Home Organization 101: Week 4, The Office

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a fabulous weekend filled relaxation and your favorite things. Unfortunately, I am home a little under the weather today. But, it's pretty chilly outside and super gloomy, so I've decided I picked a good day to have to be home from work in my pjs. 

I decided since I'm sitting in  bed wishing I had the energy to be doing something more productive, it's a good time to do a short little post introducing our next project for the  Home Organization 101 challenge from the Bowl Full of Lemons blog! 

A Bowl Full of Lemons

It probably seems like it's been a while since the week in between The Pantry (week 2) and The Office (week 4)...because I skipped number 3...because I don't have a garage. And it actually worked out well since the hubby and I had a crazy, busy week. 

So without further ado...here is the assignment straight from A Bowl Full of Lemons. You can read the full post (here) and see her pictures (here). 

THE PROCESS:

1.  Take a picture of your space before you start.

2.  Make sure you have 6 large bins or boxes, one for each of the following… 1 for papers that need shredded, 1 for things that need donated, 1 for paperwork that needs to be filed, 1 for items that belong in other rooms, 1 for items that stay in the office, and 1 for trash.

3.  Give yourself at least 2 hours to go through your paperwork… all of it!  Each paper will be placed in one of the following bins (shred, file, trash).  You are not organizing at this time. Just separating.

4.  Go through everything else.  If it doesnt belong, place it in the “other room” bin.

5.  After you have gone through everything, it should all be in bins or boxes.

6. At this time, wipe down your desk, shelves, and sweep/vacuum/mop the area. Clean it up really well.

7. Now you can organize all paperwork into a filing system.  I share the categories I use below.  Approximately 50% of the papers you have now should be tossed.

8.  Create a mail station (below).  You will need one to get control of the incoming paper clutter.

9.  Organize your books & everything else to look pleasing to the eye.

Thats it!  Now take a picture and share with us.

WHEN GOING THROUGH YOUR PAPERS, ASK YOURSELF:

 Is this paper necessary to keep? (Taxes, etc)

Is it needed in the future?

Do I have a place for it?

If you answered no, toss it! (Shred if it has personal information on it).

Since Frank and I have already gone through all of our papers a while ago, this job will be a bit easier than it looks. However, if you recall one of my more recent posts about our little office nook (here), I have many ideas on how to make this space even more organized and even more interesting.

If you would like to join in on this challenge--it's not too late! A Bowl Full of Lemons posts weekly challenges, but you can complete them at your own pace and link back to this blog and her blog (here). 

Here is the before picture of our neat, but sad little office space. I can't wait to tackle this project!

If you just yawned I will not be surprised or insulted. Trust me. I know this space needs a LOT of work. This week or so Frank and I will tackle the following:

1. Those two filing bins to the right of the desk. They need to be re-organized and better labeled. 

2. The filing bin to the left under the desk. That needs to be organized as well as that tiny little drawer to the left corner of the desk.

3. Come up with some type of solution to make the cork board look nicer. 

4. Add some little personal touches to the area to bring in some color and some personality. 

(See here for my idea post on this)

Have you organized your desk space lately? How would you bring some color to our tired little office?