Rubbermaid - Adventures in Organization

Office Organization

Sticking with my organizational list to-do list....January was time to tackle the office.

Our filing cabinet had become so full that we couldn't even slide the file folders. Putting things away had become a hassle and taking things out was even worse. We had way too much stuff in way too many folders.

And so, in keeping with good disorganized behavior, I avoided it. Slowly I started cutting the filling cabinet out of the organization business altogether. In a strange twist I started keeping key documents "out and visible" so that I wouldn't lose them in the filing cabinet. The only problem is that once you keep enough things "out and visible" they end up hiding in plain sight. Soon you can't find anything...and your place is a mess.

And so, as with most of my organizational projects, a big clean up was required. And as the picture below proves...I didn't cheat...I took everything out. To be honest this was fun at first but once my room was covered I did have a few fearful moments..."what had I got myself into?!"

But I pressed on. Went through every paper dividing it into:

• Recycle (shredding first of course)
• Things I wanted to keep but didn't need to be in my office (financials dating back 7 yrs or less)
• Things I wanted to keep in the office

Quickly I shredded 80% of the documents and packed a 68L / 18G Roughneck tote with the "keep...but not up here" stuff. That tote went down to the basement and I then got busy organizing the stuff I wanted to keep in the office.

Flushed with all kinds of filing cabinet space, I thought about how I wanted to use the cabinet. I chucked out the main categories of documents as:

1. Driving
2. Financial
3. Health
4. Home
5. Legal
6. Sports

In some cases I had finer classifications but everything fell in under the above six core categories. I used the basic tabs and labels that came with the file folders. My handwriting is terrible but since it remains hidden in the filing cabinet...I don't mind.

Over a month after the office organization I can happily report that things are going well. My filing system is obvious to me and makes it easy to store and find documents quickly.

I now use it.

Things are going well....I'm building momentum...and I'll need some for my next project...The storage room/closet.

Getting Out from Behind that Mountain of Paper

I have the bad habit of creating piles of paper, i.e., old paid bills, medical reimbursement claim forms, bank statements, etc.  Mind you, I have a two-drawer filing cabinet in my bedroom.  In the top drawer I have folders, filed alphabetically by name of bill, insurance company, mortgage, etc.  In the bottom drawer I have manufacturer's literature that comes with appliances, lawn equipment and such.  A friend of mine told me about a website Flylady.com.  For a while I would be organized and file the papers right away.  Then I would get lazy and just lay it on top of the file cabinet and once a month or so, I'd go through it, create piles of like material and then file it - this takes hours. 

Two weeks ago I was up in my attic putting some things away and found four boxes of old bills that I haven't looked at in YEARS!!!  Some of them were dated back to the 1980's.  Needless to say, I don't need them. 

So in order to stay out from behind that mountain of paper, I have gone paperless on as many bills as possible and will only keep two months worth of the ones I still receive.  Normally, I would shred the ones I dispose of, but since I had four boxes and I don't trust bringing them to the recycling center, I used the old bills as kindling and burned them in my fireplace.  For safety sake, I am not encouraging anyone to use their fireplace, but if you do, please be careful.  For those of you who don't have shredders, I would encourage you to get a small one for at home.

And now my filing cabinet looks like this:

 

Organizing Doesn't Have to Be Beautiful - Lessons from the Office

Every year, we make a calendar for Rubbermaid.com.  We try to put some thought behind the times of year when people will most like to know about which products and tips, as it relates to seasons / holidays where they make the most sense.

The project sat on my desk in folders for at least 3 weeks, as I wasn't able to really get "inspired" to work on it since I knew it would make a huge mess of my desk and I would need to complete it from start to finish.  I kept putting it off since I never had more than an hour at a time and I didn't want to get started, only to have to pack it up.

However, with pressure of an imminent deadline, I got an idea to work on it continually by pinning the different themes to different areas of my cubicle.  Below is a photo of the process.

Only Erin could understand my logic, and I got a lot of strange looks, but the result was an organized system where we could then re-arrange and brainstorm ideas in half hour increments.  I was able to finish everything in a few days.

Through this I learned that organizing doesn't necessarily always need to be beautiful.  Sometimes, just setting up a functional system can help you get your thoughts organized.  Additionally, sometimes you have to get a little messy to get things finally in order.  I am proud to report that we got our calendar figured out, and since, the "crazy wall" has come down and the content is now categorized in a binder. However, without this exercise it wouldn't have happened.  So my advice is: don't be afraid to make a mess!

Tis' the Season... for HEALTHY snacking!

With the holidays around the corner, I can nearly smell the baked goodness mayhem that will undoubtedly find its way to my hips.  As a method to ward off extra holiday pounds, I find that keeping healthy snacks on hand a great way to avoid sugar cravings.

The 2 cup Produce Saver,also known as my Pound Saver, keeps my grapes fresh and ready for me to snack on at work.  It seems that work is my weakness, as all my co-workers are fantastic cooks and love to bring in munchies to share.  Share the wealth, not the weight. HA!

Another Produce Saver awaits me in the refrigerator stuffed with celery for my mid-afternoon crash and burn that never fails to send me straight to the vending machine.  A little reduced-calorie/fat peanut butter to spread on my celery helps curb my craving and gives me a little pick-me-up to help finish the day.

It's the small things that keep me from feeling the guilt when I decide to indulge in a slice of homemade pumpkin pie. 

 

A website for other tips on healthy snacking at work: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/easy-healthy-workplace-snacks

In the beginning there was my messy desk

 

My wife affectionately calls me Mr. Eighty Percent because I’m fantastic at starting a project with gusto and getting it nearly done before I loose interest (or hope) and get pulled away by some other new and shiny endeavor. It’s pretty clear by my months of procrastination that getting my desk organized is a dreaded task, but I truly hope it won’t end up as one of those nearly done projects.

I’m so envious of the coolest workspace contests and workspace of the week posts on blogs like Lifehacker and Unclutterer. All that clean desk space, all those papers neatly filed and organized, those oh so well hidden cables and cords… -sigh- why oh why can’t my desk be like that? I’ve tried in the past and when my desk does finally get cleaned off it seems to stay that way for a week or two, then it’s back to the just-been-sacked-by-a-horde-of-toddlers look that seems to follow naturally. While I’m by no means an organized person, I do love being surrounded by organization.

I'm plagued by three main problems... electronics (primarily cord) management, dealing with the piles of papers, and keeping track of what is urgent. We'll save what's actually IN my desk for a later post, for now I'm just worried about what's ON my desk.

Step one will certainly be to come up with some kind of system that will work for me. I probably need to think about how I like to work and how my papers, products, and other work clutter ends up in my cube. I’ve heard about processes like Getting Things Done and WSD but I think I need to find one that really works for me.

Step two – PURGE.

Step three…actually I’m not really sure what comes next which is probably why I’m so frustrated with this problem. Any suggestions?

Using a Old Shutter to Organize

One of my favorite organization tools that I use in my home office would have to be my shutters.  I found them at the Metrolina Antique Show in Charlotte.  They were 2 for $5, and were originally navy until I spray painted them white to match my office.

They are great for keeping important references close-by my desk without creating holes in my wall.   Additinally, they allow me to maximize 6 feet of vertical space and are easily moveable around the room.

On one, I have:
-frequently used coupons for restaurants / activities that I need to remind myself I have (or I will forget to use them)
-inspiration - things to be grateful for, favorite quotes/inspirational photos
-upcoming events clipped from Charlotte Observer and other magazines

On the other, I have used Stick and Store baskets to hang on the grooves in the shutter and I organize plans for upcoming travel.

What other uses do you have for old things?

 

Keeping your Office Supplies Organized

OK, maybe the title is a little misleading. This isn't about keeping all your office supplies organized. Just a helpful tip on keeping small miscellaneous items such as binder clips and file folder labels organized.

 

When I moved into my work space at Rubbermaid I inherited a fair amount of binder clips and file folder labels and I needed to find a way to keep them organized. I also happened to have a few TakeAlongs containers laying around. I put two and two together and decided to put the extra supplies inside the containers. Then, since the lids were not 100% clear I ended up using a Dymo labeler to label the contents. These containers then went back into the desk drawer ready for when I need them.

 

Above is a photo of the binder clips and below are the file folder labels. If I hadn't stored these items in the TakeAlongs containers then would have been sliding all around the desk drawer. Now they are nice and neat. I hope this gives you a small bit of inspiration.

How Rubbermaid Organizes Around the Office

Jim had done a post awhile back on how the graphic design guys in our office use FastTrack to organize their desk spaces.   I thought it might be neat to share a few other photos from our office and how we use both our own products and other great products to keep our spaces neat & tidy around here:

Engineers use Totes and Shelving for keeping their samples organized

 

The Industrial Designers use little food storage containers to hold up the glass table in their area...I wouldn't expect anything less out of this creative bunch :)

The research & development guys are very tidy, keeping their items neatly tucked away in FastTrack garage cabinets and organizing magazines on a clever rack.

The Commercial Marketing team keeps their samples on shelving as well since their large restaurant-type items won't fit in a small cube!

 

Unique uses for FastTrack garage shelving

Today I was walking around the office (searching for holiday chocolate) and I noticed that a couple of the Rubbermaid graphic designers, Ken Gulley and Joel Mills, had used our FastTrack garage shelving products in an unexpected way. They turned them into book shelves for the office.

I had never thought about using these 'garage' shelves in any other way than in the garage. They however work perfectly in the office. The even look modern and cool.

Organizing my craft room

I have always been interested in crafts and projects from painting, to scrapbooking to jewelry-making.   Over the years, I have struggled with what to do with all the "stuff" that amassed out of my hobbies.   In my first small apartment, I kept it in rolling underbed boxes (Rubbermaid of course), but it still required a bit of effort to pull all of my supplies out to get started.  In turn, I found I worked on my paintings and crafts less because I didn’t want the hassle of pulling all the supplies out.

One of the big selling points in my new home was an extra bedroom that was an ideal space for a "project room". How exciting to  finally have a space where I could work on things bit-by-bit and have a home for my stuff!!

The first step was a large project table.  My stepfather built a simple table out of an old door that works beautifully.   Next, I built custom bookshelves to keep my day to day items close to the project table.

Another idea I saw in a magazine was to take an old shutter to organize paperwork.  It has been easy to keep up with wedding invitations, tickets for upcoming show, etc. in a quick and easy place.

Because the room had a larger walk-in clothes closet, I converted the space once used for hanging clothes to a supply room.

Clear drawers became a dresser to organize larger "projects" .  Painting simple designs on foam board created a more fun feel and the labels made everything easier to find.

In the remaining part of the closet, I used Rubbermaid Homefree Closet system to create rows of shelving to house my favorite size Rubbermaid totes – the mini 3 gallon.   Homefree is really easy to install and change based on your needs so I was pleased with how I could customize the spacing for my totes.  Also, when I am selling the house, it will be easy to convert it back to a clothes closet (not sure if the new homeowners will be wild about art as I am).

All in all, it has been great to have everything in once place and I have found myself more inspired to pull out projects on a random Saturday or to finish things quickly!  If anyone has any idea for other ways I can organize, just let me know!