Mindfully organizing

I was recently hired to organize a large estate in Los Angeles. The main office area had a desk to work on, then another desk for the computer, a makeshift credenza for supplies, a typewriter, and another old-timer desk to the left of all that. Pretty confusing and pretty ineffective. My client added items in her office to existing hand-me-down furniture and pieced it all together. This is a great way to save money, but it makes pulling it all together much more difficult in the long run. Planning, strategizing and buying the right equipment and furniture can make an incredible difference in your work and living style.

People who start fresh, move to another home or start another business, generally buy new furniture that suits their new needs and is designed to fit well in the new environment. Those of us who can't buy new items, however, use what we already have, shift it around a hundred or so times and try to make the space more user-friendly. With a growing family, typing desks and bookcases work well in different rooms in different capacities, but when setting up your home office, this way of doing things will not serve you well.

The best approach is to space-plan a room. The top organizing question should be, "What do I intend to do in this area?" Once you know the answer, then you can start to look for supplies that can make it happen. -- This is why moving is such a positive, rather than negative, thing, as it forces you to start fresh and to really examine possessions from top to bottom. -- It may help you to draw your ideas on a piece of paper, or place and re-place sticky notes where you're not sure. Learn what your natural flow and rhythm is. Think about what hand you write with and where it would be best to position the phone, the computer and the monitor. Taking these ideas into account will put you in the right direction for creating a productive work space.

Only then would I suggest you buy new items. I like a Return, better known as an "L" shaped desk -- where the computer is placed on the smaller side of the desk. Ikea or discount office furniture stores sell them with a wonderful amount of storage space. I suggest a 6/6/12 or a 12/12, which means you would have two smaller drawers and a large filing drawer, or two filing drawers. Ideally, both would serve you well for a home office. You may not need anything more.

You need to mindfully plan your office space and ask the important questions, "How do I work?" and "What do I really need to make my life easier and more organized?" Buying the best items for you that are used frequently -- even wallets or sunglasses -- makes sense. Don't improvise. Buy what works for you and what you like using.

Sometimes the older things we have inherited or hold on to are not user-friendly. Be smart. You will be so far ahead in the long run.

And enjoy your new organizing supplies -- you deserve them

Lanna Nakone is the author of "Organizing for Your Brain Type" and "Every Child Has a Thinking Style." Her Web site is www.organizedworld.com. She can be reached by e-mail or by calling 524-9896.