Organizing tips for cleaning off your desk

This past Monday was National Clean off your desk day! Yes, there is actually a national holiday for that! Who knew?

Getting your desk or home office space organized can often be overwhelming so we've compiled a few tips to help you get started.

After

Before

Step 1: Sort everything! Clear the surface and empty each drawer. Make piles of office supplies, things that don't belong on your desk, and go through that paper work! A good place to start in terms of paper is to think about the broad categories--Recycle, shred, file, attend to. The attend to pile will be the most time consuming so don't get hung up here quite yet.

Step 2: Find a place for each category. Using drawer organizers or a rolling cart if your desk doesn't have drawers for supplies makes it much easier to maintain order so that you aren't facing a disorganized and overwhelming desk again in 3 months.

Step 3: Allocate. Put everything in it's place-- including filing, shredding and recycling piles. Add a few simple decor items or a plant to your desk top if you'd like. I find that I'm more likely to use my desk if I've "beautified it".

Rolling Cart

Step 4: Work through that pile of paperwork that needs attention or action. Pay any outstanding bills, add any appointment reminders to your calendar, flip through the magazines and purchase or discard, and start a to do list of anything that can not be attended to at the moment. Keep that to do list on top of your active pile and commit to working through it over the coming weeks. If you have a place and a plan for your desk, the maintenance piece will just be your active paper pile.

Step 5: We would love to see what you are up to! Post a before and after picture of your desk and use our hashtag #helpyoudwell  Or if you'd like to skip steps 1-3 and let us do it for you, email us at info@helpyoudwell or give us a call (865)245-9080!

Items Inspired by this Post:

The Dreaded Paper Piles

If you have paper piles everywhere, feel overwhelmed with starting a filing system, or feel like your current filing system isn't working, we have a few ideas for you...

1. Create an active set of files that are easily accessible (not in your file cabinet). Use this to keep track of the paper that come in regularly. Think school, sports, events, and other family/kid related paperwork.

2. Each year, go through your file cabinet top to bottom and shred the things that are no longer relevant or needed. If you're not sure, check this list to see what's safe to toss and what you need to keep.

3. Move things online- many services offer the option of going paperless. Take the time to switch your regular service bills to online billing methods to save paper and save space in your file cabinet.

Image from Space for Living Blog

4. Start with an efficient and organized set of tabs. Half of the battle of paper organization is figuring out how specific to be when creating labels and tabs to keep things in order.

5. Figure out what system works best for your stage in life, time, and personality. Maybe simple is best for you- try this 4 file system. There isn't an end-all-be-all best way to file, so finding a system that works for you is really important and will make all the difference in being able to stay organized.
 

Lastly, If you can't imagine facing the paper on your own, give us a call and we will work through it with you!

Home Organization Projects | Before & After

Recent Home Organization Projects by Help You Dwell

January has been full of fun for HYD. We've had the privilege of organizing two home office areas, several closets, a couple of kitchen pantries, creating a playroom, overhauling a sunroom, and we're in the middle of helping organize, pack, and remove items from a mother-in-law's former condominium.

Every job has had it's own challenges and each homeowner had their own ideas and plans for the space we worked in. This is the part of our job that calls us to be good listeners and creative problem-solvers. We want to invite you to join us through our journey with some of January's clients thus far & let you see some of the photos and the reviews & quotes we received along the way. Because maybe you'll see yourself or a loved one who could truly benefit from a helping hand like the one HYD can give.

HOME OFFICE

Our first stop is a home office redo of a working mom of three school age kids. She's got a great space to work with, a tight budget, and an eagerness to get a system. Our goal was to not only create the space, but put in place routines that will help keep it ordered and functional while not breaking the bank on all kinds of new gadgets, storage containers, etc.

Before - Home Office

In the before, you'll see lots of extras lying around that aren't related to the office. With a little clean-up, purging, and rearranging (plus finding a fantastic donated shelving unit) we were able put together a much more functional area for the whole family to utilize.

Home Office - After

The only purchased items to finish off the space were the woven file box on the bottom shelf of the shelf unit and the wire tray on the desk for active bills, school papers, and to do items. All the other baskets, frames/photos, etc the homeowner already had. We look forward to checking back in with her to see how things are going.

“I actually sat in here and worked this week!”

“Money well spent!! So great to have these ladies help organize my space and take control of my domain again!!”

SUNROOM

First of all, what a wonderful space to work in! This client was overjoyed to get to cash in her gift certificate she won in our December giveaway by asking for our help in creating a sunroom for reading, thinking, snuggling, and just enjoying. We were more than happy to help. Having just moved into her new home with her husband and two littles, she was very open to suggestions and ideas of how to make the space work best. She had lots of family furniture pieces to work with along with a wonderful selection of plants given to her by her late grandmother.

Sunroom - Before

Again, such a fabulous room to work with but it can also be a challenge when you have so much room to want to fill it up with furniture, plants, and accessories just because you have the space. If we're going a peaceful getaway type room, cozy and comfortable are part of the goal but order and simplicity must be included as well. The plants also bring great color and life to the room but too many can cause the room to feel messy. We took great care to find the right plants for the right spaces throughout the house so that each one can be enjoyed and properly cared for.

Sunroom - After

Once we walked through the house and basement to see what furniture pieces we had to work with and where some of the extra plants could be enjoyed in the house, we then started the great rearrange! Creating a breakfast nook for quiet mornings, a desk near the windows for thoughtful contemplation, a couch and seating area for great conversation, and added a much needed bookshelf (located on the left wall) to house all the books for snuggling up and reading.

“HYD was SUCH a gift to my house! They created space where there was only plants and stuff mashed together. They created atmosphere by giving important items a perfect place to fit in the sunroom. HYD also gave me “permission” (you know how you cling to things that should be let go of?) to get rid of. Now I can’t help but to walk into the room and just look around in awe, loving my new space, and enjoying sharing it with whoever drops by. Thank you SO very much HYD! I will be recommending you many times over (and asking you to come again for sure!)”

PANTRY

The last leg of our journey today takes us to a home of a family with two little ones and twins on the way! Lots to prepare for here. As mom and dad plan ahead, they know systems will be one of their greatest allies in surviving four little ones. HYD took on the kitchen pantries. With limited cabinet space, these homeowners need to make their two pantries work well. Our job was to make sure everything had a home, it was easy to access, and the littles had kid-friendly items down low so they could get their own snacks, etc. Below are the before shots of each pantry.

Once we got a good look at all the items in each pantry, we realized that we needed to consolidate, purge, and regroup many of the items. We designated the pantry on the right as the snack and non-cooking pantry. It's full of the grab-n-go items like snack bars, juice boxes, dried fruit, crackers, nut spreads, etc. Easy for the babysitter to find what he or she needs to feed hungry preschoolers.

The pantry on the left is now the designated appliance and cooking pantry filled with appliances, canned goods, pasta, root vegetables, cookbooks, and other small appliance-type accessories like batteries and light bulbs now contained in clear storage bins for easy access.

Adding the storage containers to the grab-n-go pantry was key. It's much easier to access the items, see what you have, and if labeling is your thing, the blue area on the front of each container is a dry erase area for easy labeling. 

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This is just a glimpse of what we've been up to this month. We hope you've gotten inspired to find that space in your home to tackle and bring new life to. Creating order where there was once none can be such a springboard for freedom in other areas of your life as well. Don't wait, make room in your schedule today to purge, reorder, and create the space you've always longed for. If you need help, we'd be glad to give it, whether it's a little or a lot.