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Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index

Blog entries for the category Offices

Junk Drawer No More

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, January 11

How to Organize A Junk Drawer...

A Look Inside My Office

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Monday, September 12, 2011

While organizing paper or home offices, how I run and organize my office normally surfaces in the conversation. To me, it really reflects what I’m all about- no nonsense, straight forward simplicity. If it works, I don’t change it and if it’s not working I get rid of it. I’m not about fancy or astetics. That&rsqu...

Working from the Kitchen

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Monday, July 11, 2011

Stripped down version...

Criteria For Saving Paper

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, July 5, 2011

3 Viewpoints On Handling PaperWhen we boil it down, there are only three reasons to save paper. 1. I need to take action now. In this viewpoint, it’s important or critical to act and get something done. It can’t wait to be completed. There’s a deadline approaching today or this week. These items are current and worthy of your time…

Paper’s Life Cycle

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Much like other things in life. Paper has a life cycle. It isn’t meant to stay permanently and it does have a specific job for a short amount of time. When we treat paper as a family member or an antique piece of furniture that we won’t part with, it poses a probelm. So let’s take a look at the cycle a little in detail.Paper arriv...

The Most Common Clutter

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, March 3, 2011

don’t know what to keep? don’t know what’s important? don’t know what they’ll need? don’t make the time? ...

Eliminating Paper

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, January 20, 2011

Going Paperless is Easier & More Organized than We ThinkI recently downsized my four drawer filing cabinet down to three drawers. It got me thinking though. I would love to have no filing cabinet at all. My filing cabinet is super organized and is really functional but even with all that, I’d love to eliminate a piece of furniture in my o...

My Organizing Projects

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, January 13, 2011

Getting Things Done Over My Christmas Entering into my Christmas break, I had a few organizing goals in mind. Every time I opened my office closet, I was annoyed at looking at a mess and having items in the wrong spot. I had things at waist and eye level that should have been put way up high out of the way. And I had things way up high that should ...

Wrapping up the Year

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, January 5, 2011

 9 Tasks to End the New Year Organized The end of the year is often slow. Most people are not concerned about organizing during the holidays. Some take advantage of being off of work and get things done around the house but more often then not, I catch up at this time of year. I have a ritual of things I do to wrap up the year for my business.…

Declutter your Inbox

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, October 28, 2010

Let’s be honest. How many emails are in your inbox right now? Fifty? Two hundred fifty? More than that? Clutter comes in all shapes and sizes and one type is email. Here’s some suggestions for handling incoming email. 10 Tips to Beat Email OverloadIf you can delegate that request or project, forward the email on to someone else. Do...

Making a Difference in your Office

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Monday, September 13, 2010

Making these small changes to your office changes everything! Turn your office upside down by making these small changes: Tie up all loose cords. Better yet, tie them up and label them. Your office will appear more organized in minutes. Create printed file folder labels and hanging folder tabs. Printing these out on your compute…

Sorting Mail

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, September 2, 2010

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Tickler Systems

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Friday, May 7, 2010

31 Day Tickler Filing System Managing Paper, Bills and Tasks Each day of the Month So let me be honest right from the start. I usually don’t suggest tickler systems for my clients. However, for some they do work. So today I’d like to address this system and idea. You never know. It could work for you. I have many organizer friends who ac…

Record Retention

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, March 30, 2010

We are only a couple of weeks away before tax season culminates. I know some of you may filed an extension but if you haven’t you’re probably asking the same questions I hear often....What records do I need to keep? & How long do I need to keep records? Here are some helpful hints to start you thinking in the right direction.1.…

Taking the Mystery Out of Maintenance

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, February 9, 2010

How to Maintain Organization in Your Home OfficeWhy does it seem that just after you’ve gotten the office back under control, it falls apart so quickly? Surfaces accumulate paper again and the messy office cycle starts all over again. Of all the areas of the home I think an office or paper station/mail hub tends to relapse to disorganization …

Post It Pockets- A Real Find

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Quick Way to Organize Paper Recently I received a promotional packet in the mail from  …

A New Start

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, January 7, 2010

Regaining Space, Calm, and Organization. Yesterday, I helped a family reclaim their spare bedroom. It’s now a functioning office and workout space that the whole family can use. If you’re stuck in a rut and want a fresh start in 2010 put aside the excuses, fear, and procrastination. Make a change today. You can do it! Organization is just…

Zero Email in Your Inbox

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, August 27, 2009

At a recent meeting, a colleague mentioned InBox Zero. He recommended I watch the online video because we were chatting about all the email that piles up in our email inboxes. One woman shared she had 2,000 sitting in her inbox. Others said on average 90 or 100. I usually maintain about 15-20 max. I know email clutter is a bigger probelm than we al…

The Power of a Good Filing System

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, August 13, 2009

I don’t normally toot my own horn but today I had a “wow” moment that solitfied once again in my mind why I LOVE being organized. Here’s what happened. I went to get my bike tuned up today because my sprint triathlon is drawing near. While I was in the shop, I asked the gentlemen to put on a spedometer my husband handed to m…

An Office- Before and After

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, July 30, 2009

I recently finished an organizing project in this spare bedroom. It was basically a home office but available for house guests. As you can see, no work was being performed and no one was sleeping over in it’s former state...

Managing Time- The Importance Factor

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yesterday I wrote about the impossibility of managing time. And in Harold Taylor’s quote we learned we have to manage ourselves and tasks in respect to time. Many people claim: I don’t have the time to work out, cook dinner, organize, file those papers, etc.... yesterday Harold Taylor challenged and said “yes you do”. He sai…

Organizing Quote #2- Author Chris Couch

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Thursday, June 25, 2009

OK, just one more. I know I shared a quote yesterday. But here’s another good one that you really should think about. On Page 50- “Getting Organized is more about decision making than cleaning-up. You can clean up your office and get temporarily organized, but the clutter will quickly return if you don’t have good habits to consis…

Organizing Quote- Author Chris Crouch

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I really enjoyed reading Getting Organized by Chris Crouch. The chapters were short and to the point and it was an easy read. One quote I keep coming back to and which I really do enjoy is  on page 40. “It may not seem like a big deal to toss that piece of paper in a stack on the corner of your desk . But stacks turn into piles and piles…

5 Quick Tips to Keep your Desk Clear

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, May 12, 2009

  Set a buzzer on your phone or computer to go off 15 minutes before your work day ends. Spend those 15 minutes clearing off your desk- i.e. filing paper, returning your glass to the kitchen, and pencils back in the pencil cup  Use your calendar as much as possible. Instead of having piles of paper that pertain to different projects stack…

Cord Organizing

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, May 6, 2009

I was recently in Office Max buying some items for my clients and a particular item inspired me to get “my act” together as well. The items were cord organizers. I was so sick of looking at a rat’s nest of tangled wires under my desk that I decided I’d also along with my client, organize my wires under my desk. I liked the c…

Mail- Don’t avoid it, attack it!

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Friday, May 1, 2009

I’ve don’t think I’ve ever met a client who enjoys getting and opening mail. Most people loathe it. Some don’t even open it and I open it for them. Having gone through stacks and stacks of mail over the last 5.5 years, I think the 80/20 rule applies- eighty percent is junk mail/ unnecessary and a waster of paper. And twenty …

Unpacking an office

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Friday, April 24, 2009

Moving turns an office upside down.

Completing a project

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Completing one project more effective than starting and leaving 5 uncompleted projects.

Shredding Storefront

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Sunday, April 19, 2009

Here’s a great place to drop off papers to be shredded

Office Furniture

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The right furniture in a home office or any office for that matter is crucial to a productive work environment.

Speed Organizing

Posted by: Amber Kostelny-Cussen on Saturday, March 28, 2009

Organizing at lighting speed. Get a lot accomplished in little time.