Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index
Working from the Kitchen
Traditional Offices Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past
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As you already know, we are in the day and age of laptops and IPads. Many families are working from their laps all over the house. These devices and WiFi has made lying in the hammock on the back deck while doing work possible. More often than not, I’m getting more requests for help managing a work station in the kitchen. Moms, dads, and working professionals find it more enjoyable to work where the action is- right in the middle of the kitchen or family room. So naturally paper is following into those spaces as well. These portable computers are becoming a permanent fixture on kitchen countertops and islands in many homes. Instead of trying to move the work environment back into the office, start to focus on creating a stripped down version of an office right where you gravitate with your portable electronic devices. Focusing on making your natural work patterns more efficient is better than trying to make you adapt to some unnatural habit or system away from the family action. I like to think of the paper trail or process in three versions.
First, we need a landing spot for paper, catalogs, and mail. Whether you just brought the mail in or are clearing off the kitchen table to eat dinner, we need a place for you sweep important paper into or paper you haven’t processed yet to quickly clean up. This doesn’t mean the container turns into a dark deep abyss. It’s merely supposed to function as a safe holding spot. It should be processed daily or weekly ideally.
Second, we need to get reference items out of the main hub or family action area. No one needs records and permanent household paperwork everyday to get work done. This is reference paper that belongs in an office or filing cabinet away from the kitchen and family room. Home manuals, insurance policies, investment portfolios and school records for the kids are examples of paperwork that needs to be stored elsewhere. So if you’re not currently using the paper item but aren’t throwing it away, it is a reference item for later. And obviously, I’m going to caution you to save as little as possible.
Thirdly and most importantly, action paperwork and project paperwork is what we want to focus on keeping organized and accessible in these new work environments. Keeping track of bills, tasks, projects, and reminders is the key here. Coupons, take out menus, and recipes might get mixed in as well if we’re working in the kitchen. So consider what might work for you? An action folder? File box? Three ring binder? What can collect important, active, current paperwork you need to get done ? If the paper doesn’t fit into these criteria- important, active, and current- it doesn’t belong in your workspace. It’s just clutter. And because you’re choosing to be mobile, as in working on the countertop, couch or dining room table, what would you choose to hold or store this active paperwork? Each of us will decide and gravitate to something different. As you’re making your choice consider color, size, and style. If the system is too complicated you won’t use it. You don’t want this to blend in with the rest of the catalogs or newspapers or magazines that might be near it. And if you allow too much paper to accumulate, the size is too big. You may need to go smaller for better boundaries.
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