I teach a business strategy class at my local Small Business Development Center. In that class we discuss the idea that the reason you are in business needs to be of value to yourself and your customers/clients. If what you do IS of value, then now is the time to optimize your space and time by organizing your home business office. My definition of living organized came from a mentor of mine Stephanie Calahan, “Easily finding WHAT you need WHEN you need it.”

Below are a few home business office organization ideas pulled from the NAPO website. I’ve added my own thoughts in red.

1. Organize your home business office with time management:

• Use a planner to track appointments and tasks. It can be a paper-based notebook, a computer software program, or an electronic handheld device.

• Create at least one hour of uninterrupted time each morning to tackle projects and action items.

• Allocate nearly 2 times the time for a task that you think it will take. This accommodates for interruptions, etc.

• Break large projects down into small, sequential steps. Schedule these steps into your week with your planner.

• Set priorities for tomorrow – The best way to determine priorities is to ask your self the following questions:

• “What is the best Income Generating Activity I could be doing right now?”
• “Who are the people or organizations that bring the most money into my business?”
• “Where could we cut costs in the business/organization that would allow us to yield more profits?”

2. Organize your home business office by organizing your desk

• Keep only the home business office supplies you need on a daily basis on your desktop or in your desk drawer.

• Create an Action File for your incoming papers and documents.

• Use your in box only for items that haven’t yet been reviewed. Once reviewed file them in your reference file or your action file.

3. Organize your home business office with a good paper file system. Contact me for my 10% discount code on any of the systems you see in the link listed above.

• Create a filing system for your electronic documents that mirrors the one you have for paper.

• Keep a file index (a master list of file names). Check the index before creating a new file to avoid making duplicates. Also use it when deciding where to put new documents.

• Refer to your company’s records retention plan for guidance on how long to keep documents. If you don’t have one in place, leave a comment by clicking here and I will email you the one I use with my clients. Be sure to check with your accountant for his ideas on my suggestions.

Listen to my online show dealing with this very topic. Read more about home business office organization here.

I specialize in home business office organizing and have learned through training and years of experience the strategies that make home business office organization easier to begin AND simpler to maintain. I organize in person for Utah located clients, and virtually with phone and photos for others throughout the USA. If you need help beginning this project, contact me for your FREE 20 minute phone analysis.

Home office organization is necessary in order for your mind to feel calm enough to function well in your home office.

“It was a pleasure working with Vicki. The most helpful thing I learned was organizing my home office paperwork. I can quickly file and find anything now. The ‘sticky notes’ and paper piles previously covering my desk have now been eliminated. The information she taught me has been very helpful.” –Linda in Highland, Utah

“Before I worked with Vicki it took me a great deal of time to find what I needed in my office. Now I know where everything is kept. I now have an attractive, organized space where I get many things accomplished. Order in my office has brought me peace and happiness. I’m now in control, not my things in control of me.” —Norma in Provo, Utah

For additional helps, here are some helpful links to pages and posts on my website and blog:

1. Home office productivity includes making sure your to-do list gets done
2. Home office organization should definately include organizing your MOST IMPORTANT papers – your vital documents
3. Home office organization includes organizing your desk
4. Home office organization includes organizing your paper clutter
5. Home office organization includes organizing the papers in your file cabinet

In the podcast, home office organizing,  which I recorded today. I talked you through the important parts of home office organization. Then in my show page blog I gave you some great information about how to fine tune those items I discussed generally in the podcast. Listen and look for even more great information.

Home office organization is key to peace and order in your life. Don’t give up if you have not yet succeeded! Click here to see before and after photos of home office spaces I have organized, click here. Contact me if you have tried and found you need professional organizing help. I organize by-your-side throughout Utah and by phone and transfered photos nationwide. Leave a comment at the top of this post and tell us your favorite home office organization tip!

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

Childrens bedroom storage options is one of the most requested presentation topics I receive as a Utah located professional organizer. Young mothers throughout Utah have hired me to help them figure out how to improve their childrens bedroom storage systems. I am currently working alongside 3 young mothers on their childrens bedroom storage areas. Maria in Springville, Utah needs help with her family’s playroom and childrens bedroom storage areas. Jen in Cedar Hills, Utah needs ideas for her childrens bedroom storage and was even more concerned with her downstairs playroom. Mandi in Sandy, Utah needs help with laundry room workability and her 5 childrens bedroom storage areas.

Jen put it best when I asked her why she had contacted me. She stated that she had invested lots of money in her undergraduate and post graduate education. She was now a mother and homemaker and felt SHE was worth the little bit of money she would now invest (through me) in her current life’s work. I am grateful I get to help Jen, Maria and Mandi set up home systems that simplify their current lives. These systems allow them to free up more of their valuable time in the things they value most.

Today I  recorded show number 042 titled How to Organize your Kids Bedroom Storage. Read through my notes here and then click the link above to listen. My tips will help YOU with your childrens bedroom storage options by spelling out the step by step formula for childrens bedroom storage organization.

I promised my show listeners some favorite product ideas for children’s bedroom storage. I will list one idea for each of a few categories listed below. Please realize that there are many more options. You will need to look at your needs first and then find a product that will help fill those storage needs for your chilren’s bedroom. Storage preferences are very individual.  What works beautifully for one person may not work for another. Consider these product suggestions a starting point:

Childrens Bedroom Storage Toy Console much like is used in a Kindergarten classroom

Childrens Craft Tote = An electricians bag (be sure to remove the shoulder strap)

Childrens Bedroom Storage Hat Rack – Over the door help for caps, shoes and purses

Childrens Bedroom Storage Box4Blox

Lucky you, I have even more tips on organizing your childrens bedroom storage areas. Click this link to take a look.

Of all the rooms in your house your kid’s rooms are the ones that change the most over time.  Remember, your child’s room may be in your house…but IT IS your child’s room. Ask for their input and ideas. They will be much more willing to help maintain the space if THEY contributed to the rooms overall design and set up.

Because this article interested you, these might be just what you are looking for:

• Organizing Closets
• Summer Programs for your Kids
• Organizing a Blended Family

If you need help organizing childrens bedroom storage or any other home storage area, call me for a free 20 minute phone analysis at 801-623-8411. I service the Salt Lake and Utah Valley areas of Utah and anywhere in the nation virtually. Our rates are reasonable because we believe we win when you feel you have received a good value.

I recently read the book ‘Getting Organized’ by Chris Crouch. He focuses on changing behavior and points out that anytime we encounter a new idea there are three possible outcomes:
1. Nothing will happen
2. We will alter our behavior in some minor ways
3. The idea will significantly change our behavior and our life forever

A year ago I worked with my client Susan in Alpine, Utah. She greeted me when I arrived with this statement, “I am just NOT an organized person!” “My mind does NOT work that way.” She and I worked side-by-side for a total of 10 hours. Susan learned, as we organized her kitchen, pantry, and family management center that, in fact she WAS an organized person…Her mind DID work that way. She went on, as can most of my clients after working on 3 spaces beside me, to organize the rest of her home so her home spaces “worked nicely” for her. (She had considered up-sizing so their family of 7 could be comfortable in their home. She found this was no longer needed.) Changing behavior through change to home and business spaces is my specialty.

At ORGANIZING Mind over Matter we teach you that when you learn a better way, you need to realize the benefit of it’s application in your life. To make that stretch, you need to move beyond the comfortable. Is better organization of YOUR time and space a better idea? If so, now is the time to begin changing behavior ! Take a look at my before and after photos to:

1. motivate you AND
2. get a few ideas of how to tackle your own spaces.

Listen to my podcasts or Email me at 801-623-8411 to talk about beginning your change!

1. Break the project down into smaller steps until they are manageable.
2. Prevent distractions and interruptions from occurring.
3. Get organized – Being unorganized causes chaos and is very distracting
   When you are organized, you are better able to focus on a task instead of the clutter
4. Do NOT demand perfection from yourself. Perfectionism causes postponement.
5. Create a mental picture of the project you wish to complete.
6. Reward yourself. Give yourself points or prizes as you work through the task.
7. Avoid overextending yourself. Evaluate your obligations and then prioritize them.
   Is there anything you can omit, delegate or move to a different time frame? Set realistic goals. When possible, finish each task before starting the next.
8. Make the task at hand as pleasurable as possible. Ask yourself a question, “Can I make this more enjoyable in any way?”

Overcome procrastination by simply beginning. I wish you success as you begin once again! If you don’t know how or where to begin, I may be able to help.

1. Begin with your PAST life history to date. Make it easy! Maybe a 2 pager on your computer.
2. Begin your paragraphs with the word “I”.
3. If you want to make it a more detailed writing, biography questions to get your mind thinking could include:

• What was your favorite place when you were a child?
• What is the most interesting characteristic you posses?
• What about my employment do you like or hate?
• What did you feel like your first day of school?

Two pages is all you need to catch up. If you would like more questions to get your mind working, click here to access my Personal History Questions. Once that is done, then you can move on to your CURRENT writing. Journal it! Here are my tips for journaling:

• Write one day a week for up to 1/2 hour
• Pick 3-5 of the most interesting weeks happenings
• Confine it to a certain space  (I use a 9” X 5”  notebook and put 1 week on one side of each page)

Once you have become comfortable with writing biography pages weekly , it is time to consider keeping a family history. I learned this formula for family history keeping  at a BYU education week class four years ago and have done it every year since. It takes me 2 hours a year to update from beginning to end. It really has been SO EASY for me. A down-loadable sample of the one pager follows, but these are the main parts of the page:

1. At the top include your name and the year
2. One photo from a very memorable event that year
3. A few sentences for each of the categories listed below:

• Family
• Health
• Home
• Church
• Employment
• Education
• Friends
• Holidays
• Vacations

Click here to download a sample of  My Yearly One Page Family History. For many years I thought I was just too busy to take on writing biography pages weekly or to keep a yearly family history. Then I learned the easy way to begin and maintain. Planning and upkeep make it sustainable. If you would like to begin your personal written biography or family history, these ideas may be just what you were waiting for!

Get started this week. Begin by investing 30 minutes this week in writing biography pages and presto/chango…no more guilt!

Home based business ideas

• Concept Design Studios – A logo and branding design option that comes highly recommended.
• A list of THE best blog directories to which you should join: Technorati, Blog Catalog, and Google Blogs
• A book on writing your own press release by a woman I am a great fan of, Janet  Meiners Thalaer. Click here to find it on Amazon
• Submit your own press release announcing your website, blog, business, new products/services or important business happenings.
• MailChimp A simple way to email newsletters, manage your subscriber lists, and track marketing campaign performance. FREE if you have less than 500 email subscribers.
• Affiliate Marketing Partnership options found at: Commission Junction or Linkshare

As a side note, as a business strategist and a home based business ideas specialist, there are a few things you should avoid:

• Using your tight marketing budget on PR firms or major advertising campaigns
• Spending too much money  in the beginning
• Investing in expensive marketing materials that soon become outdated and/or obsolete due to business changes

If you have not yet designed your own business plan you should realize it is one of the first home based business ideas you should take on. I suggest you begin with my 1 pg business plan summary or click here for a very detailed business plan template.

Finally, working a home based business has some nice rewards. It also has some real obstacles. One of the very best home based business ideas I can offer is to make more money and find more time by learning to set boundaries with yourself and with those who share your life. You can learn to easily prioritize your day so you can make more money; then schedule your work priorities so you find more time for your business building projects. If you struggle with this and need some personalized help, I can help you simplify your life and better organize your home office systems including:  papers, computer data, time  and space. Contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter by clicking here.

As a trained and experienced professional Utah organizer I see daily that organizing saves people just like you valuable time and money. My name is Vicki Winterton. I live in Provo, Utah and work with clients located in the Salt Lake and Utah Valley areas. I am both a home organizer and business office organizer with years of experience helping Utahn’s live a better life. In this Utah organizer blog I share a wide variety of organizing tips for organizing nearly everything including YOUR home, time, family, workplace and life. Even though my focus is Utah, organizer topics I share here can be applied anywhere.

Here are some tips concerning the use of this organizing website blog with postings drafted weekly by Utah organizer, Vicki Winterton:

1. Use the search box at the right to find blog postings with topics that interest you.
2. To visit my website, click on the home page link to the left.
3. Please leave a comment in the comment section near the title of any blog posting. I’d like to know you stopped by. By leaving a comment, you can also share your top tips with future visitors.
4. You are invited to use portions of my articles, posts, and lists.  Because the information posted here is copyrighted, be sure you meet these requirements. You MUST include:

• My name – Vicki Winterton
• My business name – ORGANIZING Mind over Matter
• My online organizing podcast name – The Organized Woman Show
• A link to my website  - www.organize-utah.com

Enjoy your time browsing my professional organizer tips and techniques. I’m Utah organizer Vicki Winterton. Please, come back often.

As a Utah orgainzer, Orem / Provo based, I feel honored to have been given the opportunity to address this group. I believe I was chosen to address this issue because my business has performed so well. Even in this tough economy, I tripled my client base and doubled my income in 2009. I am an experienced business strategist and my marketing campaigns have something to do with this, but the main reason my business has done so well is because I am very good at servicing a growing need. I replace disorder and stress with order and peace in my workplace based clients offices AND my home based business clients lives.

As a productivity coach and professional organizer, Orem / Provo based, I set up customized office systems for managing time, papers, data and office spaces that work immediately AND continue working as time goes on…plain and simple!

Below is the link for my promised business builders. Before you go any further, leave a tip for future blog visitors near the title of this post by clicking on comments and sharing a business building question OR a marketing tip that has worked well for you. If you just happened upon this post titled ‘Organizer Orem’ and did not attend my class, please share a tip with us before you read on. I am a firm believer in questions and answers. That is what a good business strategist does. Now that you have completed that request, click here to access the business building information I promised.

If you are interested in hiring Utah’s productivity coach/professional organizer, Orem / Provo based to help you simplify your life and better organize your office spaces, papers, computer data or time, OR if you would like to know more about marketing strategies for YOUR home based business, please contact me at ORGANIZING Mind over Matter.

1. Divide the Clearing Out and the Cleaning Up into two entirely different projects as you begin.

To begin the spring cleaning process round up a pen and notebook. Walk through your home and make a list of 3 spaces that need your attention as you begin the spring cleaning. Of those 3, begin in the room where you spend the most time. That room will give you the greatest satisfaction. Decluttering is ALWAYS the first step. Why deep clean things you will not end up keeping? Round up 3 large labeled boxes or bags, Label them 1) Give away, 2) Put away, 3) Throw away. When you run across things you are not sure about, ask yourself these two questions: “Do I truly love this?” and “Is this item useful to me in my current life?”

2. Organize What’s Left before you begin your spring cleaning. Purging is the 1st part of my formula. Organizing what’s left is the other half. There are 3 key elements in maintaining your newly organized spaces:

■ Store your kept items where they will be used.

■ Label the container and/or the space so others know where to return the used items.

■ Adopt the something in/something out philosophy.

3. Now you can begin spring cleaning once the purging and organizing are completed. Professional organizers are not professional housecleaners; none-the-less I have learned some cleaning tricks in my years of working side by side with my clients. Here are a few spring cleaning suggestions:

■ Use the North to South approach or you will sabotage your efforts. Start at the top and work down to the floor.

■ Schedule blocks of time to clean and then be sure you honor those appointments with yourself.

■ Get others involved in the project. At my home we understand the “If you live here, you work here” philosophy. Those large projects become very doable when others join in and help.

4. I have made a list of some of my favorite spring cleaning products. Click here to view my spring cleaning recommended products.

Decluttering, organizing AND spring cleaning,  are about being aware of your surroundings. Because you lead a complicated and pressure filled life, clutter and grime build up. Grab a notebook today and begin your week of decluttering. It will make your spring cleaning a breeze. When our surroundings are organized and newly cleaned, your life feels at peace. Now isn’t that’s refreshing?

To listen to my online podcast dealing with this topic, click here and look for show number 035 titled Organize your Spring Cleaning.

To view my 6 minute Spring Cleaning Video, click here.