Welcome back to Project Disaster. In case you missed the first installment of this project, you can read about it here

Wow, this place is a mess.

So, in order to make this a manageable task for the desk’s owner, we are going to break this task into chunks.

While there is a pile of stuff to get through here, planning is important to make sure that all of this paper has a place to go and is not just shoved in a filing cabinet.

In an business environment, paper comes into an office in the following ways:

• Mail
• Fax
• Computer Generated

Paper must then be acted on and filed away.

For now, we will be happy with just getting the in box up and running.

As with all situations, each requires a little bit of customization. And here, one of the factors that we need to deal with is that there are two businesses being run out of this office, with some paperwork being specific to each business and some is just related to the operation of the office itself.

So what we need is something with 3 sections that can function as an in-box. We are going to have one rule for this in box, what comes in to the in box, goes out of the inbox…within 24 hours!

While, this current “Floor Filing System” is far from good, there seems to be some organization to it in that most of the paper is currently piled into meaningful categories - phone bills, shipping bills, etc, which makes getting all of this paper into the inbox in a organized way a little easier.

It also makes the next step, building the filing system, a little easier as well

Keep it Neat!

OK, that may be a bit of an exageration.

But never the less the System180 from Futureproof/ed is kinda neat…in an austere, minimalist sort of way

System 180—a smart system consisting of 180 mm tubes with flattened ends, allows for anything to be build from a combination of three base-elements, the tubes, screws and blanks.

Perfect for building a bookshelf

Organizer (on your right)
Or DJ table (on your left)…What, your office doesn’t have a DJ busting out tunes? Maybe you need to find a new place to work.

System180 from Futureproof/ed

Keep it Neat!

Ever write something down and forgot where you put it?

Or have you ever come up with a brilliant idea and need a place to scribble down your thoughts?

Pixelnotes could be your answer…

Designed by Duncan Wilson in collaboration with Sirkka Hammer or Sirkka Hammer in collaboration with Duncan Wilson (seems to be a bit of confusion over this), Pixelnotes is a wallpaper consisting of four layers of varying grey tones on a bright primary backing.

Each layer is perforated in a grid format and backed with a tacky adhesive similar to ‘post-it’ notes. According to Wilson “Pixelnotes is inspired by the way we work within a space. The walls become functional, an integrated noticeboard that documents our activity within the room. Pixelated formations and shapes develop according to our patterns of use.”

We think it is pretty neat!

So, you think your closet is still lacking something after a little reorganization work?

Well, you could be right!

Much like forks, spoons and knives, there is a hanger for every occasion…and for the sake of your clothes, you should learn when to use them.

Important!

Remember the basics… in the words of Faye Dunaway doing Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest “No… wire… hangers. What’s wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you: no wire hangers EVER?”

Basically, wire hangers stretch the shoulders of your shirts out and crease your pants.

The Basics
Any good hanger worth its salt should have the following features

• contoured shoulders - helps keep shirts and jacket in their original form
• elongated hooks - makes sure that shirt collars stay up.
• clamps have a felt barrier - so the clamps don’t make holes in your clothes (watch out for the hanger you see on your right - examine those clamps!)

There are a number of different hanger styles

• Tops - looks like an open triangle or boomerang. Some shirt hanger will have notches in them. These are used hold thin dress straps in place when hanging them up.
• Bottoms - will not have the contoured shoulders, just a straight bar with some clamps for pants. Hanging pants up by the waist prevents them from getting creased at the knees - typically happens when you hang pants over a bar
• Suits - What most people expect when they see a hanger; a closed triangle
• Combinations - a closed triangle with clamps

As well as a variety of material that can be used to make a hanger.

• Wood
• Plastic
• Fabric - Padded fabric hanger shirts and camisoles slipping off the hanger and on to the floor. This often happens with wooden or plastic hangers.
• Metal - Remember, metal hangers are evil.

Keep it Neat!

Every once in a while we come across a room in such rough shape, you could only call it a disaster!

For example, take this office.

Anyone see a problem?

Ladies and Gentlemen…

Welcome to PROJECT DISASTER where we get to take peek behind closed doors (and thank goodness they are closed most of the time) and see how real people work and live.

As you can see from the pictures, it doesn’t take a professional to tell you that this desk is in desperate need of two things:

• A paper management system
• A PAPER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

So, check back with us here at Project Disaster in a few days to learn about the simple paper management system developed to help save this poor desk from any more pain and suffering.

Keep it Neat!

No, you don’t need to invented a time machine or slow the world down.

All you need to do is organize your time a little better each and every day

If you make a dozen phone calls each day and can manage to save 5 minutes on each call, you’ve just found a full extra hour to spend on something else you enjoy, like shopping!

More proof that a little can go a long, long way.

Feeling a little cramped lately?

You’re not alone…In fact, many professional organizers claim that a lack of closet space is one of the most frequent complaints that they hear

But according to statistics, about 80% of the clutter in your home is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. Getting rid of excess clutter would eliminate 40 % of the housework in the average home.

So what is the secret…?

First things first …pull everything out of your closet NOW!

(OK, finish reading the article first)

Now, think about what you really need in this closet? Do you need your figure skates in the bedroom closet? Or your Christmas decorations, should they be in the front hall closet or the storage room in the basement?

• If you only have one closet in your bedroom, you may find it useful to store out of season clothing somewhere else (like in clear plastic storage containers under your bed.
• Next step…remove the empty hangers from the closet. Get rid of all the wire hangers. They destroy clothing.
• Pull out a vacuum and vacuum the closet. You probably can’t remember the last time you vacuumed your closet.

Sort Your Clothing

Consider using the following system

• Out of season clothing
• Out of style clothing (and clothes that don’t fit)
• Damaged Clothing
• Frequently worn clothing
• Special occasion clothing

Take your frequently worn clothing and put it front and center in your closet - sorted by article type

With the out of style clothing and the clothing that doesn’t fit - put it in a garbage bag and call a local charity. The exception being one pair of pants that you should save to determing that yes, you are (or aren’t - as the case may be) still as skinny as you were 15 years ago. IMPORTANT - make sure you check all pockets in any clothing you give away.
Damaged clothing - Go get it mended; Again, check the pockets before you send out the clothing.

Frequently Worn Clothing - Put it front and center in your closet.

Special Occasion Clothing - put off to one side; consider storing in garmet bag for added protections.

Now, you should be left with a closet that feels like a giant cavern compared to before you started this little reorganization project

Keep It Neat!

Who can’t remember their mother telling them to go clean their room? I still get a weekly phone call asking if I am still hiding my dirty laundry under my bed…

Well, after reading these statistics, I may have to admit my mother was right about keeping organized:

1. An enterprise employing 1,000 knowledge workers wastes $48,000 per week, or nearly $2.5M per year, due to an inability to locate and retrieve information - IDC
2. 400 – The number of hours per year the average employee spends searching for paper documents.
3. It costs about $25,000 to fill a four drawer filing cabinet and over $2,100 a year to maintain it
4. We wear 20 per cent of the clothes we own 80 per cent of the time. The rest hangs there, just in case.
5. 50 percent of homeowners rate the garage as the most disorganized place in the house and a place the entire family uses regularly.
6. No Sex Please, I’m organizing.  IKEA did a survey of customers in which 31% reported they were more satisfied after clearing out their closets than they were after sex.
7. According to a study conducted by a Boston marketing firm, the average American burns 55 minutes a day - roughly 12 weeks a year - looking for things they know they own but can’t find.
8. Americans waste more than nine million hours each day looking for lost and misplaced articles.
9. The average executive wastes 150 hours each year looking for lost or misplaced documents.
10. Record keeping constitutes more than 90% of all office activity
11. 25% - The percentage of enterprise paper documents that are misplaced and will never be located.
12. Getting rid of clutter eliminates 40 per cent of housework in an average home. Eighty per cent of the clutter in most homes is a result disorganization, not lack of space.
13. The US Department of Energy reports that 25% of people with two-car garages don’t park any cars in there and that 32% parked only one.

Maybe Mother Knows Best After All

How does the expression go?

Big Things Come In Small Packages

Want to see a perfect example of this in action?

Consider this situation:

When making small changes, don’t overlook the multiplication factor… 5 minutes shaved off weekly meetings of 10 people earning $30 per hour would amount to a savings of $62,590/year- Harold Taylor

Admit it, there are days when you go to get dressed in the morning, you open the closet and you can’t find any of the clothing that you wanted to wear that day.

Rather than stuff the closet monster back in its hole, why not try this?

 6 Easy Steps To Organize Your Closet

1. Use shelf dividers to keep stacks of clothing from falling over;
2. Put up some hooks on the inside of your closet door for items that you wear regularly, like pajamas or items that don’t really belong inside drawers such as belts, scarves and ties;
3. Don’t use wire hooks!  They will destroy your clothing by putting holes in them.  Use high quality wooden or acrylic ones;
4. Don’t use wire hangers, they are perfect for destroying the shape of your shirts and blouses.  Use wood or plastic hangers. Invest in the same type of hangar for a uniform look.
5. When hanging clothing, group the similar length clothes together to open up space under shorter garments; and
6. Use storage boxes that are designed for shoes and bags