Welcome to The Simplifier, brought to you by…

Contents:

1. A Note From Shawn

The more we live in the flow of life…

2. Our Featured Quote

by Henry David Thoreau

3. Article: Organizing by Zones

by PS Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle

4. Your Simplification Tip

The pre-”outta here” zone

5. In the News

Simplifying Life Isn’t Simple; Quality of Life; and So much stuff, so little storage

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Feed Me!

7. Keep Smiling

Funny.com

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1. A Note From Shawn

Diving into the inspirations that have played a pivotal role in shaping the philosophy of my business has been, well, inspirational! The ideas of permaculture, first introduced on the website two years ago, provide the backdrop of this issue’s article on streamlining your office space. My initial exposure to the ideas of permaculture while living and working on a farm in 2001 in Tuscany provided nothing short of an epiphany for me. Also finding me at that bucolic setting on 9-11 was the news that shocked us all. The contrast of these events, celebration of nature and senseless devastation, made my role clear to me: actively support sustainable living in whatever I do, be it on a farm or in an office. The more we live in the flow of life, the less destruction we do.

On a lighter note =), the opportunity to bring more ease and fluidity to more offices is approaching! Readers in Nevada County can enjoy simplifying within the supportive atmosphere of a great group of people starting in February. More about the upcoming workshops below.

May the beauty and efficiency of nature flow through your office!

Enjoy,

Shawn

Shawn Tuttle
Head Simplifier, Project Simplify
Co-editor, The Simplifier

 

 

 

/—- Workshop Announcement —-/

Introducing…the Project Simplify Perspective workshop series

Do you want
– to know where stuff is when you need it?
– things to get done on time?
– more time for yourself and what you love?
– peace of mind at the end of the day?
– all of the above?!

It can be easy!

Using the Project Simplify approach, take control of your life.

Papers in their place (3-week workshop)
February 11, 18, 25, Mondays, 6-8pm
Zapping the inbox * Containerizing * Breaking down the process

Time in your life (3-week workshop)
March 10, 17, 24, Mondays, 6-8pm
Your time = your life * Attention to quality * Transform avoidance

Stuff in its space (3-week workshop)
April 14, 21, 28, Mondays, 6-8pm
Organize by zones * What stays, what goes * The lifecycle of stuff

Cost:
Sign up for 1 workshop            $90
Sign up for 2 workshops          $172
Sign up for all 3 workshops      $243

Where: Nevada City, CA
Register: call 530.205.5775
               email Shawn@ProjectSimplify.com

Led by Shawn Tuttle
More info at www.projectsimplify.com/speaker

Download a printable flyer for these workshops:
Adobe PDF version
JPEG image version

/—- Workshop Announcement —-/

 

 

 

2. Our Featured Quote

“Let us spend one day as deliberately as nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito’s wing that falls on the rails.”

-Henry David Thoreau

 

3. Article: Organizing by Zones

By Shawn Tuttle

Have you ever seen an office that looked like a hybrid of workspace, library, thrift store, and office supply store got caught up in a tornado? (I’m sure not your office, but maybe a “friend’s”?) Whether the office looks like a victim of an extreme weather pattern or is just a little messy, you don’t need to send in a Katrina clean-up crew to get your office back into order.Is there rhyme or reason that can be applied to your workspace (besides “just put stuff away”)? Just where should things go? Let’s take a quick jaunt away from the office for inspiration.

There is a system design tool called permaculture which is based on observation of the natural world . The founder of permaculture, ecologist Bill Mollison, wanted to develop sustainable human habitats. He designed systems that could produce a high density of food and materials with minimal input—in other words, maximum effect for minimum effort. His broadly-applicable organizing principles usually refer to designing a homestead. However, the first time I read the introduction to the permaculture “bible”, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, the nascent organizer in me felt the heavens open up in splendor. I don’t know how many permaculturists dedicate thought to sustainability of human energy in the office, but it sure makes sense to me!

The permaculture philosophy provides principles, methods, and ethics that can be applied to any situation. The principle we’ll be dealing with to help us organize the office is: zones.

Zone-ifying, Project Simplify style: The more something is used, the closer it should be to you. Simple! Combining this principle with the organizer’s adage “everything in its place and a place for everything” means that things are easy to put away, you’ll quickly reach what you need when you need it, and your work flow interruptions will be minimized.

The first action on a budding permaculturist’s list for a new site is observation. Ask yourself: How do I work? What do I use and how often? What’s often missing when I need it? What’s difficult to reach? Then go through the following guidelines and see how you can streamline your office space.

The Zones

Zone 1
Your desktop; reserved for highly functional, easily accessible, and most-frequently-used items.
    -Preferably, no drawers or small doors to deal with when reaching for these items.
Suggested items: pens, a sharpened pencil or two, markers and a highlighter, stapler, paper clips, Post-its, telephone, calculator, a few binder clips, return address stamp, scissors, letter opener, tape, staple remover.

Zone 2
Within easy arm’s reach of your chair and used regularly.
    -If drawers or doors are necessary, they should be easy to open and close.
Suggested items: trash can, recycle bin/shredder, hole punch, printer, misc. papers and labels, mail supplies, inbox, phone book, useful industry resources, reference binder, workflow files. (Workflow files can include frequently used files like those for current projects, upcoming events, and “take action”. The reference binder might include usernames and passwords, phone lists, computer instructions and other helpful information.)

Zone 3
In the office; need to get out of the chair.
    -Organizing containers can be very helpful for arranging items to maximize use of this zone.
Suggested items: filing cabinet, extra and infrequently-used supplies and papers, computer/printer supports, infrequently-used industry resources and books, docking station for rechargeable devices, fax machine. Accessibility is important because the harder it is to access something, the less likely you are to put it away.

Zone 4
Out-of-office storage.
    -Could be anywhere as long as it’s clean, dry, and out of the way.
Suggested items: boxes of archived files (well-labeled, of course!), additional filing cabinet for old files that aren’t quite ready for the recycle bin.

What to do with those hard-to-use office tools like fickle hole punches that accept one or two papers at a time, office equipment that may have worked at one time but no longer, pens that barely write, or mysterious office supplies whose purpose is unclear? Those go to the “Outta-here!” zone. (Try freecycling them, or donate to a thrift store.)

Of course the above guidelines will vary depending on your situation, size of desk, office layout, regular work habits, etc.  For example if you use a fax machine frequently, it might be in zone 2.

The author does “the zone thing”
Here’s what happened when I applied the zone approach to my files:
– I have no file storage in zone 1 (although some people do).
– I purchased a file rack on wheels for easy view and reach for zone 2.
– I had two filing cabinets. I brought the better one to zone 3 and put hanging file racks in the drawers.
– I took the clunky file cabinet to zone 4 (the basement) and didn’t bother putting hanging folder racks in it. This cabinet is mostly for archived client files, office equipment documentation that I doubt I’ll use, and journals.

Overhaul techniques
If your office is a mottled mix of stuff in all the zones, taking the time for an overhaul can be incredibly rewarding. An overhaul can be done fairly quickly once you’ve planned out what goes where. The key is to create an ideal blueprint of where things should be and then apply that blueprint to the reality of your office.

1. Create blueprint
       – Write 4 lists, one for each zone.
       – Using the zone parameters above, include items that “belong” in each zone according to your habits and usage.
   
2. Apply blueprint to reality
       — For  minor overhauls, take one zone at a time. Pull out anything not on your list  and insert anything missing.
       — For major overhauls, again, take one zone at a time. Pull everything out of that area. Put back only what belongs.
       — Make a list as you go along of organizing supplies that would make each area more easy to use.

Observing the natural world’s systems, as practitioners of permaculture recommend, provides a rich source of guidance for organization. An organized space helps you create the maximum effect with minimum effort. Your workspace should support your creative thought efforts, not drain your energy by forcing you to look for things and wade through useless stuff. Looking at your workspace in terms of zones makes it obvious where to put things, based on your work habits and the tools you use. Make your life easier by giving things a home that makes sense! You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep a tidy office.

—

Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.

4. Your Simplification Tip

The pre-”outta here” zone

This Zone is especially for people who want to simplify the amount of stuff they have but get hung up on “I might need it someday”. These folks often have some rooms that are totally free of clutter… And then you open a closet and every spare centimeter is stuffed with towels. Or there are drawers that can barely be closed because of all the miscellany packed in.

If  you have the feeling of wanting to simplify, but you get hung up on the process because the stuff “might” be useful sometime, then a pre-”outta here” step may save the day. While a big element of simplifying involves letting go, people have different tolerance levels for how much and how fast.  

General principle
Use a temporary pre-”outta here” zone to get things out of your living space without making the ultimate commitment to get rid of them altogether. The usual candidates: clothes, magazines, hall closets and drawers.

What goes to the pre-”outta here” zone
Go through one of the stuffed areas and pull out everything. Put back the things you use. Release what you can (recycle, freecycle, thrift store, trash). Then put the questionable items in a box and label it with the current date and the general contents of the box. You’ve begun the letting go process. Put the box in an accessible storage area.  Over the next six months to a year, you’ll have access to the stuff in the box—but most likely, you’ll forget all about it. At the end of a year, away it goes.

Warning: don’t let this become an excuse to just throw boxes of stuff into the garage that will then clutter up the garage for years and years. You’ll have to deal with that at some point. It’s important to keep the stuff moving.

As you develop your letting-go skills, this intermediate step will allow you to purge those trouble spots that previously were “what if” areas. You’ll feel so much better when that drawer or shelf is easy to access and holds what you actually use!

 

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5. In the News

Compiled by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Quality of Life (Metro Green Business)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/3c53pj       
“Purpose, happiness, and the kind of world we are saving for our kids.” What life’s all about—right? Let’s hope so!

So much stuff, so little storage  (St. Petersburg Times - St Petersburg, FL)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/37gulm   
I’ve been pondering my own storage area a lot lately. When you’re paying for a big room to store all the stuff you don’t use, it kinda forces you to examine your stuff priorities. Likewise, when you live in a tiny place… I have both factors at play in my life, as does the author of this column about space, and the lack thereof.

Simplifying Life Isn’t Simple  (Orange County Register)
URL: http://tinyurl.com/32e538    
This columnist ruminates on the complicated clash between our desire to simply and this darn modern world, which seems to be fairly anti-simple sometimes.

If you know of something in the news that should be featured here, let us know!

 

 

6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com

Feed Me!

This isn’t exactly ticker-tape-parade news, but we’ve simplified the way you can subscribe to our site’s RSS feed.

What’s an RSS feed, and what does it mean to subscribe to it? We went over this in issue #10, when we featured our old feed-adding setup. If you’re not hip to feeds, you can get caught up there.

If you’re already “cool” (feedwise speaking), you can find the E-Z subscribe link under “Site Extras” in our site’s sidebar. It looks like this: (Click the image link to subscribe to our feed or see how it works.)

Thanks to AddThis.com for helping us simplify our site’s layout!

 

 

 

7. Keep Smiling

by The Simplifier co-editor Lance Brown

Funny.com

It makes sense that Funny.com would be one of the better sites on the web for finding humor. And thankfully it is, making my job relatively easy. (Step one: Google “funny funny funny”. Step two: Click first result.)

The coolest thing I’ve discovered about the site is the content filter settlings, which allow you to choose whether you want your chuckles to be G, PG, PG-13, or R. The humor seems to be user-submitted, and each item is rated (for quality) by the user community as well. I haven’t dug all the way in, but it looks like they have a lot of tools to maximize your own personal funtastic experience.

Here are a couple of quick humor samples: “Nails” offers an offbeat chuckle, while “Difference between women and men” provides a more classic guffaw. And though Shawn is normally not a “cute cat humor” kind of person, she found this funny animals video to be pretty chuckle-icious. Enjoy!

 

 

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Thanks for reading!

Publication Information
————————————————————————–
The Simplifier is published by:
Project Simplify
P.O. Box 597
Nevada City, CA 95959
phone: 530.205.5775
web: www.projectsimplify.com
e-mail: (newsletter@projectsimplify.com) newsletter (at) projectsimplify (dot) com