Organize & Create Your Home Command Center
The Home Office and it physical characteristics.
Where is your office? Your command center? Where do you organize your family's calendar, the bills, homework, vacations, menus, shopping, coupons, incoming mail, and much more. Is it the desk in the kitchen or den? Is it a kitchen counter?
Wherever it is you need to define its space, determine high use tools, clear paper clutter, and use the space effectively to manage your family.
What do you need the home office to do for you? What do you want it to look like?
Make a list of your household tasks. This determines how your space needs to function, which tools need to be available and a system to manage it all.
Household task list
Dinner menus need a calendar, shopping lists, coupons
School schedules, homework, activities need a calendar, files for art projects, reports,school pictures, homework policy
Mail needs shredder, recycle bin, and filing system for bills now, bills in the future, subscriptions, medical, prescriptions, and others.
Vacation planning needs a calendar, school & work schedules, budget planning
When you are in your work zone you should be able to reach tools, papers, scissors, paper clips and files in arm’s length.
Remove anything that you have duplicates of; stapler, 3-hole punch, scissors, etc. What’s left all has to work from pencil sharpeners to pens, post-Its, or paper clips!
Use your desk for work, not display. Keep one knickknack or photo on your desk, move and display the rest elsewhere.
Last, inventory, sort, all the office supplies. I must admit that this is my weakness. I love office supplies. I enjoy buying them “on sale.” I have a lot. So, I keep only what I need in the desk without overcrowding the space. The rest is in a 3-drawer file and cupboard with the door shut.
The Physical space. Back to accessibility. Use hanging files, peg boards, fabric boards, hooks, or baskets in your space. This allows for the desk space to be your work space. other supplies can hang on the walls around your desk. Search Pinterest and other sites for images of what you would like the work space to look like.
Visualize and draw what goes in the workspace.
Now it looks great! Get to work and be more productive!
SK Out! Have a great day! Be Happy!
