The Time and Project Management Blog

Garages are often in need of better organization. Cluttered, cramped and full of junk, garages can become unworkable after a short time unless they are organized. With a few simple tips and a little effort, garages can become one of the most efficient uses of space in the home.

Garages have a reputation of frequently being junk-filled and messy. Homeowners often use the garage as a sort of dumping ground, often putting things there that don’t have use elsewhere. Not surprisingly, a first step in organizing a garage should be to walk through to see what contents are still needed, and what can be donated, stored or thrown away. You may also be able to sell some items at a garage sale or through an online auction. This can cut down on the clutter dramatically. Organizing a garage is much easier when there is less to organize. Cleaning out the garage is a necessary first step before it can be properly organized.

Once the garage is reduced to essential contents, it is time to get to work. There are many ways to organize a garage, but one of the simplest is to store similar items together. For example, a large collection of tools can be kept together in a particular part of the garage, while auto supplies might be in another. This has the advantage of both looking neater and making it easy to find contents later. Items that don’t fit in one of the groups created might not belong in the garage, and might better be put in storage or elsewhere.

Once the garage is organized into categories, the next step is to put everything away. Frequently-used items might work best on shelves, which make the items readily-seen and easy to find. Shelving supplies and installation advice can be found at most home improvement stores. Items that won’t be used often can be stored in boxes. The boxes should be sturdy and have clear labels, making it easy to find items later when needed. Neatly storing items can make a huge difference when organizing a garage.

Once the garage is organized, little finishing touches help make lasting improvements. Lighting may need to be increased to better see things, or painting might need to be touched up.

With a little effort, organizing a garage can be a simple project. In the space of a weekend, a garage can be efficiently organized. A well-organized garage can be a valuable and functional part of the home, rather than a disorganized eyesore and stressor.

http://www.wisegeek.com

How to organize your garage into a valuable workspace instead of a giant closet for junk.

Garage. Webster’s Dictionary says it’s a building meant for housing or repairing automobiles, is there an automobile in your garage? Is your garage really just one giant storage bin where you can’t find anything, but you know your car isn’t in there because it won’t fit? Most of us let the garage pile up with tools, junk, and whatever else won’t fit in the attic or basement and we aren’t too concerned about what it looks like because it’s not part of the house and no one will ever see the inside of it, unless they want that tool back that you borrowed that is. If you can get your garage organized you might actually be able to put your vehicle inside and protect it from the elements like your garage was meant for.

Start off by purchasing at least ten large plastic tote boxes with lids and get to work sorting. Throw away anything that you haven’t used in the past year and can’t see yourself using anytime soon and organize the things in your garage into boxes by category. These tote boxes can be labeled and stacked for easy access to anything you need. For example, label one box for garden tools , one for car maintenance, etc.

Shelving that attaches to the garage wall is fairly inexpensive and is great for small items that you don’t want to lose. You can organize small items into shoe box sized plastic containers and label them as well. Things like shovels, brooms and rakes can be hung on the wall with special clasps made just for such a purpose that you can find in your local hardware store.

Be sure you take any old batteries, car parts or used oil to the recycling center and don’t try to sneak them into the regular garbage. Give your garage a good sweeping and hosing and clear out the cobwebs, laying down some mats for feet wiping by the entrance to the door. Be sure to replace any burned out light bulbs and provide adequate lighting for finding items and seeing your way out of the car at night. Make sure all garage doors are operational.

Celebrate your nice clean garage by giving your car a good wash and wax and keeping it that way for a long time by pulling that car into the garage!
http://www.essortment.com

Whether dealing with a closet full of clothes, an office full of papers, or a computer full of files, organization is the key. Keeping your computer folders and documents in order can play a big part in making your computing life easy.

On the computer, there are two basic types of items that need to be organized. The first, a folder, is an object that can hold multiple files or documents. (Folders are sometimes referred to as directories.) On the computer screen, a folder most often looks like a yellow or blue paper file folder. The second type of object is a file, which may be a picture, a document, a video clip, or other piece of data. A file often has a small icon or picture associated with it.

Naming Files and Folders

In the old DOS days of computing, file names followed a strict naming structure — eight characters, a period, and three more characters; spaces could not be used. Now the newer Windows operating systems have finally caught up to their Mac brethren by allowing longer file names. Windows file and/or folder names can contain up to 215 characters, including spaces. But don’t get carried away. Try to keep your file names to 20-30 characters, if you can. Short file names are still easier to use, and some programs may have trouble interpreting extremely long file names.

File names are generally followed by a period and three letters, called an extension. In most cases, the program that you are using will automatically add the extension. You may or may not see the extension depending on the way your computer is set up. One important thing to know when naming files and/or folders: names cannot contain the following characters: \ / : * ? ” |

Filing System

The metaphor of a file drawer works well here. If your file cabinet is stuffed with files and they are not in any given order, you will have a hard time finding things. If your computer file cabinet becomes stuffed and disorderly, it will not only cause you to lose things, but it also can sometimes cause computer problems and glitches.

First, you will want to set up an organization system by creating folders to hold your files and documents. The idea here is for you to have a plan and to follow it. You can choose any type of scheme that fits the way that you work. You may want to create folders for the various types of work that you do, such as home, office, financial, etc. Or you might want to separate your folders by the type, contact, or company giving them titles such as Utilities, Inventory, Clients, Prudential, Dean Witter, etc.

The Tree

Most computer file configurations use a tree structure, which is sometimes referred to as a nested arrangement. The tree has one trunk with many branches. The branches have many smaller branches, and the smaller branches have many leaves. Consider your hard disk like the trunk of a tree. Most computers only have one hard disk. Just as some trees have two or three trunks, a computer may also have two or three hard disks or one hard disk that is broken up in several parts. Right now, however, we will only talk about the main hard disk. In Windows computers, it is usually labeled C:

To get to the hard disk in Windows, just double-click on My Computer, then click on the C: Drive (It may have a similar name, such as Local Drive C:). Once you have opened the hard disk folder, you will see that it already has other folders inside of it. To create a new folder, click on the word File in the menu at the top of the screen. Then choose New and then Folder. A new folder will appear with the name “New Folder” highlighted. Just type in the name that you would like to give the folder, and the words “New Folder” will disappear. The title that you typed will appear under the folder. If, for some reason, the folder still reads “New Folder,” simply right-click on the folder, choose Rename, and retype the name again.

A folder may contain other folders. If you have created a new folder called Finances, you may want to have several folders in that folder called Bank, Stocks, Bonds, etc. A folder labeled Home may have folders inside labeled Record Inventory, Household, Utilities, etc. To create a folder within a folder, simply open (double-click) a folder before you choose the File-New Folder option.

You can also move folders by dragging them from one place to another. For instance, if you create a folder in your Home folder and then decide that it should have been in your Investment folder, you can simply highlight the folder by clicking on it and then drag it onto the Investment folder. Remove your finger from the mouse when the folder is over the Investment folder and it will be added to the Investment folder.

Default Folders

Every time you write a letter or create a spreadsheet or a presentation, you are creating a file. When you save that file, unless you stipulate otherwise, the program you are using puts the file into a certain folder. That folder is the default folder for the application that you are using. Many Windows programs, especially Microsoft programs like Word, Works, and Excel use a folder called My Documents as the default folder. It is often a good idea to keep your files in the My Documents folder and simply create sub-folders in My Documents to suit your needs. Newer versions of Windows also use folders labeled My Downloads and My Music as the default folders for various applications.

You can change the default folder by looking through the menus at the top of the screen. The location of the default folder is most often found in the Tools menu. For instance, in Microsoft Word, the default folder is found in the Tools menu under Options on the File Location tab.

Mac Specific Instructions

In Windows computers, the hard disk is usually labeled C: In Macs, it is titled Macintosh HD. To get to the hard disk, Mac users will double-click on the Macintosh HD icon. Once you have opened the hard disk folder, you will see that it already has other folders inside of it. To create a new folder, click on the word File in the menu at the top of the screen. Then choose New Folder. A new folder will appear with the name “untitled folder” highlighted. Just type in the name that you would like to give the folder and the words “untitled folder” will disappear. The title that you typed will appear under the folder. If for some reason the folder still reads “New Folder,” simply click on the folder, wait a second, and click again. You will then be able to retype the name.

Don’t get yourself in the situation where you are spending a great deal of time looking for files you created earlier. Keeping your computer files and folders in order can play a big part in making your computing life easier. Get yourself a plan and follow it. The time that you spend organizing your files will be well spent. Don’t forget, organization is the key.

By Sandy Berger
http://www.aarp.org

So many things go into creating an organized home office — whether you work from home or just use it for running your household. PAPER management — you can’t pay bills or write a report or make phone calls wtih a huge pile staring you in the face. Office LAYOUT — how can you get any work done when you have to bend, stretch, and walk all the way across the room to get at your supplies and equipment? And ERGONOMICS — it’s difficult to be efficient when your neck and back are killing you because of a poorly positioned desk or chair. So this month, let’s spend a minute on a few suggestions for getting your home office in order.

Some Practical Organizing Tips…

Is your furniture and equipment appropriate to the kind of work you do? Do you have enough room for your supplies and equipment — to spread out? Do have enough file space for your paperwork? Don’t settle for a non-functional work ENVIRONMENT.

Set up 3 kinds of STORAGE. Fingertip items should be within arms reach of your desk. Active items are used regularly but not daily — store a bit further away. Archive items are rarely needed and should be stored away from your active work area.

Create a paper management center for storing “to-do’s” until you can do them. Make a decision about what step you need to take to clear up each piece of paper and store it in a file for that ACTION — “to pay”, “to call”, etc. Then empty once a week.

What’s it take to get on top of those piles of paper?
Perhaps less than you think.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If your home office is spilling over into your home life, swallowing overdue bills and forcing you to spend more time excavating tax documents than actually doing your taxes, it’s time to introduce some order to your workspace.

An entire industry has sprung up around the science of office organization, complete with books, seminars and consultants who, for $500 to $2,000, will do the dirty work for you.
But most people — even those who think they’re incapable of being organized — can accomplish the same results on their own in the better part of a day, with a relatively modest outlay of money. The task is simple, provided you have the right tools and understand that there is always a place for everything.

Assess your space

Expert organizers say that it’s essential to have a dedicated space for storing and conducting household business, even if it’s a converted closet or the corner of a bedroom. Before you set up an office or re-organize an existing one, you’ll want to think about the purpose of this space. Once you understand who will be using it and what they’ll be doing in it, you can plan accordingly.

Many of the tasks you do in a home office inspire procrastination, so it’s particularly important that you like being there. Make sure you have a comfortable desk chair and proper lighting. If your walls are white, hang shelves or pictures to cut down on glare. Most important, make sure you have adequate workspace. “A lot of people keep too much stuff on a desk,” said Carol Halsey, president of Business Organizing Solutions. “A desk is not a storage space.”

Round up the right tools

It is essential that you clear your office of piles and put all documents in an upright position so that you can quickly locate them without digging. Whether you use filing cabinets, filing crates or filing boxes is a personal choice. Just make sure you have some sort of filing system.
You’ll want to lay out your space so that the files you use most can be stored close to your desk, while the files you access less frequently can be stored farther away. If you don’t have a lot of space, you can store the files that you almost never need, such as old tax documents, in another room entirely.

“In” and “out” boxes are also important for managing the paper flow, says Barbara Hemphill, author of Taming the Paper Tiger books and software. She recommends that you have two in boxes — one in the spot where you first drop your mail and one in the office itself. You’ll also want an outbox for items that need to be mailed or faxed and a “to file” box for items that need to be filed. You can take this theme further with a “to read” box, a “to pay” box and separate boxes for each member of your family. Just take care to make sure that you go through these boxes regularly, lest they become future piles.

There are no rules concerning what office supplies you must have — though file folders are pretty essential. What is important is that you keep them in one place (think of it as your own supply closet) so that you don’t have to search for items or buy duplicates.

Dive in head first

Only after you have organized your space and gotten the proper tools can you begin creating a filing system. Hemphill recommends that you start by going through the most recent documents and making files for them as you go. If you start with the old stuff, which is what most people are apt to do, you’ll waste time creating an irrelevant filing system attuned to what you were doing then rather than what you’re doing now.

Though you’ll want to file alphabetically, how you should label files is entirely up to you. “When you label a file, ask yourself where you would look for this if you need it, not where should you file this,” said Halsey.

She also recommends that as you put things in files, you place the most recent documents in front so that when you open a file you’re looking at the most relevant information. If you are filing a document that has a limited lifespan, make a note in the upper corner of the page to discard it after a certain date.

Also, as you’re going through paperwork and deciding whether to file it and where, it’s not a bad idea to highlight the essential pieces of information, said Kate Kelly, co-author of the book Organize Your Office!: Simple Routines for Managing Your Workspace. Next time you look at it you’ll know exactly what it is and why you saved it.

A lot of the paper that comes into your office will be bills, so it’s not a bad idea to come up with a specific routine for handling them. Halsey has a couple of solutions. As bills come in you can open them right away to see when they are due, note that date on the outside of the folder and stack them so that the bills that need to be paid first are on top. Alternatively, you can create two folders, one for bills paid in the beginning of the month and one for those paid in the middle of the month.

Repeat: Everything needs a place

As you clean out your office and deal with future paperwork, consider the mantra of every organizational guru — everything needs a place. Even if that place is in the recycling bin. Hemphill recommends that you apply the mnemonic “FAT” to each piece of paper that crosses your desk. That is, you should file it, act on it or toss it.

These same rules apply to e-mails and electronic files. Your computer desktop is not the place for documents to be floating around; they belong in files. As e-mails come in, you should delete them, file them, or read them and reply immediately.

If you’re used to wading through your office, achieving this level of organization may seem like quite a reach. Once you make the initial sweep, however, maintaining order should be a relatively easy routine. “If a week gets away from you, make a point of setting aside time to go through everything and put it in it’s place,” said Kelly.
Staff Writer Sarah Max
http://money.cnn.com

No time to organize your office? Follow these daily steps to organize and then maintain your office.

1. On Mondays, de-clutter your office. Remove at least one item which you don’t use at least monthly. Remove all personal items from your desk. Throw away pens that don’t work. Reduce your ketchup/salt/napkin supply by 90%.

2. On Tuesdays, take inventory. Review your supplies and make a list or place an order. Take a few minutes to look through an office supply catalog. You’ll find a myriad of useful organizing items.

3. Think on Wednesdays. How can you make better use of your computer? Can you develop a spreadsheet to help organize some aspect of your job? Do you need to find and register for a computer class? Do it today.

4. Thursday is sorting day. Go through all those business cards and small pieces of paper which have accumulated throughout the week. Put them where they belong. Also put away any reference materials you’ve been using.

5. Have fun filing on Fridays. End your week by cleaning up all the paper lying around your office. Purge your files. Have a mean and clean filing system which you can actually use.

Then have a wonderful weekend.

http://www.lifeorganizers.com

An organization is a group of people with one or more shared goals or according to Wikipedia, is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, which controls its own performance, and which has a boundary separating it from its environment. To have a smooth running organization, there needs to be, well, “organization”. There are many different levels of and needs for organization within any type of business ranging from the way the business is set up all the way to the organization of the physical workspace.

There are different levels of organization related to a business. Once you decide to create a business you need to decide what type of organization your will create. This article will focus on the levels or types of organization but if you are serious about the very complex undertaking of starting a venture on your own, you will want to do a lot of research based on your specific desires and needs.

The generic forms of a business are Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, and Cooperative. A Sole Proprietorship is an entity which has no separate identity from its owner. A Partnership is similar to a Sole Proprietorship with the difference that it has more than one owner, all of which are considered a part of the organization. A Corporation is a legal entity which stands on its own, separate from its members. A Cooperative is a business owned by the people who take part in its services.

There are ways to organize your company or business which represents the structure of your business. There are Hierarchical, Matrix and Flat. Hierarchical organization means there is a single power at the top and subordinates who report to one above throughout the organization. This is the most common format in business. The Matrix organization focuses on pooling employees with similar skills into a group which reports to one project manager. Each employee may report to more than one manager if working on more than one project. The Flat organization has employees who are empowered to work on their own and has few, if any levels of management. The theory is well trained workers will work better if making their own decisions.

Organization of the work area is another important aspect. There are ways to organize the configuration of the internal physical space. It is your space to develop a pleasant environment to work in. The key is to create a ‘HOME’ for each division of your business. Create an easy to use workspace, place commonly used items near your desk and keep complementary equipment near to each other. Make your area easy to navigate and keep your view as appealing and clutter free as possible.

A cluttered desk certainly can be an unpleasant sight as well as causing stress in the workplace. To be as productive and stress free as possible follow these few suggestions:

Create stations at your desk

Store often used items at closest to you

Process paper daily

Keep your desk space clean
This is just the skeletal outline of how to begin to organize your business from the very macro to the micro details. It is time consuming but in the end you will have created organization which will keep you stress free and on task. By Christina Leon, Staff Writer

http://www.lifeorganizers.com