The Office Gal

Some people are comfortable with clutter. Some people feel at home in the midst of chaos. I am not one of those people. Clutter, to me, is a constant reminder of work undone, of a lack of solitude, a lack of balance. Clutter is oppressive. My favorite day of the year is the day of “de-Christmas-ing” my home. Don’t get me wrong…I love Christmas. I love the beautiful and magical way my home looks for about two weeks, but by the time December 28th rolls around, I’m done. As a matter of fact, I’m more than done. The “de-Christmas-ing” is a joyful process, and when I’m finished, I feel as though I can breathe….it must be Spring!

Those of us who work from home face many challenges when our home becomes our workplace as well. There are boundaries that need to be established so that work can be given the consistent attention it needs. There are always distractions abounding when working from home, and they key for me is to keep those distractions to a minimum. When the sink is piled high with dishes and laundry is overflowing, my ‘working’ mind tends to wander to the kitchen instead of having the clarity to stay focused on work.

Over the years, I have found that one of the most productive activities I can accomplish is a quick once-through the house in the morning to pick up and organize the clutter. The living room, the kitchen and my office are the main focus. Once those areas of the house are ‘picked up’ and ‘cleaned up’, I can focus on my work without the clutter creeping into my brain. That 15 or 20 minutes spent getting organized in the morning creates untold dividends throughout the rest of the day, and when work is done, I emerge to find a clutter-free zone that is peaceful and organized and ready to enjoy with my family!

Ellen Gaver lives on the Central Coast of California with her husband and their teenage son. Ellen is the founder of Slo County Moms, an organization dedicated to promoting health and wellness through education, and to mentoring men and women who desire to work from home. Committed to family balance and a healthy lifestyle, Ellen is passionate and helping others create the life they’ve imagined. www.SloCountyMoms.com

Popularity: 42% [?]

Is Your Desktop Distracting?
Hey,is that you behind that monstrous assortment of stuff cluttering your desk? Most people don’t even realize it, but a disorganized desk can cause tremendous frustration and lost productivity that can mean staying late at the office. Fact is, a messy desk makes it extremely difficult to go about your daily routine.

To follow are some practical suggestions for avoiding desktop distractions:

1) File immediately. Anyone who visits our news articles section regularly knows that we cannot say this enough: avoid pile-ups! We know it can be difficult to keep up with your filing when you get really busy, but to keep your desk neat and orderly, its imperative that you don’t allow paperwork to grow into unmanageable stacks.

2) Use the tops of credenzas and lateral file cabinets. These pieces of organizing furniture can be found in almost every office. And even if you work in a cubicle, there’s probably a flat-top credenza or cabinet nearby, providing space where you can store such things as binders and catalogs…rather than letting them clutter your desktop.

3) Utilize shelves. This is another smart location for storing things that might otherwise cause confusion by taking up space on your desk. A shelf, not your desk, is the proper place for items such as phone books, magazines and videos.

4) Create drop spots. Perhaps a basket designed to hang on your wall, or some other kind of receptacle to temporarily drop memos, notes and other small papers…keeping those kinds of easy-to-lose documents off your desk until you have time to look at them.

5) Try not to get too personal. Minimize the urge to clutter your desk with an excessive amount of personal items, such as photographs and knick-knacks. Of course, its great to have some of these in your workspace, just don’t overdo it so that your desk is covered with them.

6) Accessorize. Office organizers, such as file sorters with different compartments, and plastic bins that can hold almost anything, are ideal for storing a wide array of office materials that might instead accumulate on your desk.

This article was originally posted at and written by Leslie Servenio of American Folder Company.

Popularity: 51% [?]

We lay them on the counter, on the desk, across a hook, anyplace to keep cell phones out of the way when charging. If you are like me, you quite possibly forget where you have even placed your cell phone to charge. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep your cell phone tidy and noticeable?

Wouldn’t it be great if someone introduced a product that would hold your phone while charging, but also keep it in a convenient spot so that you always know where your cell phone is and within easy reach? Driinn™ Mobile Phone Holder is that product and is available now for purchase.

Made of a sturdy plastic and rubber combination, Driinn Mobile Phone Holder is available in eight fantastic, bright colors. You can purchase on-line at the companies Web site or through various on-line retailers, such as RevDesign.biz, X-treme Geek.com, and of course Kikkerland.com.

Not only convenient for you cell phone, you can also use it for charging an MP3 player or even a PDA. Various options, one little nifty product. The Driinn Mobile Phone Holder would also make a great gift idea to for the family member or friend that constantly forgets where their phone is, or include in the package when you buy your child their first cell phone.

Step over to Driinn’s Web site for a complete view of the product.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Fax machines can waste paper, cost money - not just for the initial purchase, but also constant repairs and supplies - and plainly take up much needed space for the home or small office. An alternative to the bulky fax machine - use your email to send and receive faxes. A reliable resource, using your email will cut down on space issues and offers many features a traditional fax machine doesn’t.

Using email as your fax service, you can cut down on paper usage - no need to print every fax that comes in. Email will allow you to create handy folders for you to file faxes as received and print only what is needed. Plus, no additional printing materials, such a print cartridges, to buy and replace. Both of these help decrease our use of natural resources and we won’t be adding to our landfills.

One feature that I really enjoy with using email as my fax service, I can attach documents that are received to emails and send within my team or company if needed. Now there is no need to fax to everyone - receive one fax and everyone can be on the same page.

There are an abundance of email fax services littering the Internet. Most offer the similar plans for a monthly fee and can give you a certain amount of outgoing and incoming faxes based on your monthly program. Some services offer free programs for those individuals and small businesses that rarely use faxes.

I suggest that once you have decided to take the plunge to use an email fax service, research all of the offers out there and truly only take the plan that best matches your company profile. No need to take too much right away and waste money. After you have used your service and feel you need more, move up to the next best plan.

Here are a few suggestions:

eFax
MyFax
TrustFax
Fax
OneFax
ExtremeFax

If you are using an email fax service, leave a comment and let The Office Gal know what you think about the service.

Popularity: 26% [?]