San
Diego Professional Organizer Advice
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Office Design, Desk Configuration
10.14.05
Dear
Kathi,
There is a debate in our household about the set up for a basic simple
desk. How would you set it up without getting expensive furniture
for a home office and also for a teenager to do homework from?
Doris, Encinitas
Doris,
The configurations for both desks will be slightly different. Most
home offices will benefit from using an L pattern for the desk surface.
The L works well because you can set up your computer on one end and
still have a flat open space for paperwork on the other side.
Place your computer on the short end of the L on your desktop. Keep
your hardrive off of the desk. Place it below the desk off to the
side and possibly on rollers for easy access. The only items that
should be on your desktop will be the monitor and maybe the keyboard/
mouse if you don’t have a slide out drawer.
You and your printer are best served up and out of the way on a corner
shelf. Cut out a notch before you hang the shelf for the wires to
drop down the back. If you don’t have a corner area (although
you should with an L) hang a wide shelf 10-12 inches above the desktop
to hold the printer. The same rule applies to your fax machine if
you have one. Another option to keep your desktop clear is to place
your printer/fax machines on your file cabinet off to the side of
your desk. I only reccomend this if the file cabinet is close at hand
to the desk chair.
Speaking of this, it is important that you have a file drawer under
your desk or very close by. Close by means that you don’t need
to get up to use it. This will be where you should store your working
papers, the ones you access most frequently be it bills, current projects
or other paperwork that you use daily. The closer and more convenient
your file drawers are, the more likely you will not have a paper pile
up on your desk. Wire stepped vertical file holders are great for
keeping your active papers corralled.
Consider
using categories like: Waiting for Response, Bills to Pay, Calls to
Make, or Coupons. Use manilla folders for this shelf. Generally these
metal stack shelves have 8 steps so you can divide your everyday papers
into 8 sections if you wish.
Keep the open area on your desktop open. The front 70% of the desk
should be cleared off and ready to hold work when you begin projects.
With this in mind, it is easy to see that a shallow drawer to hold
pens, post it notes, the stapler etc
Please
submit your questions to:
advice@addspacetoyourlife.com
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