Paper, paper, paper. We all have it, but some of us keep it in piles on the desk, the countertop, the floor, and the kitchen table. Purging paper takes time and it can take a long time. Never fear, I’ll show you what to do.
This Half Hour Organizing Project is all about those piles of paper! Ready, set, go!
Today on the Hampton Roads Show I show you how to not only set up, but also organize a home office. I said it a few days ago and I said it again today, a pile is not a file system!
1.Use a dresser for storage or decorative containers that stack. Use as much vertical wall space as you can, especially is the space is small.
2. Hanging files work best; get a file cabinet or desk top containers.
Every office needs at least one hanging file area. Most need a 2-drawer filing cabinet.
3. Use 3 ring binders to organize different areas of business
4. Set up stations-
5. Make a place for every paper!
Originally posted as part of the Live Better Friday series, I was reminded these past few weeks that these principles and practices never get old and can never get talked about enough!
Today I wanna talk about paper. Did the feeling of doom just settle over you as you look at your stacks of mail and randomness? Fear not, a solution is near, but you may not like what I’m gonna say.
What I will share with you goes for both home and your business, especially if you work from home! Treat your home office like you would any office space. Just because you might work from home doesn’t mean you can wing it.
To start, you need to keep VERY FEW papers. This includes bills, receipts, articles, newspapers, magazines, & notes. And don’t even get me started on the kids papers. That’s a whole ‘nother topic! In our digital age, almost anything you need to look at can be pulled up from a website. Plus, with a home scanner you can scan your way into digital bliss. Scan it, file it, and throw the hard copy away!
So, what you do decide to keep, you need a place to put it. A pile is not a file system! If you want to keep papers, make a hanging file system and label each file with the topic. I think in broad categories, like insurance. In this file I will have insurance policies for the house, the car, the _______. If you like it teased out more specifically, fine, but don’t over complicate it and get all caught up in the labeling. Just create a file so you have a place to stick the paper.
I beg you to consider a digital file system and use something like the Neat Receipt scanner by the Neat Co. It can change your life. No lie. 
Ok, now go get some coffee and sit here for a while. I want to talk mail with you. I will not bore you the details of creating a mail system right now, but I want you to start dealing with the mail. What I mean by that is I want you to start OPENING the mail everyday, throwing junk out, and have a specific place you put your bills to pay and important papers you need.
Get yourself a shredder and a small trashcan. From today forward, when you get the mail, deal with it. If you don’t have time to deal with it today, then leave it in the mailbox. Getting the mail from the mailbox and putting it in a pile is complicating your life! Stop doing it. (just in case you’re wondering, yes, I am feeling a little Nanny 911 today. Some intervention needs to happen here!)
If you keep lots of papers it usually for one of two reasons: 1)You are afraid you can’t or won’t be able to find this information anywhere else ever again and therefore you MUST keep the paper! OR 2)You love information and it makes you feel safe and secure knowing that you have the information:) Either way, the papers will start to take on a life of their own and you will start drowning in them.
So today, I am asking you to take a look around and decide which pile to start tackling. What can you throw out right away? What changes can you make to start taming the paper beast? Don’t even make me come over and do it for you! You won’t like me for it!!
And just in case you needed a little guideline, here is an article (digital of course, and DO NOT print it off!!!!) on how long you should keep papers.
Home office organization is a big “hot topic” in my organizing business. This flashback segment from Organize Your Life gives you all the nuts and bolts to setting up and maintaining your home office.
What supplies you need to start
Setting up and organizing
Home Office
courtesy of DrScottGraves.com
Not long ago I shared that I have ADD and that I am still an organized person. I get some help during my work week by taking Vyvanse, an adult ADD drug, and it helps me to stay focused, be less distracted, and not bounce from task to task without finishing anything!
The people over at Shire pharmaceuticals, the makers of Vyvanse, have a terrific newsletter that they send out called UDotheRest.com. This month featured dozens of apps that help with everyday tasks like staying organized, managing time, and limiting interruptions. I loved some of the apps so much that I wanted to share a few with you that I think can help all of us whether you have ADD or not.
The descriptors for each app are taken right from the UDotheRest website, but personally, I started using Things and Teux Deaux recently and LOVE them!
While not a new app, if you have never played around with this one, it is totally worth your time.
Evernote makes it easy to remember things big and small using your computer, your phone, and the Web. Use it to capture your thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and things to remember all in one place. Infinitely useful for anything that’s noteworthy.
Things is a focused and intuitive task manager that helps you stay on top of the things you have to do. It manages to-do’s, notes, due dates, and projects simply and easily. Use the “Smart Today” list and scheduling feature to make the most out of your day.
This app can help keep you on track and help get your to-do’s done on time. It helps you organize tasks based on due dates and priority. Project feature allows you to break complex projects down into steps.
NotifyMe lets you create simple or recurring reminders quickly and easily. Simply launch NotifyMe and start typing. The interface is optimized for quick daily and on-the-go usage so you can manage reminders from anywhere. When a reminder is due, the notification pops up with an alert sound.
If you like making to-do lists, you will probably love TeuxDeux. This bare-bones but visually compelling and highly usable to-do app is browser-based and syncs with your iPhone®. Use it at work/home and then take your to-do’s on the road with the mobile app.
Syncs remarkably fast. Scheduling a task for a specific day helps create a commitment to do it on that day. The “Someday” list is for everything else. It’s that simple.
{I especially love this one because I am an avid list maker and this is so easy to use!}
In other upcoming posts I will share some educational apps and some home management apps that I think are awesome. Do you have any apps or programs that help you Live Better?
When people ask me how I got into the organizing business I always share my story of being a nurse, followed by having twins and staying home, to the moment that I had my first organizing client. See, I never set out to have a career or business in organizing, but I took what I was naturally good at and thought I’d see if I could help anyone.
I thought I would just be helping people make their homes and offices look pretty and clean and tidy. I thought organizing would be about helping folks put things away and finding a place for things. Now, 8 years later, those original ideas are actually the last thing we think about about when organizing a space. Sure, we (I say “we” because I have an amazing team of organizers) think about them, but waaaayyyy before we do that, we are thinking about things like, “How did things get this way?”, “How will you use this _____?”, “Who will use this _____?”, Why do you have this _________?” And about a hundred other questions.
I am more interested in HOW you live than just making things look nice. I want you to get to get the heart of the disorganization and understand your habits and motives when it comes to your stuff. I also want what gets organized to having meaning, purpose, and function.
So, with that said, I thought I’d share with you some key questions I ask our clients, but also some of my thoughts on clutter. If you can answer these honestly and dig deep for your motives, then getting organized will come more easily. On the surface, organizing stuff is easy. But underneath, well, that’s where the real work is. When you change your relationship to stuff, you will have lasting change.
Why do you buy what you buy?
Why do you keep what you keep?
Why do you want to get organized?
What stops you from getting organized? Or staying organized?
What habits do you have that contribute to the disorganization?
How has disorganization affected your relationships (wife, husband, kids, family, friends…)?
Amy’s Clutter Thoughts…
Drains us of timeDrains us of resourcesIncreases stress…can’t find things, things are late, etc.Causes guilt, shame, embarrassment, argumentsMakes life complicatedMakes us enjoy our surroundings less
courtesy of Simplicity Embellished
northtexaskids.com
After posting Organizing a Toy Room a few weeks back, I got several requests for more nuts and bolts on the how-to of organizing toys and playrooms.
This seems to be the nemesis of every mom I know and while there is no lack of inspiration on the internet, it’s the actual getting-it-done that stumps us.
Whenever I am speaking to moms groups I always address the toy issue and to make it easy, I have 7 main strategies for organizing toys. These go for any space, so if you have an actual toy room then that’s even better.
1. Group toys together by type-
Barbies with Barbies, Lego with Lego, trucks with trucks and so on. This seems intuitive but it’s always surprising to me when folks don’t do this. This is the first KEY step. Don’t try to organize anything until you have sorted and grouped the toys first!
2. Create Zones-
Once you have done step 1 you will have an idea of how much of each type of toy you have. You will also know what other kind of play things you have like crafting supplies, books, games, and puzzles.
I love the idea of creating zones because it helps you organize things in each area and it helps kids make sense of where things go. “Go get the crayons from the craft area, Johnny” is super easy for a toddler to understand and even easier when you tell him to put them back in the craft area.
Common zones are reading zone, craft zone, games and puzzle zone, and regular play zone.
Even if you have a living area for toys you can still create zones, just on a smaller scale. If you have an entire playroom, then this is very easy to do.
Roomzaar.com
3. Buy containers, shelving and other supplies-
Once you know how much you have and what zones you want, you can go shopping! Here are some tips when buying containers:
Use small containers that are easy for little hands to pick up. Soft sided cubes, anything with handles, a bucket, or clear plastic bins are great.
Use clear containers with lids for stacking and label and under beds (more on that later on)
Buckets are perfect for hanging on a row of hooks in a craft zone. They also work for organizing small toys like Army men.
Baskets and wooden bins look attractive and are easy to handle.
Use functional and pretty storage like foot ottomans with tops
IKEA makes unbelievable solutions for toy storage and it’s worth the trek to go there. You will find very unique and useful toy storage pieces there.
terpblog.blogspot.com
houzz.com
4. Create fun labels-
Using a label maker is great, but kids love color and pictures, so make your own! I invested in a laminating machine a few years ago and now I make fun labels every time we do a toy room. Using plain card stock, stickers, printed pictures, or anything you like, create the label, laminate it, and adhere to the container.
beingbrook.com
5. Every toy needs a home-
If a toy won’t fit in a container, it still needs a home. Things like race tracks, large activity centers, and so on just need to live in the main play zone. If you have a closet for these large toys, that helps with corralling the clutter.
Still, every toy needs a place to live if you want order and easy clean up. When kids understand where things go, what container they go in, and what zone it lives in, you will have much more cooperation in the clean up game.
6. Don’t over organize toys-
I have seen this so often. In an attempt to get toys in order, parents will make things too specific. You don’t need to separate Barbie shoes from Barbie clothes! Group all her clothes together (seriously, I have had clients do this!).
Trying to keep Lego sets separated is noble, but this isn’t how kids play with Lego. They dump them out and create. Make it easy to do just that by having Lego bins. That said, here is a beautiful way to organize Lego and then the real way to organize Lego.
shelterness.com
Swoopbags.com
This awesome bag from SwoopBags. Here’s what they say about it…
the ultimate toy bag and playmat in one. Ideal for small toys like Lego®, Playmobil®, trains, cars, blocks, dolls, Lincoln Logs®, Lego® Duplo® bricks, stuffed animals and more!
I personally love it and I know your kids will too!
The picture below illustrates the absolute right way to organize toys. Kids can easily identify what’s in the bins and it makes for easy clean up. It’s not over organized and it’s fun. You can do the same with bookshelves and containers, a cabinet and containers, or a piece like this.
/www.kissingthejoyasitflies.com
7. Purge toys every 6 months-
Yes, this is part of organizing your toy room. Kids not only out grow toys, but a toy room can get gross! Gold Fish, Cheerios, apple juice, boogers, and saliva end up on and in everything, so make a new habit of purging, cleaning, and reorganizing every 6 months.
This also allows you to see what the kids are actually playing with and move things around if it isn’t working. The reality is is that all of our kids have too many toys and reducing the amount or trading them out (hide some away for a while) will allow them to play more with what they do have.
Be sure to get your FREE Motherhood Manifesto by signing up to the blog and follow me on You Tube for the latest organizing videos!
The PAK Personal Accessories Kit from The PAK Store. This is the Micro version. They also have the Original and Mini. Just so cute!
Here’s what they have to say about the Micro…
The Micro, about the size of a woman’s palm, fits in most clutches, jacket pockets and very small spaces and also features strong magnetic snaps which will ensure your essentials stay tightly closed in the PAK. It is extremely lightweight and portable on its own as well with a removable wristlet strap.
And check out how they came up with this concept. Totally cool, girls.
containing all the personal care items needed to keep active women prepared and organized on-the-go. The PAK is available in 3 convenient sizes to suit any lifestyle. Each PAK boasts the following features and benefits:
Each PAK comes fully loaded with a variation of personal care items from the five most common categories: Personal Care, Fashion Emergencies, First Aid, Dental Care, Nail Care.
The PAK’s patent pending, compartmentalized design secures content in place so the kit cannot become a disorganized mess.
PAK’s on-the-go essentials replace most of the loose items jumbled in the bottom of a woman’s purse with a lightweight kit about the size of a woman’s hand that is designed to fit in any size of purse, the car glove compartment or a desk drawer.
Each PAK includes a removable strap making it possible to carry the PAK on its own as a compact clutch. This option is great for travel, shopping, sporting events, hiking, festivals or any occasion when you want to travel light and still be prepared.
Includes
Information is only useful if you can retrieve it. Stacks of papers don’t tend to be useful because it’s difficult to find a single paper in a stack when you need it.
Piles of papers happen when decisions aren’t made to about what to do with the paper. Piles of mail, piles of print outs, piles of coupons, piles, piles, piles are all the result of this: “I may need this or I do need this but I’m not going to deal with it right now.” Bam…it goes into a pile.
So what’s a person to do? If you have stacks and piles these are the steps to get rid of it. We aren’t addressing how to organize what you are keeping here, just how to get rid of the excess. Be warned here: working on papers takes longer than you think, so set a timer for “working sessions”.
1. Start small-
Pick one pile or part of a pile to start with. Don’t try to tackle all the paper in one day or even one session. It’s overwhelming and very tedious.
2. Ask Questions-
3. Repeat-
Keep doing this process with stack after stack, pile after pile, until you have gone through every paper you have. Remember, we aren’t worried about what we will do with the remaining papers right now, we are just working on getting rid of it.
This can takes weeks if you have a lot of paper. In the meantime, as new paper enters your home or office, ask the above questions to yourself. I promise you, you will stop allowing so much paper to even make it’s way into your space.
If you think you still need help doing this, you may benefit from our newly launched Virtual Organizing Academy. We will make a plan to get you through your piles while benefiting from our Professional team…all virtually!
Sign up by Friday, October 5th for early bird discounts!
Many people ask me, “what’s the key to staying organized?”. I think what they really want to know is what one thing can they do to get organized and stay that way.
I wish I could tell you, and them, that it was one thing. That one key thing existed to finally squash the clutter bug. That all they are missing is the one thing.
Get the one thing and bam…you get organized!
But the truth is, getting organized is a process. A slow, learned process that takes re-training the brain and re-training your habits. Oh, and it takes discipline.
You didn’t want to hear that, did ya? Slow. Habits. Discipline.
So, to help you, I’m flipping the table and asking you a question from the reverse angle: What is one thing you are doing that causes you to stay un-organized?
Is it that you don’t put things away? Is it that you never found a place to keep things you have? Is it that you simply have to much stuff to fit into your space? Is it that you have a shopping habit?
You probably answered the question right away. That’s your one thing. That’s what you need to do differently when it comes to stuff and clutter. What is it?
