4 Tips to Make the Most of Your Home Office

4 Tips to Make the Most of Your Home Office

In these uncertain times, many of you are now finding yourself working from home. Our friends at Smead Manufacturing have shared these helpful tips on how you can create an enjoyable workspace at home.

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A home office is meant to be a place to work, whether you’re managing the business of life for you and your family or are lucky enough to have an employer who allows you the privilege to work from home. Creating the proper environment and spending your time wisely in your home office will save you time and stress.

1. Make It a Space You Enjoy – You probably spend a lot of time in your home office and you’ll want to create an environment that attracts you, versus repels you. Your space should be inviting as well as functional. Things for you to consider:

o Proper Lighting – Take advantage of natural lighting if you can. However, if you’re someone who prefers to work late in the evening, you’ll need good task lighting in order to lessen eye strain.

o Comfortable Chair – When you work from home, much of your time is spent sitting. Invest in a comfortable, ergonomic chair. You’ll feel better and your back will thank you in the long run.

o A Desk Tailored for You – What do you plan to do at your desk? If your work is primarily done on a computer and entails very little paper, a small desk will do you well. However, if you like to spread out with paper reports and reference material close by, you might choose a larger desk or an L-shaped one. If it’s more comfortable for you to stand and work, consider an adjustable desk.

2. Keep Clutter to a Minimum – It can be a challenge not to have piles on your desk. There’s always more work than you can keep up with, and mail and paperwork are part of that. To lessen the impact:

o Inbox – Ensure you have one place for paperwork and other items to land until you can deal with them, i.e. an inbox. Incoming items like meeting notes, business cards, and items to read should be placed in your inbox, rather than dumping them in a pile on your desk. Set a weekly appointment on your calendar to go through your inbox and process the items inside — add items to your to-do list or calendar, enter into your contacts, create a project file, put in a portable “to-read” folder, etc. Keep in mind your inbox is a holding spot that’s meant to be emptied. It’s not a file cabinet!

o The 2-Minute Pick Up – Before leaving your office, spend two minutes throwing away obvious trash (coffee cups, food containers, random sticky notes, etc.), putting supplies like pens and paper clips back in their drawer or container, and jot down notes about what you need to do the next day. Clearing your head is just as important as clearing your physical space.

o Schedule File Time – No one likes to file paper, but it won’t magically file itself either. Create a file system that is easy to use and easy to access so that you can find what you need when you need it. Then schedule regular intervals to file the paperwork you need to keep.

3. Have the Right Tools – Sometimes having the right tool is half the job. If your home office includes outdated technology that you constantly have to troubleshoot, you could be wasting a lot of time. Yes there is a monetary cost to keeping up with current devices, but you won’t have to deal with the time cost (in addition to the frustration from a slow computer or internet connection) when everything is working properly. Besides your basic computer and printer, other good tools to consider:

o Office Supplies – These should be within easy reach and you should have a supply on hand so you don’t have to head to the store or await a delivery when you run out of something. A well-supplied office contains: pens, pencils, sticky notes, paper clips, binder clips, a stapler, a tape dispenser, file folders, mailing supplies, etc.

o Label Maker – Keep it close by and as common place as your stapler. You can label files folders, containers, shelves, drawers and other areas for easy identification of where everything goes. Your 2-minute pick up will be a breeze!

o Scanner – If you’re aiming to have less paper in your office, a good quality scanner will help get you there.

4. Create Structure and Routine – There are so many distractions when working in a home office, it’s easy to lose focus. Set-up routines that work for you and your particular situation.

o Determine your office hours and stick to them.
o Process emails at scheduled times rather than letting them overtake your day.
o Allow for breaks in your day so you can refresh and recharge.
o Have a system for tracking tasks and projects. (Random notepads and sticky notes are not a system.)
o Know your priorities so you’re less overwhelmed and can put time and energy into what is important.

Follow these 4 simple steps and you will find your home office can be a productive and stress-free environment!
Lori Krolik


Lori Krolik is a professional organizer and productivity specialist and founder of More Time For You. For over 18 years she’s helped residential and small business clients create systems out of their most serious clutter challenges. Whether its piles that prevent a home from functioning the way it should or paper piles that impede office productivity, Lori brings the expertise and insight needed to create an organized system that is personalized to a client’s space and lifestyle. Lori became a Certified Productive Environment Specialist in 2010 and is a long time member of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).

HP Business PC & Print Devices Cleaning Guidance

HP Business PC & Print Devices Cleaning Guidance
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We wanted to share this relevant information with our customers at this time of an unprecedented health crisis. We hope you find this information valuable, and we wish you good health.

HP is dedicated to providing customers with market-leading business solutions that help them be innovative, productive and support their well-being. With public health concerns over the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease, also known as Coronavirus, spreading worldwide, HP wants customers to have the information they need to effectively clean HP devices and to assist customers in maintaining a healthy work environment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cleaning surfaces, followed by disinfection, as a best practice for the prevention of Coronavirus and other viral respiratory illnesses in households and community settings.

Cleaning Guidance:

HP Business Personal Systems & Office Imaging & Printing Systems

A CDC-recommended disinfectant that is also within HP’s cleaning guidelines is an alcohol solution consisting of 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. Please follow the steps below to use the CDC recommended alcohol solution to clean high-touch, external surfaces on HP products:

1. Wear disposable gloves made of latex (or nitrile gloves if you are latex-sensitive) when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

2. Turn off the device and disconnect AC power (for printers, devices should be unplugged from the outlet). Remove batteries from items like wireless keyboards. Never clean a product while it is powered on or plugged in.

3. Disconnect any external devices.

4. Moisten a microfiber cloth with a mixture of 70% isopropyl alcohol / 30% water. Do not use fibrous materials, such as paper towels or toilet paper. The cloth should be moist, but not dripping wet. Isopropyl Alcohol is sold in most stores, usually in a 70% Isopropyl Alcohol / 30% Water solution. It may also be marketed as rubbing alcohol.

5. Do not spray any liquids directly onto the product.

6. Gently wipe the moistened cloth on the surfaces to be cleaned. Do not allow any moisture to drip into areas like keyboards, display panels or USB ports located on the printer control panels, as moisture entering the inside of an electronic product can cause extensive damage to the product.

7. Start with the display or printer control panel (if applicable) and end with any flexible cables, like power, keyboard and USB cables.

8. When cleaning a display screen or printer control panel, carefully wipe in one direction, moving from the top of the display to the bottom.

9. Ensure surfaces have completely air-dried before turning the device on after cleaning. No moisture should be visible on the surfaces of the product before it is powered on.

10. After disinfecting, copier/scanner glass should be cleaned again using an office glass cleaner
sprayed onto a clean rag to remove streaking. Streaking on the copier/scanner glass from the CDC recommended cleaning solution could cause copy quality defects.

11. Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning. Clean hands immediately after gloves are removed.

Cleaning-Guidance

Many common household cleaners and disinfectants can damage electronic products. Do not use any of the following chemicals or any solutions that contain them, including spray-based surface cleaners: bleach, peroxides (including hydrogen peroxide), acetone, ammonia, ethyl alcohol, methylene chloride or any petroleum-based materials, such as gasoline, paint thinner, benzene or toluene. Some disinfecting wipes containing bleach and hydrogen peroxide can be used on select Healthcare Edition products only. Wipes containing bleach and hydrogen peroxide should not be used on any other products.

FAQ for Cleaning Your HP Product

Q: How can I disinfect my HP devices to help prevent Coronavirus?

A: You can clean your HP devices by using a CDC-recommended disinfectant that is comprised of 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. To use the recommended alcohol solution to clean and disinfect high-touch, external surfaces on HP products, please follow the guidelines found in this document.

Q: Can I use bleach or peroxides to disinfect my PC or Printer?

A. Some disinfecting wipes containing bleach and hydrogen peroxide can be used on select Healthcare Edition products only. Wipes containing bleach and hydrogen peroxide should not be used on any other products.

Q: Will the letters and symbols on my keyboard disappear from cleaning?

A: Some chemicals are very harsh and can damage non-HP Healthcare Edition keyboards and other surfaces. By following the steps outlined in this document to clean your device, you can reduce the risk of damaging your keyboard or other surfaces.

Q: What portions of my devices are safe to clean?

A: All external components of your PC or printer can be cleaned using the recommended solution, including ports, cables, keyboard keys, rubber, plastic, metal surfaces, displays and printer control panels. Please reference the cleaning guidelines for more information.

Q: How often can I clean my PC, keyboard, mouse, display or printer?

A: HP recommends cleaning your non-Healthcare Edition devices a maximum of 3-5 times per day. Excessive cleaning of your non-Healthcare Edition device with any cleaning solution can lead to potential wear on component.

Jacobs Gardner will continue to provide tips for keeping your surrounding clean and sanitized, and we wish our customers good health in the weeks ahead.

Setting “Green Goals” for a Better Environment

Setting “Green Goals” for a Better Environment
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This month’s blog post comes to us from Double A Paper, the best choice for our environment. Their commitment to the environment is impressive and humbling, and their mission is to create “a better paper for a better world”.

With trees budding, and flowers blooming, spring is a great time to make a commitment to be more sustainable. There are little swaps that you can do in your everyday life to be more eco-friendly. While it’s hard to change your lifestyle overnight, setting sustainable goals for yourself and your family is a great place to start. Teaching children to be more sustainable by setting green goals helps them to develop a more eco-friendly lifestyle that they can carry into adulthood.

Kids Are the Future

As parents, it’s crucial that you teach your children to make the right choices and be sustainable. Teach them to think about the impact of their everyday choices, and show them that even small choices affect the environment. One day, your children will be adults, become consumers, and have a real impact on the world with their values and decisions. Setting “green goals” is a great way to get your children, and the entire household, thinking about sustainability and each person’s individual impact. It can be as simple as making one sustainable choice each day, like saying no to a plastic straw with your drink. If someone in your family enjoys using a straw, buy them a reusable one!

Simple, Sustainable Goals for Families

•Donate Old Clothes: Instead of throwing away your old clothes, donate them to a local thrift store or donation center.

• Replace with a Sustainable Swap: Every time someone in your family runs out of a household (laundry detergent or dish soap) or personal care item (toothpaste or deodorant), swap it out with a more natural and eco-friendly choice as part of your sustainable goals for the year.
• Try Meatless Mondays: Have your family commit to eating vegetarian or vegan one day a week to reduce meat consumption. Meatless Mondays can help your children expand their palate, try new foods, and eat more vegetables.

• Reduce Single-Use Plastics: Almost everyone uses too much plastic unnecessarily. Teach your kids to use reusable items instead of plastic by making it one of their green goals. When packing lunches, use plastic containers and reusable silicone bags instead of traditional plastic bags. Get a cute lunch box instead of a brown bag. Have your children use a reusable water bottle whenever possible. Another easy swap is reusable to-go mugs for coffee. Some coffee shops, such as Starbucks, give discounts to customers who bring their own mugs.

• Check Out Your Local Farmer’s Market: Do you have a farmer’s market in your area? See what local produce and vendors you can shop from instead of shopping at the supermarket. You can support small, independent businesses and eat seasonally, which is more sustainable because the foods do not have to travel as far. You may be surprised at what your local vendors offer.

Tree Buds

With small changes, your household becomes a little more sustainable and conscious about the environment. Teaching children at a young age, through “green goals”, helps them to be more aware of how their actions affect the environment. If everyone made an effort, each day, to be more sustainable, the impact on the world would be astounding. You can start by making green goals in your household and encouraging everyone to participate – even if it’s something small.

Check out our selection of Double A Paper and recycled products at www.jacobsgardner.com