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Written by : Douglas Allebach |
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imagine a workspace where everything you need is within reach every tool every file easily available for you to access when you organize your workspace it removes the barriers from getting your work done and speeds up the process between your thought and your creation developing a streamlined system might be daunting to tackle at first but the extra time you'll create for yourself in the future is absolutely worth the investment hello I'm Matthew encina in this video I'll share an overview of my organization system which I use to keep my gear filed and workspace in order before I begin I wanted to thank audible for sponsoring this video I'll share more on that later the problem with cleaning up is that things just get messy again I'll be honest I hated cleaning but the reason why is because I didn't have a system I had too many areas where I would just dump miscellaneous things into because I didn't know where to put it over the years that turned my closet and drawers into a messy avalanche of tangled randomness that caused me a lot of decision fatigue every time I had to put something away and frustration when I had to retrieve something this was a constant interruption and often killed my momentum on projects I would get distracted trying to find a tool or piece of reference I knew I had somewhere back then I wasn't cleaning I was hiding things what I was missing was a standardized place for everything a streamlined workspace that helped me to do my work and was easy to maintain after watching a lot of YouTube videos reading some books and looking up inspiration I was ready to get organized and just maybe find joy in cleaning because my background is in design I tackled the problem well like a designer I thought of three key things when organizing my space the function the purpose of the space the flow how easy it would be to access my tools and familiarity knowing where things go without even thinking about it all with the goal of making everything around me intuitive now that you have an idea of my approach I'll share the organization process I took step by step step 1 audit your workflow what do you do in your workspace every day and every week what tools do you use most often take note and prioritize your efforts and tools this will be the main function of your space I write film and edit content so I prioritize that as the primary function of my space step 2 remove everything to assess what you have this is the messiest step but is a necessary one to optimize your space for me this took several weekends to do I tackled one area of my office at a time the drawers the closet and then my shelves step 3 reduce and simplify get rid of and donate anything you don't need good questions to ask yourself does this bring me joy is it important to keep have I used it in the last year and the best question if you didn't already own this would you buy it right now if you answered yes to any of those questions keep it if not it's probably time to part ways with it to minimize your paper files I recommend sorting through what you have and digitizing as much as you can for safekeeping I use a document scanner on my phone to convert files into PDFs for the physical documents you do keep I recommend getting a filing cabinet and using a set of pre labeled tabs to you sort your files step 4 take inventory create a list of everything you have and group similar items together note which groups of things you'd want to be most accessible that help you with a function of your space step 5 measure and plan out your space create designated areas in your office for where groups of things will live consider the flow of how you'll use your tools and what you'll need access to make sure that walkways and anything you need to reach for isn't blocked for me I measured out my available space I took photos with my tablet and sketched out my plan I drew out about five different configurations until I settled on one step 6 compartmentalize with more storage use bins trays and boxes to store your groups of items this makes it easier to pull things in and out of your available spaces I recommend buying from the same manufacturer because the various sizes of bins are typically designed to work with each other I also added a few extra shelves in my office to expand my storage in the vertical space I was under utilizing step 7 label everything labeling assigns a home for your stuff so you can quickly retrieve items or put them away in the correct space to label my bins and boxes I simply used masking tape and a marker I found that having everything labeled is especially helpful for bins that rarely get accessed like old photos and mementos step 8 adjust as needed just because you set everything up doesn't mean it's in the ideal location live in the space a bit and make adjustments as you work in it when you can find things without even thinking about it that's when you know things are just right that's when things become familiar once I completed this process of organizing everything the real test would be how well I could maintain it don't be fooled into thinking my place looks immaculate all the time it isn't I work a lot in it and it can get a bit messy and dirty luckily with an organization system in place maintaining my home office has been much easier I no longer have to think about where something goes because everything has a home now I enjoy cleaning I reset my office at the end of each workday which only takes about five minutes to do I love arriving to a clean workspace every day so I can begin my work distraction-free whenever I'm doing tasks that don't require a lot of brainpower like cleaning I like to spend that time ingesting information to feed my mind that's why I love using audible the sponsor of this video to listen to audiobooks that stimulate my brain recently I started listening to essentialism the disciplined pursuit of less by Greg McEwan in it he shares practical ideas on how to set your priorities straight and how to eliminate low value distractions so you can focus on what truly matters in your life I recommend it if you need help developing a filter to determine what's important towards your goals and what isn't while most of us are spending more time at home these days audible is giving its members more content to enjoy members can now download all of the audible original monthly selection as well as unlimited access to guided wellness programs that can help you wind down in stressful times audible also launched stories audible.com where anyone anywhere can stream hundreds of titles completely free you don't even need to be a member just click stream and listen if you're looking for new ways to enrich your time at home alone or with the family I recommend checking out audible go to audible.com slash Matthew Xena or text Matthew in Xena to five hundred five hundred to get one free audio book unlimited audible originals and a 30-day free trial I hope this overview of my organization system and process was helpful to you feel free to use this as a starting point to develop a system that suits your working style remember your systems are a co
Thanks for your comment Elijah Hingston, have a nice day.
- Douglas Allebach, Staff Member
this calyx system from Ikea is by far one of the best buys I have ever made this would be the third time I have repurposed it for something in my home and it looks as if it was never used and today I'm going to show you our paper and small office space organization I got these Martha Stewart dismount notebooks and accessories from staples I have been wanting to purchase these for a while now and as soon as I walk through those doors they were right at 50% off these folders and hanging folders are extra supplies so that took from their boxes so I can store them in this calyx this storage bin is from Ikea and I have two of them for this first one I am storing some wide ruled paper for my daughter to use throughout her school year some construction papers and on the bottom inside is an Avery sticker project sheets I love that these came with lids to keep the dust off these are also stackable so I'm stacking a smaller one on top of it and I'm using it to store extra printer paper I took the original packaging so it's more clean looking and easier to grab whenever we need more I'm using some of these Martha Stewart notebooks for a home management system that I'll be displaying on top of the calyx and then I'm just putting the extra ones in the second storage bin this storage box is for anything extra that we might need to store I always like it when I have more room but the goal is always to keep it minimal and that is just gonna go on top of the bigger box for the labels on these I went ahead and just turned them around so I didn't need to cut out another base to stick the labels that I'll be printing from my label maker so now I'm going to place those folders and hanging folders in these grain magazine holders that I bought from the Container Store and then they're going to go on the top far left side on the calyx these gray boxes are also from The Container Store and I'm going to store some supplies in here that we won't necessarily be reaching for often but they are well stored in case we need them the first box will have envelopes the next one will have my art supplies in there I don't have a lot so they fit perfectly in this box and another extra box for again if we ever need space to store more things we have them these white magazine holders are from Ikea and I don't have any plans on what to store in them yet but I thought it would fill the space something that would flow with the rest of the storage system these are fabric boxes for hanging your files I got them from Target we used to have small filing cabinets that we refurbished but when I decided to turn the calyx into our office storage system I transfer the files in these boxes so we can keep track on the important papers and make sure we don't accumulate too much throughout the years each one has its own category home finance and personal I'm planning to do a separate video on how I set up our new home management system next to that I place this bowl I got from home goods and I plan to put some decorative potpourri in sync with the holiday season as they come next I'm going to make labels for the containers and I'm using the small font so it's not too noticeable because I want it to look clean and cohesivefor the white storage bins I decided to put the labels on the cube that they're on because they already look very clean by themselves and I wanted to keep thatnow let's move on to the desk area one of my main concerns are these courts they can look very cluttered because like our TVs and any big electronic devices they will have courts but I'm going to find a solution to contain them without disturbing their connection I've already used this space provided by the desk that's intended for the courts and then I'm going to take the Scotch electrical tape and start putting these cords as neat as possible together it's not as hidden as I would like it to be but I did the best I could and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out for the decor of the space I picked a more masculine taste because initially I made it for Brian but we all use the space and plus I don't mind the masculine touch these are all from Target the lamp and the wall art I kept the desktop minimal so it's free of clutter inside the desk drawers I'm using these acrylic organizers to fits perfectly in one they are the absolute best for the smaller office supplies that I have on the top left I keep my white out tape and post-it tabs below I have these velcro command strips because I use them for hanging frames and then on the bottom left is where I keep these metal tabs for my planners and future planners I'm going to put together on this side I have all my clip labels because I cannot live to organize without these labels there were pins in the middle part but I move them and now it just has my bamboo stylus pen for my laptop on the second acrylic organizer to the right I have a paper clamp I think that's what they're called staple remover pushpins and deeper clips on the left side the hole puncher fits right in the middle and then my date stamped and hanging folder tabs are on the right now on the right drawer I only have one of the acrylic organizers because I needed only one at the time just to keep these extras like staple bullets stapler label maker ink and some short cords these right here are my letters for the letter board that I'm currently using as a Halloween decor so I'm going to purchase another acrylic organizer but just a smaller version because I do want to keep that right side open for my calculator and label maker and the last piece in our office space is what our printer is laying on this is the Ashland fire or craft storage and purchased this at Michaels when they were having a 60% off sale they're originally $99.99 but I got them for a little over $40 now I'm going to show you what I store in each drawer on the top is where we have our printer paper and ink cartridges so it's easy to grab whenever we run low on both and I also place the supply of index cards in there the second drawer is my quote-unquote planner place this is where I keep my beloved Erin Condren planner with stickers my Sadler pens and wet erase markers that are in that pencil pouch my business cards and I used this exacto knife for when I need to cut any washi tapes when I do my planning the next drawer has all my crafting supplies like Elmer's glue a glue gun some twine clothespins ribbons and my ever-growing collection of washi tape I do plan on getting a separate container for them because they will overflow soon enough also we have a supply of an Elmer's glue because we buy them whenever they go on sale so iris can use them and we also give them to the school each year the next drawer below that has pencils erasers crayons colored pencils and markers most of these are also for iris to use and the very last drawer has extra notebooks for iris and I since I am also going to school right now I tried to keep all the like items together in each drawer and I will be labeling them here shortly although it's a small space I picked the corner of the living room that has the windows so it feels cozy and not cramped and stil
Thanks chlorowcen your participation is very much appreciated
- Douglas Allebach
About the author
I've studied science education at Georgian Court University in Lakewood and I am an expert in programming languages. I usually feel relieved. My previous job was packaging machine operator I held this position for 31 years, I love talking about aircraft spotting and weaving. Huge fan of John Wayne Gacy I practice parasailing and collect books.
Try Not to laugh !
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