One of my favorite Rubbermaid products for the Summer is our new beverage carafe. It has graduation marks on the side for measuring and a nice dual pour spout. I used a pair for a recent cookout and found them really helpful. I also like that they are clear so they add a little color to the table.
So, they say that an organized workspace is a more efficient workspace. Being a designer, I used to kind of revel in my chaos. Now, however, working mostly at a desk AND at Rubbermaid made me reevaluate the error of my ways. There are lots of other smarties out there that break down the steps to organizing something big and intimidating, like your desk or workspace. Here's one I liked though. Its broken down in these steps:
1. Clear off your desk and empty those drawers!
2. Sort through you office supplies. Recycle or give away what you have too many of, organized the what you actually NEED in drawer organizers, lending a bit of order to your stuffs!
3. Sort through your paper clutter. This one is the hardest for me... I seem to have SO MUCH paper! Invest in (or use one that you might already have) a good shredder. At work, they take care of all that stuff, but at home, I use mine all the time to cut down on paper waste. Here on this project, I ended up dumping a bunch of papers in the recycle bin. (less stuff to file :)
4. File old papers and records. This is your chance to update your filing system, reorganize the files that you don't use (put those puppies in the back), while ones you need to access all the time (in the front). Simple thing, but it really impacts your day. Once you have a good filing system, its way easier to keep up with it too. (another fun tip: some gals I know here color coordinate their filing! Green for bills, etc. Since its not just labeled, but colored, it makes it LOOK nicer, which can sometimes make you happier, which yields to keeping up with it better!)
Pretty simple stuff, but I got to go from this:
To this:
(AND, if you're looking for help with a HOME office, check out Brian's post ...its a good one!)
I recently came across a great blog post on reducing magazine clutter in your home by @mabelhood. She makes the point that we always have good intentions for going back and referencing articles, recipes, and other tips but seldom do. The magazines then lead to clutter.
She suggested keeping binders with the tips. I was so excited that someone else did this as well! I keep binders for tips from magazines including: hosting ideas, decorating inspirations, and exercise tips. I have found it to be a good solution for keeping the idea but not the entire magazine.
I know other people who keep them in folders, or in accordian notebooks too.
Does anyone else do this and what tool do you use?
I am sad to update the readers that I have really been falling down on my productivity challenge.
Things I have done well:
1-Tagging emails with colored flags to help me prioritize
2-Cleaning up my desktop to help find commonly used programs and icons better.
The Before - folders are not differentiated, everything looks the same.
The After - I picked icons for my folders that made sense. This can be done by right-clicking an icon on your desktop and selecting "Properties" and "Change Icon".
There are a few things I need to continue to improve:
1-Spending the first hour of the day tackling big projects versus getting into the email. My travel schedule has gotten a bit in the way but this will always be a consideration so I need to continue to work on it despire this challenge.
2-Checking my blackberry in meetings and multi-tasking during meetings. Erin has caught me 5 times so I owe Goodwill $5 (see post on the Goodwill Challenge) but it has been a few more times I'm sure.
I would love any recommendations from experts on office productivity and how to improve mine.
This guest post was written by one of our summer interns, Dorothy. She is working in our marketing department!
I’ve spent the summer working and relaxing here in Huntersville, so I decided to change things up and spend the weekend at home with my family. Home for me is a cozy townhome where my dad and brother live. Little did I know that my teenage brother and his friends have also deemed our quaint suburban dwelling their new hangout spot – lucky me! This usually means lots of videogames, lots of snacking, and inevitably lots of trash. Before the 4th of July festivities even started, our trashcan was overflowing with garbage.
Used coffee filters, egg shells, food wrappers: not so easy on the eyes, or the nose! Yikes, you can see the bag already slipping into the can. Dad was happy to hear that I brought home the 52qt LinerLock Spring Top Wastebasket to try out.
He loved the sleek look of the black can and was eager to try out his very first covered trashcan – a breath of fresh air, literally! After years of somewhat “MacGyvering” his trash bags into place, my dad was at first skeptical of the can’s easy locking ability. However, he reported back that he was pleasantly surprised by the wire latches’ firm grip on the trash bag and how well the bag fit into the can.
"The container is so closely matched to the size of the bag, there is no way for the bag to slip lower in the can and come loose from the rim.”
My dad was able to secure the trash bag in a few simple steps:
Now it’s time to vent about your trash bag troubles! Leave a comment below telling us a horror story about when your trash bag fell into the can. Funny, smelly, downright disgusting – product manager and fellow blogger Shannon Joyner along with Dorothy will choose 3 of the best (or should we say worst) stories to receive one Black 52qt LinerLock can each. All comments must be in by July 26th at midnight. Please include an email address in your comments so we can contact the winners. All entries without an email address will not be judged. Good luck!
This contest has ended. Thank you to everyone that entered!!!
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