Home Organization Tips Archives - Page 5 of 5

The current economic state means that everyone, including businesses, are trying to cut costs as painlessly as possible. Companies that may have been thinking about a move to a larger premises are instead trying to make the best possible use of the space they already have available. Small businesses that want to expand their staff, but do not want to move premises, are also looking to maximize space. Document storage and staff personal space are just a few of the things that need to be addressed when you are trying to create more space.

Tip One: Home and Office Working

If your staff numbers are growing, but due to the cost implications your available space remains the same, consider different ways of working. Rather than reducing the personal space of your office staff too much, why not have a couple of days a week when staff members can work at home. You could run this “scheme” in such a way that everyone gets a turn thus increasing the amount of space available for staff working in the office.

Tip Two: Use Work Stations

If you have a bit of money to spare for investing in some assets, why not replace normal office desks with work stations. Work stations require less space than a conventional desk and chair. Those staff members who do not need regular access to large sets of files, but can work with just a telephone and computer, could just as easily operate from a work station.

Changing work patterns are becoming the norm rather than the exception and can help cut business costs. Most people are quite happy to work from home a couple of days a week or month depending on your staffing levels and how much space is required.

Tip Three: Documents

Twenty years ago when computers started to appear in offices all over the country the idea of the paperless office began to circulate. In spite of the fact that most work is carried out online, there is still a need for businesses to keep hard copies of many of their documents. An increasing number of businesses now store many of their older documents off site with the help of companies that offer document storage services.

Over time, files and filing cabinets take up an increasing amount of space. Businesses are required to keep certain documents for several years so the ability to store the documents off site is convenient and paying for document storage will make far less of a dent in your budget than moving to new premises.

Tip Four: Better Use of Available Space

No matter what other steps you take, every business has a certain amount of space available to them and needs to assess how they use that space. If, for example, you have an extra room that is used for the occasional meeting, why not make use of it at other times. You could have some office shelving and filling cabinets in the spare room as this will give you more space in the main office areas.

If you have salesmen or other staff members that work off site but need to be in the office occasionally, let them use the meeting room. Take note about what is being done with the space and how you could make better use of it.

Simply moving office furniture around is a good place to start. Most offices will find that the actual layout is probably not the most optimal in terms of space and will then go on to find that there are many other steps that can be taken in order to make the best possible use of every inch available.

So before packing up and moving on to the next place, consider the few changes you could make that could make all the difference.

Guest Post By:

Article written by A. Elliott; a writer with an interest in interior design and home improvement, she occasionally writes for Whitefield’s Document Storage.

We LOVE these tips for making the most out of the space you have! What do you think? Do you have any tips that you’d like to add? We’d love to hear them!

Tips for a cleaner more efficient kitchen:

If cleanliness is next to godliness – as the old adage goes – than a clean kitchen is simply a divine place to be. It’s the room in your home that gets the most intense use, so keeping your kitchen clean can be a challenge. You can make kitchen cleanup a bit easier if you take your cleanliness cues from professional chefs.

In a professional kitchen, cleanliness is not only a vital health issue, it directly impacts the efficient operation of the kitchen and everyone who works in it. Here are five tricks professional chefs use to maximize cleanliness and efficiency in their kitchens:

1. Don’t touch – From the culinary student who chops the onions for the French onion soup, to the chef that cooks the food and puts it on the plate, every team member in a professional kitchen knows that touch spreads germs. Home chefs can reduce the spread of germs in their own kitchens by minimizing the need to touch key tools, like the faucet.

Touch-free faucets, like Kohler’s Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet, allow you to control the flow of water in your kitchen sink without ever having to touch a potentially germy surface. A state-of-the-art sensor allows the faucet to respond in 20 milliseconds, and eliminates the need for bare-skin taps or awkward waving to activate the sensor. To learn more about the latest in kitchen faucet design and technology, visit www.Kohler.com.

2. Always be prepared – In professional kitchens, staff use separate cutting boards – and often utensils – for preparing meats, vegetables and fruits. Storing utensils, pots and pans according to their tasks facilitates quick and easy access when preparing food. Mis-en-place (pronounced meez-ahn-place), a French adage and popular chef’s practice, involves gathering all ingredients and implements needed before cooking begins. With everything in its place, you’ll be able to move smoothly and efficiently through a recipe without halting food prep to dig through the refrigerator or pantry.

3. Countertop savvy – Countertop savvy goes beyond just keeping them clean. Just as you use separate cutting boards for meats and vegetables, consider the value of task-specific countertop surfaces. Avid bakers, for example, can benefit from marble countertops because the material helps keep the dough cool. If such an installation falls outside your budget, consider a marble pastry board instead. Place it on the kitchen table to transform your eating area into an impromptu bake station. Bonus: rolling dough on a surface slightly shorter than standard 36-inch countertops provides a more comfortable, ergonomic experience.

4. Work the triangle – You may be familiar with the concept of the work triangle: arranging the refrigerator (food storage), sink (food prep area) and range (cooking space) in a triangle configuration makes the kitchen more efficient. But improving efficiency in your kitchen encompasses more than just the arrangement of these three key areas. Expand the concept to include other items that fall into each of these categories. For example, positioning the pantry beside the refrigerator ensures food is stored in the same general location – and increases the efficiency of your triangle flow. In short, the fewer steps taken to navigate the triangle, the more efficient it is.

Ready to make YOUR kitchen more efficient? Give us a call at 914-576-2572 or contact us for your free in home estimate!

Decluttering the home is a tough task for almost everyone because it involves parting with items we are used to and organizing the entire area in a better and more functional way. Effective decluttering has plenty of benefits – for our health, mood and the functionality of the home as a whole. A decluttering project can make your home look much better and the results will be visible. Decluttering doesn’t have to be a fast-paced process, but you have to be realistic about things and get rid of those that you never use. Here are some of the rules of decluttering which will help you significantly:

1. Furniture: You need to use your furniture pieces for what they are intended. If the kitchen table is used more for storage or a dumping area, you know you have a problem. It’s a place to cook and have a family meal, not store items. The kitchen is a focal area in every home and should be used accordingly. Make a habit of cleaning the kitchen table and only put items that add beauty to it – a bowl of fruit, a vase with flowers, a box with bread, etc.

2. Treasures: If your home is cluttered it’s difficult to spot the actual treasured possessions. Take them out from drawers and declutter the shelves one by one. You don’t need that many things all over the place to have a beautiful home. In fact, a more minimalist design is always the better way to organize your possessions.

3. Time: When the home is decluttered, you can clean and tidy up easily, which leaves you more time for other things like simply sitting down and relaxing. Moreover, it will make the rest of the family more inclined to help you after seeing the benefits of the decluttered area.

4. Guests: With a clean and decluttered home it’s much easier to invite guests on a regular basis and not start with tidying up all over. This can even improve your social life.

5. Health: One of the biggest benefits of decluttering the home is the much cleaner living environment, which is medically proven. These benefits on the health include: reduced stress, better sleep, less depression, less colds and flu, easier breathing, immune system that’s more resilient to illnesses, cleaner skin, more motivation, healthier plants and more. All of these benefits are enough to show you how important decluttering is for having a clean and healthy home.

Don’t postpone this task anymore and look for other storage options for all those items that keep lying around and cluttering the rooms. Once you organize your home properly, you will be astonished at how much better you feel at home and wonder why you haven’t done it earlier.

Guest Post By:

Bio: Ella Andrews is a content writer who has great flair for decoration and interior design. She is always searching for new challenges. Therefore her present article is focused on house maintenance related theme.

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Chef-inspired tips for a cleaner, more efficient kitchen

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