A Great Time to Organize Your Office

Here's an article about organizing your office clutter this week, the "slow" week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2010-12-24-de-clutter_N.htm

Summing It Up

One of my favorite blogs reviews one of my favorite books.

Lifehacker on "Organizing from the Inside Out"
http://lifehacker.com/5714390/organizing-from-the-inside-out-form-a-plan-of-attack-for-lifelong-organization

Save on storage: Use household ‘junk’ to organize your stuff - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel

Here is a great article about how to use household objects as storage solutions. Money saver, and earth-friendly!

Save on storage: Use household ‘junk’ to organize your stuff - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel

Paper Clutter Tips

Here is a great article about paper management from USA Today:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/11/nine-tips-cut-paper-clutter/1

Combatting Holiday Clutter

Here is a great article from Take 5 for Moms:

http://www.pnj.com/article/20101205/LIFE/12050306/TAKE-5-FOR-MOMS-Combat-holiday-clutter

Great Shelves and Bins for Organizing Attics

For your attic (and garage and basement, etc.) organizing projects, I highly recommend Sterilite's shelves with coordinating totes. They shelves are very easy to assemble and can be as tall or short as you need. The bins come in clear or opaque, and they are a good size to move and fit through doorways. I found my set at SpaceSavers.com.

Organizing the Attic

If you want to tackle your attic, the colder seasons can be a good time to do it. You definitely don’t want to be up there in the summer! So bundle up, and set aside a few hours to organize and clear out your attic. Here are some tips:

Plan ahead. As with many other organizing projects, schedule a few hours ahead of time and avoid interruptions. Collect boxes and bags for items to go to donate or dispose. Set up helpers if you have trouble lifting or moving items.

Protect yourself. Wear appropriate clothing and shoes, and wear work gloves and a face mask if necessary. Lift carefully and have a first aid kit handy.

Clean as you go. Bring a dust rag, spray cleaner, broom and dustpan with you so you can clean as you go. This step will save you time later and will get rid of dirt that may be in your way discouraging you from proceeding. Bring down as much as possible. The reason so many items accumulate in the attic is that they are out of sight. Once you decide you are getting rid of things, take them downstairs and get rid of them as soon as you can.

Re-think your attic space. Now that you’ve had time to analyze your attic, determine how much you actually want to store there. Just because you have an attic doesn’t mean you have to use it. Carefully consider what you keep up there and if it can handle the dust and temperature changes. Store the items you do keep in waterproof, dust-proof plastic bins that are legibly labeled. Put like with like, and put the items or use more often closer to the door.