Most people think that professional organizers work in the home, but something that causes problems for a lot of people is their desk at work. Linda Chu of Out of Chaos not only does residential organizing but office organizing magic as well. Watch the video as Linda works with Bill Mantas of CityTV to take control of his office desk.

Summary

Before we started, the desk was covered in paper, projects, notes, and food wrappers. The only empty spot was where the computer was. Even the cabinets were overflowing. We concentrated on the cabinet first and removed everything from it. Next, we weeded out unneeded papers and information for disposal. Bill was amazed at everything he found. He was storing an empty box that served no purpose other than to take up space!

Our next step was to designate drawers by function, storing all similar items together. We placed the most used items in the top drawers and less frequently used items in lower drawers. The caddy had adjustable shelves, so we arranged them to store media tapes and binders. Now, everything is labelled and easily accessible.

While sorting, Bill discovered items he needed to return to other people or to take back home. We placed these in a box so he could deal with them quickly and efficiently.

Because the office’s central filing area was across the room, we installed a portable filing box for Bill to keep at his desk. He has somewhere to organize and store files until he can return them to the central cabinet.

Bill only keeps essentials on his desk now. These are items that he uses every day and multiple times a day. Also, he started using a spiral notepad instead of taking phone messages on sticky notes which were messy, got mixed up, or lost altogether.

If you need some office organizing magic, contact Linda Chu at Out of Chaos.

Image courtesy Staples Canada.