January 23, 2012
As a work-at-homer, I struggle with keeping the kids at bay. They often disturb me so before school started this year, I made some laminated signs that made it very clear if I was available or not.
Red = Do not disturb (NOT AVAILABLE)
Orange = Do not enter (KNOCK FIRST)
Green = You may enter (AVAILABLE)
Now I am simply placing these signs on my door so that my availability is not in dispute! It certainly has made things easier.
p.s. you can also do these signs and put it on the back of your laptop so that people walking in and out of your office aren't constantly disturbing you.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Office Tips
January 23, 2012
Join
forces with co-workers who can cover for you and vice versa when family
conflicts arise. At home, enlist trusted friends and loved ones to
pitch in with child care or household responsibilities when you need to
work overtime, travel or even when you just need a break!
Remember - as Barney says, "Sharing is caring".
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : General Tips
November 16, 2011
Almost every client I have ever helped struggles with letting certain items go. I usually try to start off with items that aren't that difficult or the bigger items - like the large piano sitting in the corner that nobody plays but they feel 'bad' to get rid of.
Once these decisions are out of the way clearing out your clutter will seem much easier.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : General Tips
November 16, 2011
If you are not all that fussed about the same old socks (and can bare to part with the mickey mouse ones) then a great solution is to buy loads of black and white socks. That way, you have one draw for each colour. When they've been washed, they just get dumped into the right coloured sock draw and voila.
No more missing socks.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Home Tips
November 16, 2011
With the demands of our busy lives, sometimes it truly is difficult to find routine and schedule our activities. What might help is chosing just one aspect of your life to start with. For example, plan routines for those VERY demanding and stressful times of the day like getting the family ready for school and work, or preparing the family meal.
If everything happens exactly the same way during that time of the day, it might lessen your stress levels.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : General Tips
November 3, 2011
We all have loads of CD installation discs and cords that go with equipment in our home. Often, these end up wherever they happen to fall so when we need them, they have ‘disappeared’. A simple way to organize these is to use Ziploc bags.
Place the installation CD and the user manual and any cords that came with the item, into the Ziploc bag (one big enough to store everything). Then write the serial number of the equipment on the bag as well as what the item is e.g. HP ColourSmart printer. Then place all these equipment packs into a large container in the office.
This keeps everything neatly together and accessible for when you need it!
P.S. Every now and again, go through the box and throw out packs for equipment that you no longer have.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Office Tips
November 3, 2011
If you find a lot of old materials in your craft room that are in good condition but you know you won't use them, get rid of them. You don't have to throw them away - instead you could donate them to a charity that collects art supplies for children going to school for the first time. There are also community art programmes that might benefit from them.
Doing this will bring even more joy to the pleasure of creating beautiful things (and you will have gained back some space to do what you love).
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Recycle & Reinvent
August 1, 2011
So often that space in the front entrance becomes the dumping ground for everything, resulting in some serious frustration.
An easy solution to organizing this space is to use one of those cutlery trays that you find in your kitchen drawers (or a fancy wicker one if aesthetics are important to you). This gives you a functional storage solution: use one divider for keys, one for electronics such as your cellphone, the other for wallets and yet another for sunglasses (or whatever you need them for).
Make nice cardboard labels that you can stick on the front of each divider. Easy and affordable!
Posted In : Home Tips
June 8, 2011
Every home or office has loads of paperwork to deal with (despite the
move to email) and every so often, you have to make space for current paper.
That is why we need to archive and simply throwing it into a box isn't how it's
done.
If you want to avoid wasting time looking for documents, the key to
archiving is labeling the box you put it in. A blanket description is required
BUT add exact descriptions as well, e.g. HR
Files 2010 and thereafter, Joe
Soap, Jane Doe, Cliff Richard etc. This is so that, should you have 5 HR Files 2010, you know which one to
go to if you're looking for Joe Soap.
Need more info regarding time frames for the retention of documents, click here to download.
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Office Tips
June 8, 2011
Ideally you
should recycle old ink & toner cartridges. According to research done in
the USA, each re-manufactured cartridge keeps approximately 1,3 kilograms of
metal and plastic out of landfills and saves about 1,8 litres of oil.
Buy
rechargeable batteries. It takes 1000 regular batteries to equal the lifespan
of one rechargeable battery.
On that note
make recycling bins readily available in your home and teach your family the
value of recycling. Have a large bin for glass, plastic and cans and a nice big
basket for paper. Go to the nearest
recycling depot once a week (depending on how much waste you
produce).
IN FACT, I
challenge you to do this for a week and you will be amazed by how much waste an
average home produces!
Posted by Head Chiquita. Posted In : Recycle & Reinvent
In a bid to save you money, save you space and save you time, we want to give you loads of tips to get/keep you organised.
