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 Restoring
Order to Your Home
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CBN.com
– I hope you are gaining inspiration and
motivation to tackle your organizing challenges
through this column. Thanks to all of you who have
engaged with my advice and who have posted
questions and comments on the message board.
Organizing is one of the hottest consumer topics
today because we all have at least one space or
area of our life that needs more order. Some only
need a touch-up and others need an overhaul!
At my professional organizing company, the most
requested household space is the home office, also
known as the “den” or the “study.” The home office
is the most complex room in the home because our
personal and professional lives often converge in
one space. Whether you are paying household bills,
bringing work home, or running a company from the
spare room, you need an effective home office.
To keep things interesting, this room often
multi-tasks as a guest space or craft room. In
addition, kids like to gather here to use the
computer and do homework. In the wake of all this
traffic, paper and junk piles up, nomadic items
get left behind, drawers and file cabinets become
tightly packed with who-knows-what, and not a
single surface is in sight.
Pretty soon we don’t know where to begin. We
often just shut the door on the mess that lurks
within. To complicate matters, modern homes are
business centers as we shop from home, have
groceries and dry cleaning delivered, and ship
packages from our front door step. All the world
is coming to us, but we are embarrassed to let
them in!
In my new book, Restoring Order™ to Your Home,
I’ve dedicated the longest chapter to the home
office because it’s such an important space. I
could write many columns of advice focusing on the
home office (and perhaps I will if you like), but
I’d like to start by offering you some ideas to
plan your space and get started.
One or Two Spaces?
Properly planning your home office will prepare
you to successfully execute the activities central
to your professional and personal lives.
Few people have the luxury of having both a
personal office and a dedicated business office
within the home. Combining them into one space can
cause blurred boundaries, clutter, and confusion.
On the other hand, the organic inseparability of
our personal and business lives may make it
difficult to “turn on” and “turn off” roles and
track information if we set up two offices.
The following considerations will help you
assess whether to set up one office that caters to
both personal and professional needs or two
offices with distinct purposes:
Two Offices: Personal and Professional
If you decide you want separate spaces for
personal and business use, determine which
activities will take place in each environment.
For example, the small desk space that may adjoin
the kitchen could be outfitted with laptop, file
drawers, calendar, paper processing, and supplies
to create a household hub. Within this hub, home
activities -- like paying bills, making
appointments, coordinating schedules, and sorting
mail --could be executed. The spare room or
“office” could then be dedicated to professional
activities.
The downside to having two offices may include:
- Losing track of information
- Not having clearly established duties
- Duplicating supplies and equipment.
However, two separate spaces can make sense
when one spouse works from home, and one spouse
runs the home. To achieve two successful office
spaces, the activities taking place in each space
need to be clearly defined, so each party can
fulfill individual roles in his or her own space.
If you are a single person who wants to set up
both personal and professional offices, you will
want to designate the tasks that will take place
in each space and set aside dedicated time to work
in each location in order to preserve the
effectiveness of both spaces.
One Dual-Purpose Office
If your home does not afford two likely office
locations (like most of my clients), or if you opt
to conjoin your personal and business lives in one
space, anticipate more activity and tasks taking
place in that environment.
To successfully balance your work and home life
in one room, start by assessing the activities
performed and space needed.
1. List all the personal tasks that will take
place in the office (like capturing mail, paying
household bills, and coordinating the family
schedule). Determine how much space and equipment
(like a paper sorter and laptop) might be needed
to perform these activities.
2. Evaluate your professional job description.
What tasks do you perform on a daily basis? Are
your tasks primarily executed electronically? Do
you need surface space to assemble packets or
place peripherals? Will prolific reference
material require bookshelves? Do you need slots
for forms or drawers for supplies?
The downside of combining the personal and
professional space may include:
- A more crowded work space
- The stress associated with prolific tasks
- The temptation to neglect necessary work for
personal projects
Make Room for the Essentials
Whatever you decide, you’ll need to make enough
room for you to function properly. If you have two
spaces, be very clear on the types of items and
papers you allow in each unique space. If you only
have one space, you may have to get creative by
maximizing space (like optimizing vertical space
with wall storage or the closet with a built-in
system).
Organize your office before you think about
décor and accessories or you’ll end up with more
clutter on your hands. A lot of people opt for the
shortcut and go straight to products (selecting
cool bins and containers and knick knacks) to
solve their organizing challenges. These folks end
up disappointed and buried in plastic. Put first
things first and dedicate enough space for:
1. Supply Storage (cabinets, shelves, drawers)
2. Equipment (computer, printer, fax, scanner,
etc.)
3. Work Surface (space to spread out and work)
4. Paper Systems (processing incoming paper,
storing projects, filing). Unless permanent paper
is stored elsewhere, most well-designed home
filing systems will merit 4 small drawers or one
lateral cabinet and most professionals need twice
that amount of file space.
As I’ve shared with you, home offices are complex
spaces and much more could be said about them, but
hopefully this primer has sparked some ideas for
you. Perhaps you’ve gained the initiative to
divide an overcrowded space into two offices or
join up two sprawling spaces into one. Maybe
you’ve been inspired to sit down and map out your
personal and professional job descriptions; you’ll
gain perspective and self-awareness from this
valuable process. Perhaps you’ve pinpointed some
problem areas within your existing home office
that you plan to tackle. Whatever you’ve gained,
go and apply it! The savvy organizer ACTIVATES
their ideas, even if they end up changing course
later. Organizing isn’t about getting it
“perfect;” it’s about enhancing your quality of
life.
Here’s to reclaiming your office and your life!
~Vicki Norris
Some parts adapted from Restoring Order™ to
Your Home a room-by-room household organizing
guide copyright © 2007 by Vicki Norris (available
in bookstores and at
www.RestoringOrder.com). Published by Harvest
House Publishers, Eugene, OR.
About the Author: Vicki Norris is an expert
organizer, business owner, speaker, television
personality, and author who inspires people to
live out their priorities. Norris is a regular on
HGTV’s nationally syndicated Mission:
Organization, and is a recurrent source and
contributor to national lifestyle publications
including Quick & Simple magazine, Better Homes &
Gardens, and Real Simple magazine. Norris’
premiere book Restoring Order™ : Organizing
Strategies to Reclaim Your Life™ (copyright 2006)
is also published by Harvest House Publishers. |
