients and I listen to music as we organize! Try out internet-radio to get the widest...
There are limited attractive mobile/portable file boxes available, and there are truly only a handful of options, if you need a legal-size file box. Luckily, I have found the most beautiful file boxes at West Elm. Not only are they drop-dead gorgeous, they also hold legal-size hanging files. I've seen them up-close and in-person at the West Elm store, and the quality is high. I felt comfortable recommending this product to my clients and now my blog readers.
If you have found any amazing looking file boxes,...
When you establish your file system, you should name your files based on retrieval. Ask yourself… under what circumstance will I need this file again? For example, you want to save an article from The Washington Post newspaper on the topic of Sorrento, Italy. First, cut out the article; do not save the entire paper. Next, file the paper in a folder. You don't want to name the file "Washington Post Clippings." Again, think about when you will need this article again. It is probably when you are planning a trip to Italy or Europe. By the naming the folder Travel – Italy, Travel – Europe, or Travel – International...
This weekend I was in New York taking organizing training from the gold standard in the industry, The Julie Morgenstern Organizing Institute. I had the privilege of personally being trained by Julie Morgenstern. The training included a mock 10-minute Needs Assessment presentation, critiqued by Morgenstern. At one point in the training Julie even asked to see my mock interview notes.
There are lots of ways Julie Morgenstern's organizing method is the white glove service in the industry. However, there is one simple distinction that may fascinate people. She believes you...
Heather Cocozza is a Professional Organizer who organizes and designs tailored home and office solutions. She is on the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)-WDC Board of Directors 2009-2010 and is the owner of Cocozza Organizing & Design, LLC. Prior to her organizing career, Heather Cocozza worked 13 years at IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers as an ERP Project Manager and at times traveled extensively while her "virtual" twins were between the ages of 0 to 3.
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