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 The
first project any serious homemaker will tackle is setting up her own home
office. This will help her to think clearly and plan extensively which are
essential to any homemaker's long-term success.
The homemaker's office
should have three tools: 1) a large, flat surface that is kept clear
unless there is a project at hand; 2) a small drawer for essential office
tools which are meant to be kept in that drawer and NOT borrowed by anyone else
in the household (because when a homemaker sits down to do paper work, she
doesn't need to wonder where the stapler has disappeared to); and 3) a deep
drawer or box to hold files. In some situations this might mean simply
using the kitchen table for your "desk", a kitchen drawer for your
tools, and a cardboard box for your files. Other times, your situation
will be more elaborate. So, look at your own situation and go to work. Find
a flat surface to call your desk, whether it be a card table you set up in the
corner of the family room or your bedroom, a real desk which has in the past
been covered with another's papers, books and magazines, or whether it is just
clearing off the surface of your own desk. Gather or purchase office tools
to meet your home office needs. Label them, string them to the drawer or
do whatever else is necessary to make sure they stay where they
belong. Finally, clean out a deep drawer or box to hold file folders. Either way,
label four file folders: TO DO, TO FILE, BILLS TO PAY, PENDING. Put
these four folders in your drawer or box. Every piece of paper over which
you have responsibility now has a place to go temporarily until you get to
it. Papers that need attention go in the TO DO file. Papers which
seem of interest to save go in the TO FILE file (to season for a month or so
before they are added to your permanent files).
Bills go in the BILLS TO PAY file. And papers which are half way done, say
baby shower invitations, unanswered letters you initiated, or anything else that
is not finished goes into the PENDING file. As you do your paperwork, you
may find a need to add other file folders to meet your personal needs. Now, the biggest challenge is keeping the desk top
cleared (unless you are working at some project), keeping your tools where they
belong, and using the labeled file folders to aid in your home office
organization. With time, you will find that having an home office will aid
you greatly with planning each day, calendaring, planning
your housework, preparing menus, dealing
with the trivia of life, and bulk food purchasing. Find
more helpful ideas in the "House
of Order" Handbook, Chapter 2, "Home Office". See also: Information
Binder, Paperwork, and Budgeting.
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