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	Secrets Of Successful Office Organizing

	by Sue Shipman

So you want, or desperately need, to clean out and organize your office. Understand that you are not alone. The average person looses 20 MINUTES a day looking for something in the office. That equates to over 400 days in a working career.

WHERE THE PROBLEM START

We open a file drawer or cabinet and are paralyzed because the task appears to be OVERWHELMING. We PROCRASTINATE because we don’t know how or where to start. This article will cover the basics of getting you organized. First, do not rush out and buy organizing supplies -- no file cabinets, file folders, labels, hanging files, boxes – nothing, except sticky notes or post it notes (these are crucial for the sorting process).

GETTING STARTED

Organizing is not, I repeat not meant to be a QUICK process -- it simply takes a while to wade through all the "stuff" and get your thought process going. Nothing exploded overnight to clutter your space and nothing is going to fix it overnight. It’s okay to go at your own speed as long as you make PROGRESS. Take your time to thoroughly sift through the office -- by this I mean go through every drawer, cabinet, file cabinet and box -- look at it and start the sorting and discarding process.

BREAKING IT DOWN

As you sort, the CATEGORIES will become obvious to you, unique to your particular business. Sort like topics together making individual piles -- such as “financial papers” or “client records” or “company memos.” This is where you use the sticky notes to LABEL the piles, as it can get very confusing when you find yourself surrounded by mounds of unidentified paper.

DECIDING WHAT TO GET RID OF

Most problems arise when you don't know whether to keep something or for HOW LONG. Contact your accountant and attorney for their guidelines, or phone or search the web for specific legal requirements. For example, payroll records, income taxes, human resource files, real estate transactions, and other legal or financial documents all have time retention requirements. For the remainder of papers that you still aren't sure what to do with, ask yourself these questions:

What is it?
When did I USE it last?
Will I NEED it again?
What will happen if I throw it away?
Will I be able to FIND it somewhere else if I need it again?

CREATING A HOME FOR EVERYTHING

When you have determined what to keep and for how long, the question becomes how to store it all. Start by pulling out all of the ARCHIVE records that you don’t access very often. For older records that you don't need readily available, I have found it very useful and efficient to store by year as opposed to topic. For example, take all of the files for a specific year and store in boxes marked "199_ records to be destroyed in __________" (based on your assessment of how long you need to keep it). When the time arrives to DESTROY the records you simply dispose of the entire box instead of sorting through multiple boxes to destroy specific outdated information.

FREQUENCY OF USE

After determining what to store away in your archives, you will have manageable, current information to begin organizing. Think about the materials you use most (your FINGERTIP files) and have them easily and comfortably accessible as you sit at your desk -- perhaps in your desk file drawer. File the less used (but still ACTIVE) information out of your immediate work area -- in a file cabinet on the other side of the room or in a central filing area. Think about how you work most efficiently and design your system accordingly.

Sue Shipman is The Ultimate Organizer. You may contact her at 480-633-7292 or . Visit her website at -- www.ultimateorganizer4u.com.

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