Organizing to Work From Home (WFH): Your Space

In our current reality, you may now be unexpectedly working from home. Here’s how to get your WFH space organized for success.

If you have an office or dedicated room to work in:

• Make sure you have a clear space to work. This could be an actual desk, or a temporary table set up in the space. If the desk/table isn’t clear, for the time being you have permission to move off the “stuff” into a box and go through it later.

• Have the supplies you’ll need within easy reach, such as phone, note paper, pens.

• Do you need a whiteboard in your space for sketching out ideas? (You may have on in another room you can borrow temporarily.)

• Working via video conference? Check your spot for good lighting and pay attention to what’s behind you if your webcam is on.

  • Bonus links: How to look your best on a webcam from the New York Times and more great tips from Lifehaker.

If you don’t have a dedicated room to work in, you can:

• Create a temporary workspace in the corner of another room. A card table in the living room, comfy chair in the bedroom, or kitchen counter.

• Set up a mobile workstation. Gather your supplies in a bin or basket and have it handy, wherever you work. This is similar to my idea of a homework workstation, gather what you need and leave it in the bin.

For any work space:

• Take stock of your computer set up: do you need a headset, webcam, or monitor? Again, pay attention to lighting and the background for any video conferencing.

• Don’t forget to be sure you have a powerstrip and cord control. One of my favorite items to contain the cords is the CableBox.

• Use a comfortable (and ergonomic) chair.

• Have something that makes you smile - a photo, drawing, or other object - in your workspace.

• Don’t scatter your papers and supplies around the house, especially if you have other family members working from home. Try to keep work things contained.

At the Ready: Organization for Everyday Items

Recently a friend staying with me shared an observation about my home: when she needed a pen, there it was…or a pair of scissors, exactly where she needed them. Her remark made me realize that I had organized my home for the little every day items that we need.

Where do I keep paper and pen?

• Near the phone

• In the kitchen (where a small drawer is filled with paper pads, sticky notes, pens and pencils)

• Next to my bed; read more about organizing your bedside table

• In the bathroom, for all those great ideas that you get in the shower

Where to keep other important items:

• Scissors on every floor, near the paper and pens (having duplicates comes in handy)

• Essential tools, like small screwdrivers, tape measure, flashlight in the kitchen in my “junk drawer”

• Keys near the back door

• Chargers in the kitchen

These are small items, but it can be frustrating when we can’t find them when we need them. Try to organize the essential everyday items in your home and feel more in control.

Easy Paper Organizing: Deal With and Done Boxes

This clever idea comes from a friend who recently moved. She set up this new paper management system near where she opens mail and pays her bills.

Here's how the simple system works: she opens her mail, weeds out all the junk, and then puts the paper in the appropriate box. "Deal With" means just that = paper that needs to be acted upon (bill to pay, form to fill out) and "Done" = file. When Done is overstuffed, she knows it's time to file the papers she wants to save. 

This is a great system for people who need visual reminders, and helps combat the creation of piles. The boxes can also be quickly tucked away if needed. 

Recipe Organization: There's an App for That!

We all love to cook in my house, so we have a good-size collection of cookbooks and a few favorite cooking magazines. I also have lots of paper recipes I've saved from websites and torn out of of magazines. My recommended method for keeping paper recipes is a binder system.

If you have folders or boxes of recipes and want to get rid of the paper, consider digital options:

• Pinterest: While I wouldn't trade all my paper recipes for electronic versions, I have come around to using Pinterest. I've got all kinds of recipes pinned and categorized. I love how easy it is to use, and so visual. 
• Paprkia Recipe Manager: This app works on all your platforms, and includes cool tools like built-in timers and the ability to cross off ingredients as you use them.
• All Recipes Dinner Spinner: I often find recipes for a specific ingredient on the All Recipes website , so it makes sense that they offer an app. The app includes shopping lists and you can sort by favorite recipes or type of food. 
• Your phone's scanner: You can also use your phone to take photos or scan paper recipes you want to save.

Receipt Organization: The Shredder Solution

While working with a client to de-clutter his bedroom, we discovered that one problem area was receipts. Like many men (my husband included) the client emptied his pockets in his bedroom, which meant that change, small papers and receipts ended up on the flat surfaces, stuffed into drawers, and all over the space. We brainstormed strategies to keep the surfaces clear, including bowls to hold change and receipts, a wastebasket, and even a shredder.

When I returned to this client's house I was thrilled to see that he had a low cabinet in place now, providing room for a charging station, a bowl for change, and a small sleek shredder! The Bonsaii Desktop Shredder is small enough to fit in the space, and its modern styling is a perfect fit for this client's decor.

This illustrates an important organizing concept: keep the tools you need (shredder, wastebasket) as close to where you use them, even if this means you have duplicates. The client had a shredder in a downstairs office, but the process of gathering receipts and taking them downstairs to shred was cumbersome and just didn't happen. The client was determined to keep his bedroom surfaces clear, and this receipt shredder is a perfect solution.