Before & After: Find more storage in your guest room closet
Posted on Wednesday, March, 22nd, 2023 at 9:08 PM (No comments)
This client needed space for treasured family mementos that she had just inherited, as well as craft supplies. She lived in an older home with limited space, but desired an uncluttered look.
Paper everywhere: Keep it or toss it?
Posted on Monday, January, 23rd, 2023 at 12:09 AM (No comments)
As an Organizer, the most common question I hear is “how long should I keep documents?” Here’s a guideline on residential record keeping.
Save for 1 month:
- Credit-card receipts
- Sales receipts for minor purchases
- Withdrawal and deposit slips. (Shred after checking against your monthly bank statement.)
Save for 1 year:
- Paycheck stubs (Shred after your W-2 arrives.)
- Monthly bank, credit-card, brokerage, mutual-fund, and retirement-account statements
- Utility bills
Save for 7 years:
- W-2s, 1099s, and the other “guts” of your tax returns
Before & after: New Season of Life Brings Changing Needs to Home Office
Posted on Monday, January, 23rd, 2023 at 12:05 AM (No comments)
The Situation:
The Challenge:
The office nook was filled to the brim with boxes and bags of paperwork, books, photos, mementos and kids’ artwork. The floors, shelves, and built-in desk weren’t even visible.
The Solution:
Before & After: Creating a multi-functional home office
Posted on Wednesday, November, 27th, 2019 at 10:29 PM (No comments)
Client: Saleswoman for a service company in Georgia.
Here’s the situation: Like many people, the client had converted a room of her home into an office. In this case, it was the dining room, which had no storage. Then, the client’s aging mother needed to move in for a few months and the only place to put a bed on the first floor was the home office.
Solving the problem:
- We purged a lot. There were outdated sales and seminar materials. There were products from a former business, and household items that just landed in the space. She needed to make decisions about what items to purge.
“Command Center”: Kitchen desktop file gets papers off counter
Posted on Tuesday, May, 23rd, 2017 at 10:21 PM (No comments)A pretty desktop file can serve as your kitchen Command Center. Get mail and papers off the kitchen surfaces and safely into hanging folders. Here are the categories that might help you:
– House Project
– Menus/Restaurant Coupons
– To File (later in filing cabinet)
Before & After: Streamline files, save time!
Posted on Monday, September, 26th, 2016 at 11:49 PM (No comments)
Here’s the situation: Residential files were created over several years, resulting in random colors and tabs, jumbled order and overstuffed folders. The client procrastinated with filing because it was cumbersome to find and file documents.
Client: Business executive
How solved:
- Weeded out old files.
- Separated too full files into multiple folders.
- Bought hanging folders in client’s favorite color and eliminated the use of all internal file folders.
- Created new tabs and lined up on the left side to make it easier on the eye.
Be More Productive in Your Office: Laura Ray featured on TrustDale Radio Show
Posted on Tuesday, August, 25th, 2015 at 10:00 AM (No comments)
In January 2015, I had the privilege of being interviewed by consumer advocate Dale Cardwell for his TrustDale Radio Show. We talked about organizing and productivity in the office to highlight “National Clean Off Your Desk Day!”
If you’ve never heard it, the TrustDale Radio show features advice and tips on how to find reputable contractors and avoid scams.
If you’d like to listen to it, here’s the link on my YouTube channel.
Laura Ray on Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta : Organize your paper and mail
Posted on Tuesday, July, 21st, 2015 at 11:28 PM (No comments)
It’s wonderful to be asked to be on Good Day Atlanta (Fox 5) for a second time this year! I was interviewed on their live show for mail and paper organizing on February 19, 2015.
Here are my tips below from the show, or watch Fox 5’s show HERE on my YouTube channel
Mail and Paper Organizing Tips by Laura Ray Organizing
Set up a mail center in your kitchen or nearby space
- Use trays or a desktop file
- Use a recycle bin and/or shredder
Watch for me on Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta on 2/19/15
Posted on Tuesday, February, 17th, 2015 at 10:21 PM (No comments)TV Time: Watch for me on Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta for the second month in a row 🙂 Subject: Taming the mail! Airing: Thur., Feb 19, live between 9 and 9:30 a.m.
Laura Ray on WSB Radio with Host Belinda Skelton talking closets, garages and paper stacks
Posted on Tuesday, September, 9th, 2014 at 1:33 AM (No comments)(L to R) Lisa Carlquist, Laura Ray and Belinda Skelton
I had a great time as a guest on Belinda Skelton’s WSB Radio show, broadcast live from the Atlanta Home Show on Saturday, September 6, 2014. Her other guest was Lisa Carlquist, from one of my favorite vendor partners, Artisan Custom Closets. We talked about organizing closets, garages and paper stacks in the hour-long call-in segment.
We discussed how long to keep paper, and I mentioned the list would be on my site. Here’s the link: http://organizeatlanta.com/general/keep-it-or-toss-it-how-long-do-i-keep-paper/