Jul 30

Efficient Storage For Organizing a Small Apartment

By Sherry Borsheim Home Office Organization, Home Organizing, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

organizing a small apartment

Getting more out of your small space = more out of life!

While there are numerous advantages to living within a city centre, many apartment and condo dwellers are forced to compromise square footage for a convenient location. This makes efficient organization especially important, as small spaces that become cluttered can suddenly seem even smaller. Organizing a small apartment can be particularly challenging as they tend to lack the traditional storage areas that are found in most homes (e.g. attics, basements, etc.). However, good organization can be achieved in small living spaces by following some basic principles.

Organizing a Small Apartment

Wall Shelves

One of the best ways to increase storage in apartments with small floor plans is install lots of wall shelving. Shelves allow you to make use of empty wall space for storing things like books, pictures, ornaments and other items.

Furniture with Storage

Organizing a small apartment with furniture that contains extra storage is great way to go. Common storage units may come in the form of a trunk or a chest that can also function as a small table. In addition to this, many sofa beds contain storage spaces where items like extra blankets and pillows can be kept.

Under the Bed

Another good place to keep certain items is underneath the bed. Things that are kept here remain out of the way, yet can still easily be accessed when needed. However, it is important to make sure that these items remain protected or they could become dusty, or even damaged when stored over long periods of time.

Hanging Hooks

An efficient way to cut down on clutter is by adding hooks to the walls of each room. Hooks near the entrance can store coats and keys. Hooks in the bathroom can store towels and robes, while hooks in the kitchen can store dishcloths and certain utensils. By having hooks available you will be more likely to put items back where they belong once you have finished with them.

Drawers

An easy way to store a large amount of items is to have a lot of drawers at your disposal. Large television stands are a good choice because they are generally designed with extra spaces for items like electronics, games, remotes and DVD’s. Plastic drawers on closet floors are another good way to add extra storage space when organizing a small apartment or condo. Finish up organizing a small apartment by cleaning up your closets.

Ready to start organizing a small apartment?

By following the above steps you are likely to find that turning a small condo into a living area that seems quite large is actually not that difficult. With a little bit of time, foresight and creativity you will find that your small city apartment can quickly become a space that feels a lot larger than it actually is.

What is your best tip for organizing a small apartment? Share it in the comments below?

Jul 26

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How To Flatten A Mountain Of Paperwork

By Sherry Borsheim Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

Are you living your own personal nightmare buried under mounds and mounds of unfiled paperwork?

You don’t have to work in an office to feel like you are drowning in paperwork. A typical household must keep track of bills, receipts, memos, forms and records. This can become overwhelming for anybody. However, this nightmare can be overcome by following a few simple steps. By learning the proper strategies even the most unorganized person can bring order to their paperwork pileups.

paperwork

THROW IT OUT

Often times a large percentage of household paperwork is no longer useful. By eliminating unnecessary documents, the mountain suddenly becomes much smaller and more manageable. For the most part, any documents that have not been looked at for years can probably be thrown out.

FILE IT

Once you have gotten rid of all the unnecessary documents it is time to organize your paperwork. For this step it is vital to have a filing drawer or cabinet. In your filing drawer you need to develop a categorization system (e.g. tax documents, mortgage documents, monthly bills, etc.). Once this system has been developed, go through all of your paperwork and insert each document into the file based on the category that it belongs to.

OPEN MAIL NEAR YOUR RECYCLING BIN

Every day when opening the mail, make a point of doing it near your recycling bin. Anything that is not necessary should immediately get thrown out. This may include, but is not limited to, flyers, catalogs and unnecessary inserts that often come with bills. Once you have done this, immediately sort your mail.

FILE EVERY DAY

Many people hate filing. However, dislike for this task can be partly overcome with an efficiently organized file system. Once paperwork has been organized the task will become much easier. By filing documents that come in every day it becomes a small task that does not seem so daunting.

USE ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS

Rather than having bills sent by mail each month, set up e-billing accounts with the companies that you regularly make payments to. This may include your phone, tv, insurance or credit card bills. By eliminating bills that physically arrive in the mail, we automatically have less paperwork deal with. Important documents that come electronically can be stored on a computer hard drive.

REGULAR MAINTENANCE

Make a point of going through your filing system every few months to discard any documents that are no longer needed. Doing this will help to ensure that the filing system does not become overloaded with unnecessary documents.

The reason that we hang on to most documents is because we consider them to have some sort of importance. Therefore, it is essential that we are able to find them easily when needed. By keeping an efficient filing system the likelihood of loosing important documents decreases significantly. This will ultimately reduce the headaches that are commonly associated with unorganized household paperwork.

What is the number one reason for untamed paperwork in your home or office? Share in the comments.

Jul 24

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Office Organization Made Simple

By Sherry Borsheim Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files No Comments

Keep Your Stress Levels Down At Work with Simple Office Organization

Your work days are hectic enough whether you love your job or not…why let your cluttered workspace make that worse? There is simply no need.

You just have to make the time to get it started and then remind yourself to maintain it every now and then. That’s the general rule for everything, but it is easier said than done isn’t it?

Do you feel like sometimes in your work life you become so busy that your office organization gets forgotten or that you just don’t know where to start when you do make the time? You are not alone. We all feel that way. Even us here at BizOrganizing.com

However, did you know that a lack of organization can actually make it so we have to work even harder?

This is because unorganized spaces force us to spend more time dealing with clutter and less time actually focusing on the task at hand. By keeping a workspace free from clutter we can improve efficiency and productivity while reducing our stress levels at the same time. By following these simple steps you can implement an organizational system that will help you to improve efficiency while at work in your office.

Space
Most people don’t get to choose where their office is located. But many are able to decide how to set their space up. Make sure your office has everything that you need to work comfortably and efficiently. In addition to this, it may be a good idea to include a few décor items and pictures to help you feel more comfortable in your office space

Organization
When organizing your office, the first thing you want to do is ‘de-clutter’. All unnecessary items must first be removed from the office. Then it is important to identify a place for all of your necessary items (e.g. pens, files, books, etc.). At the end of the day be sure to return all items to their designated places.

Paper Management
To be efficient it is absolutely essential to develop a simple paperwork management system to help keep track of all important documents. As new documents come in make sure that you immediately file them to avoid having them accumulate into disorganized pile of paper. This will save you time in the long run.

Maintenance
Maintaining the organization within your office takes time and dedication. Make sure that you schedule a specific time to tidy up any loose paperwork. This will help to keep things manageable and prevent clutter from accumulating. Maintaining organization within the office only takes a few minutes each day, whereas reorganizing an entire office can take quite a long time.

By keeping your office space organized and comfortable you are likely to enjoy your time there a lot more. However, this is not the only benefit to having a well organized office. People who are organized also tend to be much more efficient because they are able to spend more time focusing on important tasks rather than dealing with clutter. Therefore, improving organization within the office can help to increase productivity while reducing stress levels at the same time, which is a desirable outcome for a majority of working professionals.

July 2012