Help, I'm Knee-Deep in Clutter!

The next part of the plan is ORGANIZE IT.

Follow these three steps to help you get organized.

1ST STEP: TECHNOBABBLE
Round 'em Up
You’ve got little collections of equipment-related items scattered throughout the house. Let’s get 'em all together and see if we can’t make some sense out of them.

Sorting Station

• Gather up the cords, disks, instruction manuals, and paperwork for all your equipment.
• Most of the equipment will fall into one of the following four categories:
• ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT, including cable, camera, CD, DVD, radio, tape cassette recorder, television, and videocassette recorder
• HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS, including exercise bike, lawn mower, light fixtures, power tools, and snowblower
• KITCHEN APPLIANCES, including coffee maker, microwave, and toaster oven
• OFFICE EQUIPMENT, including cell phone, computer, copy machine, fax machine, PDAs (personal digital assistants), printer, scanner, telephone, and voice recorder
• Set up a sorting station on the dining room table or on the floor. Make a separate row for each of the above four categories. Then you can stack all the cable, camera, and CD items in the ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT row,the lawn mower and power tool instruction manuals in the HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS row, and so on.

2ND STEP: FILE IT AWAY
Fine-Tuning
Even in the good old days, many of us had to struggle with the assembly of new equipment and heaven help us, new toys for the kids. There were always plenty of instruction manuals to keep track of, but now we also have to find a place to park installation disks, ink cartridges, and battery chargers. Let’s get them organized.

Installation Information

• Set up a small box for the installation diskettes. Use divider cards or index cards to separate the computer, printer, and fax diskettes.
• File the installation disks, including the disks that you purchased for antivirus protection, word processing programs, and digital photo programs behind the dividers.

Wired

• OK. Now it’s time to get out one of my favorite organizational devices – plastic freezer bags.
• Place the camera battery charger, cords, and flash drive in a freezer bag. Write Camera on a half sheet of paper and put it in the bag.
• Place all the equipment items into the freezer bags and label them.
• You may have to add some new bags for your cell phone or a new recording device. I also ended up with a bunch of cords I didn’t know what to do with, so now I have a bag labeled Cords.
• Place all the bags, in alphabetical order, of course, in a file drawer or in a box on a shelf.

Office Equipment Supplies

• Buy some storage boxes for computer diskettes that you're currently using, for backup diskettes, and for blank diskettes. Store the boxes and other supplies on a special shelf in your office area or the basement.
• Set up a box for extra ink cartridges and batteries. Place special camera or telephone batteries in separate small freezer bags and label them.
• Stack computer paper and photo copy paper on a shelf.

Instruction Manuals and Receipts

• Label a folder for each category: ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT, HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS, KITCHEN APPLIANCES, AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT.
• File the folders in order in a desk drawer, file cabinet, or storage box.
• if you don't have a lot of manuals, you can just keep them all in one folder for each category. Otherwise, label separate folders for your cable, camera, CD player and so on.
• Gather up the receipts. Some people like to staple the receipt and warranty to the manual. Other people prefer to file receipts in a special folder for household receipts.
• Decide if it's handier to put the KITCHEN APPLIANCES folder in the kitchen and the HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS folder in your basement workshop.

Old Equipment

• What do you do with your old camera and computer? If you're not going to keep them, you have two choices. Either dump or donate items.
• DUMP: Get rid of equipment that’s completely outdated, broken beyond repair, or too expensive to fix.
• DONATE: Offer your camera and computer to family members, friends, schools,religious groups, the Boys & Girls Club, Kiwanis, Purple Heart, the Salvation Army, or a local thrift shop.
• Before getting rid of computers, delete all your information. If you have personal data stored, take the machine to a computer store and have an expert there erase the information from the hard drive.
• It’s OK to save some items. I know I don’t want to part with my old electric typewriter and my dad had a collection of really old cameras. Go ahead and save a few things, but don’t let them become clutter. Store them in a box or even display them on shelf as relics from your past.

3RD STEP: OFFICIAL INFORMATION
Inventory
You’ve eliminated your equipment clutter. Everything is efficiently organized. Now there’s one more project. Oh no! It’s paperwork! Yes, it’s a bother, but there is a payoff. If there's a repair problem or insurance concern, you'll have the information at your fingertips.

Equipment Inventory
Prepare or update an inventory list of all the equipment you currently own. Keep the list in a safe spot, such as in a bank safe-deposit box. Also keep an extra copy at home. Include the following information:

• Type of equipment and brand name
• Model number
• Serial number
• Special features
• Warranty information
• Place of purchase
• Date of purchase
• Method of payment
• Price

What’s the Secret Word?

• You're all ready to place your online order and then it asks for your password. Hmmm. Which one is it? The name of your cat, the dog, or your mother's maiden name? You don't have a clue.
• Set up a list of online passwords and access information for airlines, bookstores, and catalog companies. Include the following information:
  • Name of online company
  • Screen name
  • Password
  • Security questions and your answers
  • Account number
  • Customer Assistance phone number
• List this information on a sheet of paper or on index cards. Keep them handy at your desk.

What's the FINAL STEP?

All your equipment papers and supplies are organized. No more rummaging around searching for a password, instruction manual, or new ink cartridge. You know right where they are. How long do you think they’ll stay organized? Now it’s time to SET UP A ROUTINE TO CONTROL CLUTTER AND CHAOS.

DAILY: Take 2 or 3 Minutes

• Always keep your equipment folders, boxes, and bags in the same place.
• As you reach for a disk, cord, or equipment manual, don’t scatter items around and create a mess.
• Jump up during a TV commercial and refile the installation disk or battery charger that you’ve finished using.
• Immediately put away the new diskettes and photo printing paper.

WEEKLY OR MONTHLY: Take 15 to 30 Minutes

• Whenever you purchase a new piece of equipment, file the instruction manual, disks, and cords in the correct folder, box, or plastic bag. File the receipts and warranty information. Add the new information to your inventory list and to your password list.
• During your weekly housecleaning spend a few extra minutes straightening up the office area.
• Check your supplies. Make a shopping list if you’re running dangerously low on ink cartridges or batteries.