Recently OfficeMax invited me to join in a webcast featuring organizational expert and author Peter Walsh that would demonstrate the [In]Place System, a new exclusive organizational collection of products. Yes, that’s Peter Walsh from the Clean Sweep series on TLC. I felt thrilled and honored to be invited but unfortunately was not able to attend. I was tickled pink when the folks at OfficeMax decided to send me a box containing pieces of the new system and some other office products.
Anyone who’s seen my desk at work knows that I like it organized. Thank goodness they haven’t seen my home desk. See at work I have lots of space and lots of drawers to keep everything organized in. At home I only have my small desk, which has no space and no drawers. As a result, sometimes my desk closely resembles a disaster area. The paperwork pertaining to my blogs, product reviews and giveaways has been known to just take over the desktop at times, leaving hardly any room to sign a piece of paper. Today is one of those times. Nothing is in it’s place.
According to OfficeMax, “The [In] Place System was created to help get work life organized. It’s a flexible system that boosts efficiency, assists with finding and managing files, reduces clutter and it totally portable.” Wow. They must have seen my desk.
My box of goodies included some of the pieces from the [In] Place System including the file tote, document wallet, durable file folder, Post-It Super Sticky Note Wallet, clip tabs and erasable marker. I also received a giant rubber band ball. There were also colorful paperclips, a journal, document envelopes and file folders from DiVOGA, as well as a pen from TUL.
Before setting up my new things, I watched the video of the webcast that I missed. If you’re interested, the Peter Walsh OfficeMax webcast may be viewed by anyone. In the webcast, Peter suggests keeping everything you need easily accessible at arm’s reach, much like the dashboard of the car you drive. He also suggests streamlining multiple calendars into one and color coding it as well as labeling everything. He had a tip for the Post-It junkies out there as well – write your notes and reminders in a journal rather than on a bunch of Post-Its.
Something I didn’t know but realized was true as soon as I read it – 80% of the files people save will never be looked at again. Peter suggests a purge of all files at least twice a year. So I started sorting through the papers. Some I filed and some I threw away. Most I threw away. When I was finished I called to RB, “I see desk!” That’s no so unusual for me to say. The fact that I can say it’s been a week and I can still see desk is unusual for me to say. Peter’s right when he says that you’ve lost control when you can no longer see the desk. He’s also right to stress the fact that things should not be put off until later, they should be done right away. It’s true that spending a few minutes now saves a lot of time later.
The features that I like best about the [In] Place System are that it’s durable, reusable and erasable. My favorite piece in the collection is actually one I don’t have but would like to get – the desktop sorter. This would really help me keep things organized.
Peter has a philosophy. “The word ‘organize’ and the word ‘organic’ come from the same place. Organic is to be whole; to be complete. That’s what organization does. Organization actually helps you live a richer, fuller, less stressed life.” This actually makes sense to me. I can go from calm to stressed within moments when I can’t find something I need.
You can check out the [In] Place System on the OfficeMax site, where you will also find tips and helpful ideas from Peter.
Thanks to OfficeMax and Peter Walsh for inviting me to participate in the live webcast and for helping me start taking back control of my desk.
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