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How to Increase Home Office Storage

May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Source: bluishorange

When you start a business from home, you may have think that you have plenty of storage space in your home office. As you grow your business, don’t be surprised if your storage space shrinks quickly. After all, no matter how much storage space you have, you probably want more.

When I first moved into my latest home office, I thought that I would have plenty of room for my books, supplies, projects and anything else that belonged in my home office. A few months later I realized I was wrong. I bought two bookcases, added shelves to my closet and donated a huge box of supplies I’d never used. Now I have extra storage space and I’m able to find what I need more easily.

Before you give up on finding more storage space, try these tips.

Think vertically. [Read more...]

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4 Organizing Misconceptions You Can Stop Believing Today

May 1, 2012 By 18 Comments

I credit my older sister for putting me over the organizing edge. When we were younger and shared a room, her side was a disaster, and mine was obsessively neat (although I’ve mellowed a bit).

Even though my sister is still disorganized — she’s fine with it — she knows it’s possible for anyone to get organized. But some people are stubborn and refuse to get organized because they believe a few misconceptions about organization.

I want to set the record straight.

Misconception #1—Handle paper once.

This is not only impossible, it’s unrealistic. Whenever I hear an organizing expert tell others to handle paper once, I cringe. Instead of pressuring yourself to handle paper once, get in the habit of doing something to move each piece forward. The point is to keep the paper in play until it lands in a file or in the recycle bin. It’s a waste of time to pick up the same piece of paper and put it back repeatedly. [Read more...]

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All Dressed Up: Reservations Required

January 16, 2012 By 17 Comments

What do you do when you don’t cook or eat at home, but you need to set up a home office? You may do exactly what entrepreneur and author Mandy Williams (aka Black of Red & Black) did, and convert your dining room into a home office. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office organizing, Home office products, Home office setup, Working at home

How to Help Others Have an Organized New Year

January 2, 2012 By 8 Comments

One of my clients was so excited about her new organizing habits, that she decided to change her husband’s disorganized ways. The more she talked to him about helping him sort through his files, clear off his desk and switch from writing his to-do list on his hand to using a smartphone, the less interested he was in the whole process.

Some people can help others get organized and still keep their relationship in tact. Others wind up frustrated and stop talking to each other for a few days.

Whether your spouse or someone else you know is organizationally challenged, you can help him or her get organized. The only catch is that they have to want to change.

The New Year is a good time for all of us to do things differently and change what isn’t working. While you’re making your own changes, consider helping others change their organizing habits.

Be non-threatening

If you call someone a slob, they’re going to be less interested in cleaning up than if you offer to help. If you see scraps of paper and sticky notes everywhere on your spouse or your associate’s desk, help him or her find a better planning system. The notes they’re using to remind them of tasks they need to handle are easy to lose and too hard to track. They could use a simple spiral notebook to list tasks, find a computer program to track to-dos, or use their smartphone for [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office organizing Tagged With: ,

Get Thinner Files in Just Minutes a Day

December 27, 2011 By 4 Comments

A few years ago, I reached the point where I was tired of handling papers and despised filing even more.

I sorted through my files, took out as many papers as I could and then dumped the papers I didn’t need in my recycling bin. This decluttering process took a few hours, but when I finished, I knew that maintenance would take only a few minutes every day.

Now, instead of adding more files to my file drawers, I store files electronically and back them up in three places. This may seem like overkill but it takes only one computer crash to figure out it’s easier to back up info than to try to recreate it.

Try these ways to reduce your files and overcome information overload, without spending too much time or money. [Read more...]

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3 Ways to Change Your Organizing Habits

November 23, 2011 By

source: balanced.crafts

A good friend of mine refuses to see a doctor (she hasn’t seen one in years) because she’s afraid that a doctor will find something wrong with her. What she doesn’t understand is that if she never gets a checkup, she may not discover a medical problem until it’s well advanced (and too late).

Change isn’t easy, and some people can’t get motivated to change their habits until they’ve had a bad experience. Or they may hear about something bad happening to someone else, which finally triggers them to make a change.

When you work for yourself, a bad experience could be losing an account, missing an important deadline, or double-booking appointments with two important clients. Bad days are part of life, but you’re a lot less likely to experience these types of setbacks if you take steps to get organized.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, click here.

Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: ,

All Dressed Up: A Working Naked Update

November 17, 2011 By 20 Comments

One of my favorite parts of this site is the All Dressed Up page. I feature all types of home offices to inspire you to change, update or tweak your own home office. The only problem with sorting through all of these photos of home offices that I’ve designed and others have designed, is that they make me want to change my own home office…often.

So, I’ve redesigned my home office again.

I started my home office makeover from the ground up, by adding a new rug with circles in different colors and sizes. Whether you pick an area rug, wall-to-wall carpeting, or keep the floor bare, keep sound reduction in mind to avoid the “cave effect” when you’re on the phone.

Normally, my next step would have been to pick out furniture, but since my furniture is fairly new I used the desk and bookcases I already had in my home office. My desk with a return gives me plenty of room for my laptop, external hard drive, all-in-one and lamp. I use the keyboard drawer to hold extra printer paper, and the cabinet that was meant to hold a CPU is perfect for storing extra supplies.

I bought two chairs at my favorite commercial furniture store. One is an animal print chair for reading, and the other is a tan desk chair. Behind and next to my reading chair are an iron floor lamp and a small round table.

I had installed the woven shade last year, but to soften the room I added striped drapery panels. The artwork that was next to the window was boring, so to add a bit of color and interest I found a print from a site that features works from independent artists. Rather than buy the print already framed, I had it framed locally.

Next, I replaced my ceiling fan (it came with the house) with a beautiful pendant. Then I added a few more things to my desk including a multi-circle frame and three jars to hold paper clips, rubber bands and markers.

My new home office is exactly the look I’ve wanted for awhile. It suits me perfectly for now, but I may need to stop looking at so many home office photos!

Filed Under: Home office design, Home office organizing Tagged With: ,

How a Broken Fridge Can Motivate You to Reduce Home Office Papers

November 16, 2011 By

source: NatalieMaynor

A few days ago, my refrigerator stopped working.

When I opened the refrigerator door, the light turned on but everything felt a little warmer than it should. When I opened the freezer and squished an ice cream sandwich that should have been frozen solid, I knew I didn’t have much time to clear everything out.

While I cleared out my freezer, I tossed a few things I’d had a bit too long. I did the same thing with some of the food from my refrigerator. I was making a clean start (no pun intended).

My forced refrigerator and freezer purging and cleaning made me think about people who struggle to toss papers they don’t need. What if the papers scattered all over your home office were fruit, vegetables, or meat that had an expiration date? You’d be forced to deal with them within days instead of within weeks or months from when they hit your desk.

You may have stacks of papers on your desk that you want to get rid of, but don’t know how. There are a few ways to get started.

To read the rest of my guest post on Success Your Way, click here.

Filed Under: Home office organizing, Home office setup Tagged With: ,

How to Create More Storage Space in Your Home Office

October 31, 2011 By 10 Comments

Have you ever heard anyone complain about having too much room to store everything they need to have in their home office? It’s about as likely as someone saying they have too much money, they need to gain weight, or they have plenty of free time. (I wouldn’t mind having more of the first one, less of the second, and plenty of the third!)

Finding extra storage space in your home office can be frustrating and challenging. Before you start stashing extra supplies, products and equipment in other parts of your home (where you’re likely to forget you own them), be creative. Either make use of what you already own or invest in a few storage pieces. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home office organizing, Home office products Tagged With: , , ,

4 Things You Don’t Have To Do

October 20, 2011 By

source: Homini:)

Yesterday while I was waiting in line at a store, a little boy threw a fit. His mom told him to do something and he kept saying, “I don’t have to!” while he stomped his feet. Two candy bars later, the mom convinced him to do what she asked.

That’s one kid who has a strong future in negotiating!

Working for yourself involves having to do things you want to do, have to do and hate to do…even when there’s no candy involved. Fortunately there are a few things you don’t have to do.

To learn what they are, click here to read the rest of my guest blog post on Success…Your Way.


Filed Under: Balancing home/office Life, Home office organizing, Time mgmt./Productivity Tagged With: ,
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