Update on Kristen’s Spring Cleaning Challenge: Good News and Bad News (or, Confessions of a Chronic Clutterer)
April 20, 2008 by Kristen King
Filed under Business
Okay, so about a week and a half ago, I agreed to participate in Jen’s Spring Cleaning Challenge, promising to tackle the File Box of Doom. And here it is:
The good news is that, thanks to some nerve-steeling, I no longer have a File Box of Doom. I even threw out the box! The bad news is that I now have a Corner of Shame:
I pulled everything out of the jam-packed cardboard box and put it into vertical magazine holders, and added them to the collection that was already in residence on top of my file cabinet. To be completely honest, I have a serious block when it comes to filing things. My mom’s great with money and terrible with filing. My dad’s great with filing and terrible with money. I’m terrible with filing and terrible with money. It’s awesome, truly. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic.) I struggle with it daily, but as you can see, I also try to have a sense of humor about it.
When it comes down to it, I’m more of a visual organizer: I like to be able to see all of my stuff, so I tend to make piles rather than filing things. This isn’t a great system, but I know there are ways to make it work because there are a LOT of people out there like me. What I’m working on right now is tackling one area of my office at a time to weed out trash and categorize existing papers while keeping incoming paperwork from piling up. I’ve taken a lesson from my organizing hero Hellen Buttigieg by creating a RAFT system at my desk:
- R – Read. Magazines, newsletters, information from the bank or insurance company, etc.
- A – Act. Something I have to return, fill out, respond to, etc.
- F – File. Bank statements, insurance statements, etc.
- T – Trash. Junk mail.
When papers come in, they immediately go into one of these designated areas rather than being tossed into my “in box” and then shoved into a drawer when company comes over.
My name is Kristen King, and I’m a chronic clutterer. But I’m working on it.
Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King
(Photos Copyright © 2008 by Kristen King. All Rights Reserved. No Unauthorized Reuse.)
Tags: women and business, women in business, women, woman, business, office, organization, organizing, clutter, chronic clutter, filing, paperwork, managing paperwork, messy office, messy desk, biz chicks rule, kristen king
You go, grrrrrl!! You have nothing to be ashamed of – you’re doing such a great thing for yourself and your businesses by taking it one step at a time. I’m proud of ya.
How do you feel having things moved around?
It feels awesome. I feel so serene coming into my workspace now! I work on a little project each day and it is going great. I will have more details as it moves along, but I’m already exponentially more productive with the way I have reoriented my workspace. It’s unbelievable.
And speaking of unbelievable, you won’t believe how much CRAP I have been holding onto for YEARS! It feels SO GOOD to get rid of this stuff. Books I’ve never read and never will. Letters from people I can’t even remember. Newspaper clippings that I can’t for the life of me figure out why I saved. It’s all gone. Wahoo!