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Search and Destroy: 3 Tips for Maintaining Order in Your Home or Office
by Debbie Williams
So you've gotten yourself organized, cleared the clutter and pilfered the piles of paper once hiding your desktop from view. Now what? How on earth do you maintain order and head off the stuff that clings to horizontal surfaces like gum on your shoe? Use these 3 tips to keep your chaos under control, and you'll be that much closer to sticking with your new organizing system:
JOB JAR
This technique is known by many aliases: Honey Do's, Job Jar, Chore Jar, and so forth. Used in the past by domestic engineers (wives) for delegating work to the handyman (husband), the Job Jar is still an effective tool when used properly. Rather than creating tension in your home or office by giving work to others, use the job jar as a creative "to do list" for yourself.
(Visual organizers and creative types will love this one because it doesn't involve using a planner!). Label a clear quart jar with JOB JAR (or the words of your choice), fill with strips of paper onto which you have listed individual tasks to be done, and then stuff the jar with your paper strips. Top with the lid, place in a highly visible place, and check it on a routine basis.
Keep the jar in a spot where you will see it every day, to serve as a reminder. Dedicate one day or more per week to work on the tasks in your Job Jar, and then reach in to draw out a slip of paper. No more prioritizing, no more list-making, and it's a hands-on way to make sure you stay organized.
Note: This doesn't work for high priority items, but rather for those low priorities that somehow never manage to get done (dusting your office, moving archived files to the attic or storeroom, and so forth).
THE LINE FORMS HERE
Use a form to keep an inventory of things needed to run your home or business smoothly. What would it take to keep your office adequately supplied with business cards, stationery, stamps, press kits, and printer cartridges? List these items on a plain sheet of paper, or create a spreadsheet on your computer for easy updates.
Choose a perpetual list or itemized inventory, whichever system you prefer. Create a permanent perpetual list, circling only the items you run out of and need for your shopping excursion. Or itemize your inventory, listing all supplies that you use on a regular basis, using slash marks (or numerals) to indicate actual quantity. When your inventory reads 0 (zero) for postage, for example, it's time for a trip to the post office to fill the meter. No more running out of postage during a big mailing!
Post your inventory or shopping list where office supplies are stored, either tack on the wall or tape inside the door. When it's time to shop at the office supply store, just grab your list and go.
NOTE TO MYSELF
Sometimes planners, lists, and mental reminders are not enough to keep you organized. Why not make individual notes to yourself to keep you on track? If you are an auditory organizer, and remember best when you hear things, consider using a handheld recorder throughout the day to create your sound byte list. Once reserved for managers with well-organized secretaries or assistants, this time management technique is great for all aspects of your life, both professional and personal. Record notes to yourself while driving, commuting on the train or bus, or as you create your action plan for the day.
For those of you who are visual learners, this is your permission to use Post-It Notes(tm) to your heart's content. Write one or two word reminders on small notes, and stick them on the item requiring action. I use Post-Its(tm) when I receive a book to be reviewed, jotting down the date received and the date to follow-up with a review - it's beside my favorite reading chair and keeps me from overlooking important work.
Another use for this visual system is to use mini notes on memos or reports received from others; jot down a brief note, then move on to the next item in your reading stack. When you are ready to follow-p with the writer by phone or email, your notes will remind you of the agenda and you won't have to reread the entire report to remember what you were thinking at the time it was read.
Tip: don't get carried away with leaving notes all over your bathroom mirror or computer monitor, or your trained eye will become accustomed to their importance. That would totally defeat the purpose, wouldn't it!
Although the examples I mentioned are for the home or corporate office, feel free to use them in all aspects of your life, in your car or home. Managing paper, reducing clutter, and controlling chaos is a job overlaps into all aspects of your daily routine, so use these tools wherever you can.
Related Articles:
An Organized Pantry
Fridge Clutter and How to Avoid It
Achieving Balance in Your Family
From Our Friends:
10-Minute Tasks - (Dollar Stretcher)
About the Author:
Debbie Williams is a speaker, author, and professional organizer in Houston, Texas. She is the founder of the online organizing forum, OrganizedTimes.com and author or Home Management 101: A Guide for Busy Parents
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 Recommended Reading: Home Management 101: A Guide for Busy Parents Think nobody understands your organization woes? Think again...Ms. Williams hits all the targets with Home Management. She holds our
hands through the process of breaking down our daily tasks into tackle-able parcels. Do you have uncontrollable kitchen clutter? That's
where most everything lands in my house, anyway. School papers, mail, bills, newspapers, etc... This book shows you how to handle
every piece of it. (courtesy: Amazon)
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