Mary Ann Westendorf

The Bizzy Butler

Organizing your Home Office - It's good for the soul!

Living and working in an organized environment is not only productive, it's good for the soul. If you want to work more efficiently and feel less stress it may be time to completely overhaul your home office and streamline your day to day ‘modus operandi'.

Storage Solutions:

One of the most common problems for my clients is the lack of storage they have for their supplies and files.

Ensure you have a large enough desk and sufficient filing cabinets to contain your personal and business files.

1. Buy lots of file folders with coloured tabs so you can colour code your paperwork into categories
2. Buy a selection of small containers or boxes to hold pens, staples tape and other necessary supplies in your desk drawers. Dollar stores often carry a wide range of plastic boxes and containers ideal for the home office.
3. Purchase 4 desk top upright holders or tray-style baskets
4. Buy a good quality paper shredder
5. Purchase a large waste paper basket
6. Find an cupboard, armoire, dresser or shelving system to house your computer paper, binders, books etc. to keep these 'storage' items away from your desk.
7. Invest in a comfortable office chair and good task lighting

The first Step is the hardest!

Pick up a number of empty boxes or laundry baskets and bring them into your office.

Take everything off the top of your desk

Take everything out of your desk drawers and file drawers and put it into boxes.

Wash your desk top and drawers with an antiseptic cleaner & wipe dry.

Take the items that you have to use on a daily basis out of the boxes and put them back on your desk and in your drawers.

Do not put anything in your desk that is not related to office work. Yes, you know what I mean... those rocks you collected on your holiday or the shoelaces you bought for your tennis shoes! None of these items should be in your desk.

The PURGE!

Once you have the incidental items sorted and in place, you need to turn your attention to sorting the paper and files. This is the most time consuming part of the home office organizing process. In an effort to save time and money, this is a step I always recommend my clients do on their own.

1. Pull up a chair and put an empty box or two on either side of you with your laundry basket full of files in front of you.
2. Start the PURGE! One by one, look at the papers or files and put them into one of 4 boxes:
   • To keep in your office
   • To keep in storage
   • To Shred
   • To Recycle

Once the purge is complete, deal with the boxes, immediately. Shred all the sensitive documents, take the recycling out to the curb, and put the files that you need to keep for business into carefully labeled bankers boxes so you can access them for quick reference if required. (CRA needs files to be kept for 6Years)

Now you are ready to organize the remaining files. Many desks have two file drawers. In my desk I use the right side of my desk for personal papers and the left hand side for business related information.

Organizing your Personal Files

Colour coding is an effective way to quickly find what you are looking for.

The Freedom Filer System is very effective. If you do not want to purchase the system, you can create your own with colour coded tabs and folders using the following guideline as inspiration.

You may arrange the files in colour coded groups or in alphabetical order. It's best to use a system that you feel will work more effectively for yourself.

Accounting & Bookkeeping

Accounts payable

Administration expenses

Advertising & Promotions

Automobile expenses

Bank Accounts

Bank Service Fees

Business Resources

Client files

Client Invoices

Clippings & Information

Donations

Employees

Equipment

GST

Insurance

Internet

Legal Expenses

Licenses & memberships

Management salaries

Marketing information

Meals and entertainment

Media & Press Releases

Office expenses

Payroll Records (EI, CPP, WCB, Employee Benefits)

Rent

Research information

Revenue

Tax records

Telephone

Travel Expenses

Uniforms

Utilities

Visa Account

Let's recap what we have completed:

The desk is clean.

The contents are purged and edited

The surplus papers are not in the office taking up valuable space

Your desk drawers have the bare essentials in them

Your files are separated into Personal and Business fro quick reference.

Your specific files are categorized and easy to find.

Everything is eerily organized!

The Work Triangle

In order to maintain a harmonious work environment, you need to establish a system for filtering the barrage of mail and documents that will inevitably start appearing a dawn's first light. If you were to outstretch your arms, while sitting at your desk, everything you should need on a daily basis would ideally be within arms reach. If you don't touch it once a day or weekly, remove it from the work triangle.

You've Got Mail! Open your mail over the waste paper basket and discard the envelopes immediately. This simple task alone will eliminate a ton of clutter over the weeks. You have 4 choices:

1. Handle it
2. File it
3. Delegate it
4. Get rid of it

If there are more than 2 pages in your mail, immediately staple them together. Now you have one piece of paper to deal with. ZIP Lock Bags - Keep a box of Zip Lock bags on hand and keep all your small personal and business receipts in separate bags, labeled for your accountant.

Separate your mail or documents. Into the 4 baskets or stand up folders on your desk:

•1. INCOMING

•2. HOT FILE

•3. TO DO FILE

•4. FILING

Place Bills that need to be paid and documents that have to be dealt with immediately into the HOT FILE basket.

Once they are paid, put them into the FILING basket. It is important to manage your hot file everyday.

The TO DO FILE will hold your less pressing work.

FILING Basket - Mail or documents that need to be filed go here.

Maintain it! Maintain your organized office by filing your papers every day. Clean your desk before you leave the office every evening. Arriving to work at a clean and orderly desk in the morning is a great way to start your day. Just to keep you in the mood, splurge and buy one or two nice decorative frames or office accessory to add a personal style to your office.

In summary:

A cluttered and disorganized office can result in lost documents and unnecessary charges for late payments. Frustration and stress often hound unorganized people who waste 10% - 20% of their time looking for lost items. Make the commitment to take control of your personal home office and set aside some time every day to keep your work area neat and tidy. You'll be glad you did. It's good for the soul!

Copywrite© Bizzy Butler Concierge Services Ltd. October 26, 2008