In plenty of organizing articles and books you see that old motto, do the worst part of organizing or cleaning first, and the easier stuff last.
What do you think?
I’m not sure I prescribe to this motto. I think you should do the fastest task first; here’s why. Let’s use a home office as an example. Let’s pretend it’s a disaster, and needs some organizing and cleaning. In fact, we’ll pretend it’s my home office. I’d clean and organize in the following order:

Pick up anything on the desktop (it would be rare for me to have a mess on my desktop, …read more

The first two steps to an organized home or work office include creating proper office zones and having a current box (or something like a current box). After these major steps, there are some other things you can do to reduce office clutter and stay organized. Following are five ideas…

1. Keep your desktop clear: I’m not a fan of a paper pile anywhere, but a paper pile on a nearby shelf beats a paper pile on your desktop. Most of us work better when our space at least appears tidy. What you might consider are two small garbage bins on …read more

A lot of people start organizing projects by clearing out clutter – that’s an excellent place to start. Getting rid of items that won’t be included in your reorganization is key to a successful room make-over (or make up for the first time, say, if you just moved in).
However, there’s another important first step than many miss, and it’s super simple too.
Define your spaces:
Before you do anything else you need to define your space, or spaces as the case may be. Defining your space is vital because it allows you to decide which items belong in the space, and which …read more

Our previous Declutter It blogger, Julie liked to do things like “Where’s my desk Wednesday” and “Tame those toys Thursdays” – special days at blogs are cool, but not for me. Ironically, I never stick to organized blog days. That said, I think we’ll be starting a new series here called “Motivation for Organization.” It won’t be on any particular day though. Mainly because when I find stuff, I find stuff.
The idea behind Motivation for Organization is that when I see a particularly well-organized and nicely designed space, it really inspires me to get it together. I suspect …read more

In the recent Office Zoning Issues post we looked at how to arrange your office supplies zone-wise to cut down on clutter. However some people in the comments mentioned stuff creeping up on them. Also, I mentioned that if you have certain tasks or a job that changes, the supplies and papers you may need can change week to week.
Because I write full-time my job does change on a weekly basis. One week I’ve got so and so projects, and the next week a new one. Also, my bills change each week and so does mail I need to deal …read more

No, I’m not talking about whether your office is legit – usually, unless you’re working on the roof, or in the front yard, no one is going to comment on your home office zoning. I’m talking about zoning your desk for maximum efficiency.

Your goal when desk or whole home office zoning is to organize in such a way, that you can be more productive, easily find items, and not kill yourself reaching said items.
The best way to zone is to place high need objects nearby, mid-use items semi-close, and items you use once a month far, far, away.
Examples from my …read more