The B Spot

Most people have a wide assortment of electronics and all the ‘stuff’ that goes with them. And then there’s all the packaging!  It’s a concern to remember which cable goes with which device, or where to find that warranty when your item breaks down. People usually keep the box that their new device came in because it has all the other stuff in it that they need: adaptors, extra cables, manuals, warranties, etc. But what’s really taking up the most space is the box and all the packaging.

If you think there’s a chance that you might return your new electronic device, keep the box for a few months. Once you’ve been using your device for a while and you’re comfortable with keeping it, take everything out of the box that you need to keep (other than manuals and warranties) and put it into a clear Ziploc baggie. Do this for each device and its accessories. To contain all of the bags, I recommend this box from IKEA (they come in different colours and look great on an open shelf)

or a clear bin from Canadian Tire that we reference a lot on this blog.

People often start systems for organizing their manuals and warranties that are hard to maintain. For example, I often see them put in a binder with plastic page inserts.  This can become a hassle as the binder quickly gets heavy. Sometimes people will have a few hanging files in with bills and other paperwork, but this also gets too bulky. I suggest using magazine boxes for the easiest access. Divide them into categories; most common are: Electronics (e.g. computer, cell phone, camera, tv), Small Kitchen Appliances and Large Household Appliances.

Being organized is mainly about retrieval. When you’re scrambling to figure out how to use your new iPod, you don’t want to have to sift through a million other manuals to get the information you need. Having them stored in easily accessible, properly labelled boxes means you don’t even have to think about it. And be sure to review your manuals and warranties once a year. Electronics change so often, you don’t want to be holding onto manuals for things you no longer have.

Steve is a single young professional with a demanding career. He contacted me because, in his own words: “I am not a total disaster. I have moments where I catch up, but then just fall apart and procrastinate.  I want to save money, be organized, and have peace of mind.” Steve lives in a one-bedroom, open, loft-style condo with a small corner area for his office. We started with his office as it was causing him the most anxiety.

Steve’s papers were in disarray, so the first thing we did was gather everything into file boxes. The easiest way to cut down an unruly pile of paper is to open up any unopened mail that you have. Discard the envelopes and any content you don’t need, and you’re left with a neat, flat stack of paper. Next, get rid of excess financial files. You only need to keep 7 years of financial records, so we dumped anything that was older than that. With these two simple steps, Steve’s paper volume was immediately reduced by 40%.

I always tell people that organizing your office is like playing cards: you pick up each piece of paper you come across, and “deal it out”. As you do this, categories emerge: taxes, banking, utility bills, manuals, resources, references, etc. I set these categories up for Steve in file drawers. He now has a “hot” file box on top of his desk for things coming in on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Finally, older stuff he would rarely need to access was archived on the top shelf of his closet.

The relief Steve felt at getting his office under control was enormous, and there were instant financial benefits: we found cheques he had lost that he was then able to deposit. We also found many important documents that helped bring his CV up to date, which directly affects his career and income. Steve’s expenses are now organized, and he has a system to track his cash flow and stay on top of bills.

Tips

• Being organized is mainly about retrieval. Your space should reflect your daily, weekly, and monthly activities. You want to be able to reach, from a sitting position at your desk, the things you use daily and weekly. These can be in a drawer beside you, sitting in a hanging file box on your desktop, or on floating shelves within easy reach.  Everything else should be stored out of the way.
• Sometimes what you have works, so work with what you have. Steve had an Expedit shelf from IKEA in his office that wasn’t serving his space perfectly, but had potential. By using the door and drawer inserts available from IKEA, his messy pile of electronics and software was given a streamlined look. His stuff is now contained, but still accessible.
• When organizing an office, pick up each piece of paper and ask yourself: “Why am I keeping this?” If the answer isn’t [a] “I need to take action with it”, [b] “I refer to it often”, or [c] “It’s required for legal or tax reasons”, it’s time to toss it out

Photo by PeskyMonkey/Vetta Collection/Getty Images.

At this very special time of year, I’d like to take this opportunity to pause and wish my clients and readers a wonderful holiday season.

I appreciate your business and support and look forward to connecting with you again in 2012.

Wishing you good health and happiness.

Warm Regards,

Tina

Is there someone on your shopping list who’s really hard to buy for? Maybe someone who already has everything they need – but nowhere to put it?

This year, consider the gift of organization.

Spot On Organizing transforms cluttered spaces of busy families and professionals into functioning, organized and maintainable spaces, and we offer gift certificates for all budgets. Do you know someone who could benefit from one of these services?

• The Closet Makeover
• The Office ‘n’ Desk De-stress
• Consult and Result Combo
• The Serious Start
• The Tax Tamer
• Moving or Merging Households

Check out our packages and pricing, then email me for additional information or to order your gift certificate.

As you go about your holiday preparations, be sure and take some time out to enjoy the colours of the holiday season. Here’s a great opportunity to do just that:

Hope to see you there!

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Be sure to look for the Real Estate edition of Toronto Life, which will be on newsstands on November 17^th. Their staff picked Spot On Organizing as Best De-Clutterer for their Best of the City 2011 listing!

Click on the cover to see what they said in their August issue!

Make a time commitment per week that you can manage. If you think it’s going too slow, up the commitment. Just get done what you can. Prioritize rooms you want to organize on a list.

Here’s a simple approach to organizing your home or office. It’s a proven method of breaking the task up into smaller manageable chunks so you’re not overwhelmed. Pick a room, begin at the door.

You’ll be going clockwise around the periphery of the room. Have three boxes in front of you. Label them throw away, give away, and store elsewhere. Begin at the door. Start with the first piece of furniture you come to on your left which has a nook, cranny, drawer, etc. This is where you begin. Then you will go around the inside periphery of the room, dealing with the items in these places.

Be serious about it.

Down and dirty now, into 3 piles, make quick decisions, sub-categories later. You don’t need to bog yourself down with detailed decisions right now but have a look at the sub categories if you need to for any reason. Back to work. Just keep the pace going. Begin by throwing away “junk” you’ve accumulated in drawers and be serious about it. Don’t keep pens that work half the time or an old calendar with nice pictures. Your freedom from clutter is more important than they are.

Be willing to take a risk.

You may later wish you still had what you have now discarded. This may cause temporary pain. Throwing it out is a minor pain, compared to having to live helplessly with all the clutter. There is an exhilarating feeling of freedom which comes once the decision to take control of the house has been made and you actually begin to throw out. Put items that you want to keep back in the drawer or in one of the boxes.

Pace yourself.

When you have done enough for one day (about an hour or two), stop, put the boxes away and wait until tomorrow. It’s about progress, not perfection. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t wear yourself out, just schedule when you’re going to continue. This is the first layer of a purge. A lot of benefit can come from even just this first kick at the can.

Make staying organized a team effort. Each evening, you and the kids do the “five minute fury.” Return sports equipment, toys, dishes, etc., to their proper place before you read them a story.

Each season, everyone takes a day or two to cull unused shoes, jackets, hats, mitts, etc. Schedule these days in your calendar and stick to it!

If you want kids to help, adapt rooms to their size and ability. For example, place hooks inside closets at their level. Make organizing fun with colour coded containers or by making it a “see how fast you can do it” game. Rewards help too!

Photo courtesy of oddharmonic

1. Provide each family member with a roomy “drop” basket to contain items such as backpacks, books, mittens, school projects, etc. This will ensure that little ends up on the floor or is trailed through the house. (No excuses for misplaced items either!).
2. Hide or group the clutter. Store footwear under an entry bench; hang coats on wall racks.
3. Designate a decorative bowl near your front or back door for all car and house keys.
4. Peg and 3M removable hooks are an underused clutter buster. Keep kids’ gear in order. In a mud room, hang pegs about 3 feet high so little ones can hang up coats and backpacks as soon as they step inside. Have hooks at adult height or a coat rack for guests.
5. In your coat closet, hang a shoe organizer on the back of the door. The pockets are perfect for storing hats, scarves, and gloves.

Whether it sneaks in unnoticed, or blatantly marches past, clutter enters everyone’s house the same way–through the door! Using these simple strategies, busy professionals and multi-tasking moms alike can tame clutter at the source and gain some control.

Designate a basket or shelf area for mail. Keep a small recycle bin near your entryway, hidden under a foyer table for junk mail.

Open mail at the door. Immediately throw out the envelopes and filler, so that you’re carrying only needed papers to the filing system.

In the kitchen, have larger containers designated for specific paper collections like kids art, home work, and school notices. A three-tier drawer system or wall mounted file holder will let you sort papers, rather than absently pile them.