Welcome to day 20 of the challenge! If you’ve missed any of the challenge so far, that’s ok – you can catch up anytime. You can access the master list of all the challenges in this post here.
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It’s completely free to join and some advantages of being part of the email “group” is that you’ll be first to get notified of the new challenges, printables and there will be some bonus tips that will be in your emails only.
Today we are moving into the office (or wherever your personal desk may be). This seems to be an area where I constantly need to organize it or keep at it to keep it organized. I am a much happier person though when everything is in it’s place and nicely clean and organized. Clutter really stresses me out!
Here are some tips to help you get your desk in order:
- Files. I find that a lot of the clutter that piles up on my desk consists of various bills and papers that need to be filed away. If you have room for it, I suggest buying a small filing cabinet. Or if space is an issue, you can buy a portable filing box (photos below). I now file everything and not only does it eliminate all the clutter, but when I need to find something quickly, I know exactly where it is. Imagine that! Some examples of different files are: Electric bills, phone bills, medical insurance, house insurance, business insurance, pet health records, taxes, mortgage, bank, etc. We also have a file just for product warranties and one for all manuals and instructions. Oh and each month I have a file for all receipts (one for personal and one for our business).
- Keep stuff on your desk top to a minimum. I have a simple 3 tier inbox on my desk where I put things in there that need to be dealt with right away (on the top tier), then things that need to be dealt with in the near future (bottom tiers). I also keep a cup with a few pens, a couple sharpies and a highlighter, and of course my day planner sits on my desk at all times as well.
- Drawer organization. I try to keep similar things in the same drawer so I know where to find things quickly. I use one drawer for all electronic items: phone/camera chargers, point and shoot cameras, extra batteries, ipods, external hard drives, card readers and extra memory cards. Another drawer I keep all my general office supplies: staples and staplers, hole punches, extra pens and pencils, labels, rulers, etc. Using drawer organizers really help keep little items in place.
- Try to get in a habit of clearing off your desk each time after you are finished for the day.
Here are some various office organization tools that really help get things (and keep them) in order 🙂
