January’s Storage Plan – Home Office

Welcome to 2010! We hope you’re new year is off to a great start. Throughout this year, we’ll be sharing plenty of organizing tips and advice. Each month, we’ll focus on one room of your home. We know that organizing any room can seem like a big task when approached all at once, so we’ll offer you 4 step-by-step tasks that will get you started. Complete them all in one afternoon, or do one each week. Either way, you’ll end the each month with a neatly organized room and systems that are easy to implement.

So for January, let’s start with your home office and a find a way to clear the paper clutter:

1. Collect all of your passwords and write them down in one, secure spot, then shred the sticky notes and scraps of paper you were using. Our Password.log notebook will help you keep track of them. Once you have them together, store your password notebook in a locked drawer or file cabinet (of even a fire safe) for safe keeping.
2. Go through your stack of unread magazines. If there’s an article you want to read, clip them and place them in a 3-ring binder (sheet protectors work well for this). Recycle the rest!
3. Using wall mount file holders, devise a vertical file system. Label each holder for the intended purpose – mail, bills to pay, school assignments, special events, etc. A vertical system helps you save desk space and makes your papers easy to see and access.
4. Create a file system with horizontal folders. Label with categories or vendors (especially for small businesses) and place in an easy to access file drawer or crate – whatever works for you! If you don’t want to create your own, you might try our MyVitalFiles or our File Solutions Home Filing System.

And that’s it! If you can follow through on each of these tasks, you’ll be able to eliminate those paper piles and save yourself time when you need to refer to important paperwork. Next month, we’ll focus on your kitchen!