OperationOrganize: Re-arranging and Re-Organizing Plastic Drawers

This part of the project will probably end up being the most time consuming.  I spent almost an entire morning clearing everything off the floor, organizing all my "stuff" and coming up with an efficient way to put everything back into the closet.

Here's a reminder of what the space looked like before as seen in this post:

This is what our living room looked like while I was working on this project:  A crazy mess!

However, even though our living room was a wreck for a few hours, I was able to start fresh in the closet with an empty, just-vacuumed slate.

Here's what my newly organized and actually functional office/craft closet looks like now!

I'm making progress and was able to cross three tasks (#s 3-5) off my list in one morning!

1. Hang clear shoe organizer on door to store small office/craft items.         See here!
   
2. Develop new system for paper organization.  See here!
3. Re-arrange plastic drawers so the space is more functional.
4. Re-organize plastic drawers to maximize space.
5. Designate space for "Office" and "Craft" supplies, etc. 
6. Cover cardboard with wrapping paper and place inside drawers to create a streamlined look, concealing the contents of the clearish drawers.  
7. Add labels so we can easily find what we're looking for.
8. Paint bottom shelf white.
9. Spray paint other supply holders so they all match/coordinate.
10. Hang cork board on wall to hang important notes, pictures, etc.

I still have a fair amount to do, but at least everything is in a place that makes sense and I can fairly easily find what I'm looking for.  Keep following along to see the remainder of the updates I have planned for my office/craft closet!

Have a wonderful day!

OperationOrganize: Paper Filing System

Today I'm going to share with you the filing system I created as part of my OperationOrganize: Office/Craft Closet Storage Project where I'm trying to make order of our terribly dysfunctional office/craft closet described in this post.

Do you see the purple bankers box in this picture?

This is what I had been using to file all our papers.  As you can see it was often covered up and difficult to access.  Papers would pile up waiting to be filed away in this box.  This system was not organized and was not working for me.

Then this wonderful piece of furniture came into my life!

What is so wonderful about this end table?  Let me tell you!

1. Has a hanging file drawer.
2. Has a nice little cubby where I will probably place a cute basket someday to store something.
3. Matches our coffee table.
4. Offers dual function:  end table and file drawer.
5. Cost me only $10.00.

Once I had my wonderful new end table/filing drawer I was ready to begin organizing all our papers.

Here are the supplies I used. 

1. Colorful Hanging File Folders - I would have loved for them to all be the same pretty color, but couldn't convince myself it was worth the splurge.  These work just fine.
2. File Folders
3. Alphabet Stickers - I am pretty sure I've had these since sometime in middle school.  It was well past time for me to use them!
4. Avery File Folder Labels (not pictured) - I love using these because they ensure perfect lettering on my file folders.  I'm a bit OCD and these are just wonderful to have!  They give the perfect finishing touch and have so many uses!

A close up of the cute alphabet stickers. : )

It took a good little while to label all my hanging file folders and file folders and then organize all my papers into them.  Not to mention the time I spent fussing with the computer/printer trying to print my file labels.  We recently bought a new desktop computer and I don't think it communicates well with our ANCIENT printer. (Okay, so it's not really ancient, but 9 years is old for a printer!) However it was so worth the time!

Here's a little sneak peek as to how I organized some of my filing:

In order to help me remember where to return each folder, should I need to take it out of the drawer, I began each label with a word that started with the letter it would be filed under.  For example:  All our utilities are filed under "U".  I labeled them "Utilities - Gas/Electric," "Utilities - Internet," and so on, always putting the word "Utilities" first.  I used the same concept to file papers for each of our family members.  These are some of the files I created under my name, filing under "J":  "Jessica - Important Documents," "Jessica - Health Records."

Here are some other files I labeled using this system:

• Credit Card:  Best Buy, Discover
• Insurance:  Auto, Health, Home/Rental, Life
• Loans:  Auto, Student

Also, to help me remember what letter each particular file is filed under I created these sheets:

 

These are especially useful as I am wonderful at coming up with a great, reasonable system for filing papers, but have a horrible time remembering how my wonderful system works and where exactly I filed everything.  On each line I listed the file folders that are filed under that particular letter(s).  This way if I forget were I filed something, I have an easy reference to look back at.  This also helps my hubby easily find a file he may be looking for.  Right now I keep these sheets in hanging file folder "A" because it's in the very front and we don't have anything filed there.  I will probably move them to their own hanging file once I have something to file under "A."

Hopefully I've shared some tips and tricks that will help you organize your ever-growing paper pile or improve your current filing system to make it work better for you.

Happy Organizing!

Linking @:
The Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Our Favorite Things Link Party @ My Life's a Treasure
Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter
Made by You Monday @ Skip to My Lou
Tutorials and Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A to Z
Meet Me Monday Link Party @ You're Talking Too Much
Craft and Tell @ Cherished Bliss
Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts
Tip Me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie
Titus 2 Tuesday @ Cornerstone Confessions
Lil' Luna Link Party @ Lil' Luna
Home Decor and Organizing Link Party @ Organize and Decorate Everything 
The Creative Spark @ Clean and Scentsible
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party @ Delightful Order
The 36th Avenue Party Time @ The 36th Avenue
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Finished Friday @ All Our Days 
Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge

OperationOrganize: Office/Craft Storage Closet

Today I'm sharing with you the before pictures of my office/craft storage closet.  This space isn't functional in it's current state, as you can well see from the piles of "stuff" all cluttering this space.  This closet is under the stairs and so that makes it a difficult space to work with, at least for an adult.

Before I begin sharing the long process of making this space functional, let's take a tour of the dysfunctional mess I've lived with for almost 17 months.

 The top shelf was here when we moved in.  The bottom shelf, that hasn't been painted yet, we added (my dad cut it to size for me.)  I added an over the sink shelf to try to increase the storage capacity of the shelves.

 Working with a slanted ceiling is difficult when trying to maximize storage.  I have yet to find a solution that works well for me.

As of right now I don't really have a filing system that works well for me.  The purple bankers box is something I've had since college.  It doesn't exactly suit the space, but it's been working.  I file all "last year" papers here.

Thankfully, the cart holding the printer and the printer have already been relocated.  So this opened up some floor space.  But didn't do a whole lot else for the space.

Here are my plans for the space:

1. Hang clear shoe organizer on door to store small office/craft items.         See here!
   
2. Develop new system for paper organization.  See here!
3. Re-arrange plastic drawers so the space is more functional.  See here!
4. Re-organize plastic drawers to maximize space.  See here!
5. Designate space for "Office" and "Craft" supplies, etc.  See here!
6. Cover cardboard with wrapping paper and place inside drawers to create a streamlined look, concealing the contents of the clearish drawers.  
7. Add labels so we can easily find what we're looking for.
8. Paint bottom shelf white.
9. Spray paint other supply holders so they all match/coordinate.
10. Hang cork board on wall to hang important notes, pictures, etc.

I have lots to do!  I hope to have this project completed by mid-October.  We'll see what the pregnancy will allow me to accomplish. :)