http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogList.asp?sort=organizer&schedule=9 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. Mon, 7 May 2012 08:45:02 EST en-us http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3688 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3688 Mon, 7 May 2012 08:30:00 EST This week's blog is not on office organizing; the topic is actually for the audience of Professional Organizers. I teach an information-packed course: Project Management for Professional Organizers. It's provided by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) via webinar. The course goes through every phase of an organizing project and highlights project management techniques for each phase from initial client contact to project closing. Forms and templates are ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3680 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3680 Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST The table below displays recommended filing techniques for documents along with the related benefits. They have been adapted from Julie Morgenstern's book Organizing from the Inside Out. Filing Technique Benefit Assign all folders to a file type/category File types or categories provide structure and framework for the file system Assign each file type/category a different color of file folders Process of filing is quicker ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3674 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3674 Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST The following Collaborative Project Management Tools can be used by small to large teams to organize their projects, manage teams and share information: Viewpath (free) Zoho Projects (free) ProjectManager.com Project Invision EasyProject Same-page.com HotProject Wrike.com The criteria for software to be included in this list are: Can it store files (e.g., MS Word, PowerPoint) centrally that all team members can access? Does it have ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3671 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3671 Mon, 9 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST Most people want wooden file cabinets for their home offices. The idea of putting a metal file cabinet in a home feels too industrious. Metal file cabinets can also bend or warp over time. Crate & Barrel has an attractive selection of wooden file cabinets. These file cabinets can work in a variety of locations in your home: Kitchen as part of your Home Information Center Dining Room if you use your dining room table as your desk Bedroom to store archive ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3663 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3663 Mon, 2 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST Don't let your worries about tripping over electrical cords keep you from organizing your office with the ideal floor plan. Cord issues should not hold you back from having the most efficient office space. There are simple, inexpensive solutions for floor cords. Floor cord covers can be used to conceal the wires across an open area of the floor, so that the cords are not a trip hazard. A floor cord cover looks like a little speed bump where the cord is hidden inside the bump and ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3654 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3654 Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:30:00 EST I'm a regular blogger for organizing offices, but I'm also the mom of two elementary school kids. I'm taking a break this week from blogging about offices to blogging about mom stuff. I just got back from the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO's) annual conference, and these were the mom items that I found and got excited about: MomAgenda.com – Planners, calendars, notepads, etc. just for moms. I finally found the item that I've been looking for: ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3650 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3650 Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:30:00 EST In earlier blogs I've talked about the steps in organizing: 1) Get Inspired - behind every successful organizing project is a person who has made the commitment to change to get organized, 2) Prioritize – even Professional Organizers have many personal organizing projects they want to accomplish but start with just one, and 3) Make a Plan – consider and write down the steps to change your space. Now we're ready to put the pedal to the metal, roll-up our sleeves and organize! ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3645 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3645 Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:06:41 EST Yes, as Lisa D. posted on my blog, we should mourn the loss the of West Elm file boxes; they were the best. However, here are some other exciting and interesting file boxes: The Horchow Collection has the most beautiful and expensive file boxes you've ever seen Ballard Design gives Horchow a run for their money with their custom file storage ottoman (you pick the fabric) Ballard also have a large wicker file box See Jane Work has FUN decorative file boxes ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3644 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3644 Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:30:00 EST Once you've decided which one of your many organizing projects you want to tackle first, make a plan. The most time-consuming step on an organizing project is the sorting and purging process. You'll have to decide how long you want to sort and how often. Sorting papers can take longer than you think because even one small stack of paper, can be 20 decisions that you have to make. Will you tackle your project over a long weekend, or spread it out over time and sort a manageable amount ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3630 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3630 Mon, 6 Feb 2012 08:30:00 EST Once you're inspired to tackle an organizing project, you must then decide WHICH ONE? We all have multiple organizing projects that we want to accomplish, but you'll be most effective accomplishing them one at a time. Prioritize your projects. There are a few approaches for prioritizing your organizing projects. Which of these resonates with you? What keeps you up at night? What is the item that is constantly nagging you? What area is providing constant stress? (e.g., ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3603 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3603 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST Horchow has the most beautiful high-end file boxes that you have ever seen! These file boxes are designed to be an elegant piece of furniture. I've really never seen anything like them. They can upscale your office instantly. If you or someone you know has purchased one, I'd love to hear your feedback. Are they as functional as they are decorative? Click here to link to Horchow file ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3594 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3594 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST January is Get Organized (GO) Month, and it's time to get inspired! It's hope for the future. What is your dream for your space? How do you want it to look, feel and function? In working with clients, Professional Organizers start with a Needs Assessment which takes a quick review of the client's current space (or time) and then works with the client to understand his/her dream, vision and purpose for the new space looking into the future. This step is inspirational and ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3587 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3587 Mon, 9 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST January is Get Organized (GO) Month, and I think it is appropriately named. It's a fresh start, time to get inspired and time to take action. I believe "Get Organized" is one of the top 5 New Year's Resolutions. So go for it: Get Inspired – What is your dream for your space? What does a perfect day look like? Prioritize – You can't do every organizing project at once, so determine what's most important. Do you want to start with better time management, ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3574 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3574 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:30:00 EST Out of Sight, Out of Mind refers to the common phenomenon that if people don't see something, they think that they will forget about it. There are various solutions to this organizing challenge: Leave things out, but in an organized way Put things away with the appropriate reminders Create a File Index for folders placed in your file drawers Last week, I blogged about leaving things out in the open but in an organized way . The second option to put things ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3570 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3570 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:30:00 EST Out of Sight, Out of Mind refers to the common phenomenon that if people don't see something, they think that they will forget about it. There are various solutions to this organizing challenge: Leave things out, but in an organized way Put things away with the appropriate reminders Create a File Index for folders placed in your file drawers As Julie Morgenstern states in her book, Organizing from the Inside Out , leaving a few things out as reminders sometimes works, ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3545 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3545 Mon, 7 Nov 2011 08:30:00 EST Why can organizing be tiring? Of course, many organizing projects require physical work such as lifting, carrying, and moving boxes. But what about organizing projects in the office where all you are doing is sorting pieces of paper? One or two pieces of paper in your hand are not that heavy. The metal activity of organizing can be fatiguing. In the book Your Brian at Work by David Rock, it discusses how conscious metal activities use up your metabolic resources. Our bodies have a ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3543 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3543 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:30:00 EST Is one of your personal goals to understand where your money is going and reduce your spending? Leverage personal financial software (such as Quicken) in 5 steps to gain better control and insight to your cash flow. Once you have purchased the software and loaded it to your PC, follow these steps: Download financial transactions - from your checking, savings and credit card accounts Assign spending categories – review your transactions and confirm they are being assigned to the ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3541 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3541 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:30:00 EST Do you know what kind of paper or electronic records you should keep at work? If not and you work for a mid to large-size company, Records Retention Guidelines should have been created and available for your use. Your company may have them, but perhaps the availability of the guidelines has not been communicated. I recommend you go to your company's intranet site and search for "Records Management" or "Records Guidelines." I can usually find these company guidelines on the company's ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3484 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3484 Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:30:00 EST As a mom and a Professional Organizer a newspaper advertisement recently caught my attention. There was an announcement about recycling old board games. Recyclebank and Hasbro are asking that you mail in your old board games, and they will recycle the game properly. They will sort all the pieces and parts (e.g., card board, electronics, plastic) and recycle them appropriately. They will also pay for your shipping; you can download from their website a free pre-paid shipping label. All ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3481 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3481 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:30:00 EST In Julie Morgenstern's book Time Management from the Inside Out , all tasks should be assigned a "when." I've been searching for personal software which allows you to easily assign tasks to a specific hour (not just a specific day). Two that I've found so far are: GTDagenda – I also like the feature of setting up Time Maps (they show an example of a student). Time Maps are a personal guideline or template which identifies time for core activities and provides a ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3475 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3475 Mon, 5 Sep 2011 08:30:00 EST I usually blog about organizing your office; however, this week we will veer slightly into the younger set getting you ready for back-to-school. Before your child gets a desk for homework, you are probably interested in a work space where they can do arts & crafts. Wouldn't it be great to buy a piece of furniture where a kid can comfortably sit in a chair and properly use his materials to finish his homework or create great art with lots of room to work, AND as the kid grows the table ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3474 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3474 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST When you're stuck at home and without electricity, people will often use that time to organize their home. They will clean out a closet or work on their family photos. What did you organize during hurricane Irene? I used Irene as great reason to finish up my disaster preparedness. My disaster planning was well underway with the anniversary of 9/11 approaching; however, Irene gave me the final energy to update my inventory of supplies and turn my emergency kit into mobile kits. ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3469 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3469 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST As a professional organizer, I help telecommuters find space in their home offices quickly and easily. If a desk is placed against a wall, I ask the worker to consider using the space above her desk for storage. Typically this involves installing shelving on the wall. If you're renting or don't want to hassle with drilling into your walls, consider adding a hutch to your desk. A hutch will sit on the back part of your desk and provide horizontal shelving above your computer ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3467 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3467 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST I was recently interviewed by ABC – Channel 7 – for the Washington Business Report on the topic of financial organizing. Here's a link to the news clip where I discuss organizing systems needed to support personal financial management and also functionality to consider when selecting personal finance software. Bonus – it also includes personal finance guidance from a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in Washington, DC, my husband, Paul ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3460 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3460 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:30:00 EST Are file folders your enemy? Do you hate them? Do you prefer to put papers together in larger groups that will not fit it a typically file folder? If so, that's fine, just use the following steps to get organized as suggested by Julie Morgenstern: Sort the papers, placing them into large, broad categories that are comfortable to you Purge any papers you no longer need Assign each category of paper a home – what shelf, drawer or box will each category of papers live ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3456 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3456 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:30:00 EST We know Morse code is a communication language which uses dashes and dots. You can apply the same concept of dashes and dots to effectively management your time. Dashes – represent tasks that are analytical, creative or requiring uninterrupted focus Dots – represent quick, short relatively easy tasks that can be completely in 10 minutes or less When you're planning your day (yes, you should incorporate daily planning), review your activities and determine which tasks ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3454 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3454 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:30:00 EST My blogs on office supplies are the most popular; this is probably because it is a universal challenge for everyone. If you have a space 8 ¼" H x 14 ¼" W x 6" D, then consider purchasing a small storage unit designed specifically to hold small supplies. This storage unit from Calloway House has 9 drawers with clear fronts. Each drawer is 2 ¼" H x 4 ¼" W x 5 ¼" D. Designate a different office supplies (e.g., staples, sticky notes, pens) to each drawer. You can also add a label to each ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3443 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3443 Mon, 4 Jul 2011 08:30:00 EST During the summer the world takes a slight pause. If you've been unhappy with your planner or if you have never really had one, this is a great time to explore using a new planner. You'll have time between now and Labor Day to start using the planner and mastering the features before the fall rush begins. Julie Morgenstern in her book Time Management from the Inside Out states there are three main choices you must make in choosing a planner: Paper or Electronic? – ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3440 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3440 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:30:00 EST There are lots of ways to store office supplies, but what if you need to store the supplies on a really deep shelf? Find a solution that will give you easy-access to the back of your deep shelves. One way is to turn an entire shelf to a roll-out shelf using shelving solutions such as ShelfGenie . The other simple option is to use deep bins on the shelves, and place your office supplies in the bins versus the supplies sitting directly on the shelves. You then slide the bin off of the ... http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3391 http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogEntry.asp?id=3391 Mon, 30 May 2011 08:30:00 EST Wow, I had to step away from my blog for a few weeks because of a full-time travel schedule on an organizing project, and I feel like I've been gone a century. We're breaking over Memorial Day weekend and then we have a few more weeks to go. During this travel time, I've been using a time management tool: Google Calendar . It has been the perfect tool to establish and communicate my active kids' schedules with my, now chauffeuring, husband. Here are my benefits of Google ...