Organizing Ideas!

[Guest guest]

I just organized my storage and shop myself so I can give you some tips!

First things first - I would start on one project at a time.

We first started with our fragrance oils. I looked at all the ones we have

in stock and put the ones we DO use on one part of the table and the ones

that we DON'T use on another part of the table.

The ones we DO use, I've alphabetized on the shelf (not by the fragrance,

but by the actual name of the product that is in my line - example: Plumeria

is Island Vacation, so instead of the label saying plumeria, it actually says

Island Vacation. Easier that way!)

After alphabetizing all the fragrances I DO use, I tackled the fragrances I

don't. I know this can be hard - believe me, but the only way to properly

organize your stuff and not fall into the rut of unorganization again is to sell

off what you don't use. If you haven't used it in over 6 months, I'm

pretty sure you can let it go - besides you don't want to hold onto fragrances

for

longer anyway - they will lose their oomph!

After the FO's came our containers - same premise - divide all the stuff you

DO use (and is in your line) and separate it from what you DON'T. Now the

DON'T pile may be separated further into two piles with the " I think I may use

this for samples or something " & " oh, why did I buy this? "

I like to buy in very big bulk and I have a shop, so I made it easier on the

workers by cutting down the container boxes to a reasonable size that fit a

taller shelf. I have been using 12x12x12 boxes for all of my containers that

we use on a regular basis. I have also used some bins that I bought and use

often and filled them up with the lids beside each box, so they are all

right there within reach. What doesn't fit in the boxes or bins, comes home to

me and I put in my storage area. (Since I started my business at home, I

still have my home business " quarters " , I just don't do anything but bathbombs

&

bubblistics there, so lots of room for storage! Also, you can really keep a

good handle on inventory this way!

Now if you only have a home area, do you have a closet that is not being

used that you can clear out and use as your storage? Maybe a basement or hall

closet not being used? If you have none of those, they have little " closets "

at the store that you can buy that zip up and roll out of the way & they

don't look too bad at all. Store all of those big boxes with containers and

supplies away so you aren't tempted to dig out of them and make a mess.

Ok, onto the " I think I may use these containers for samples or

something... " Invest in a rubbermaid container and divide all the containers

you " think "

you are going to use, count them up and write them down on a sheet of paper

- better yet, if you have a digital camera, take a picture of them and list

the details. That way if you ever decide to get rid of them or if you are on

a board one day with some desperate woman looking for YOUR container, you can

help her out. Once you have the description of each item(and pic if you

wanna), lid, size in oz and any other characteristic you think is important,

tape the piece of paper to the lid and either hide that rubbermaid away under a

counter, in the closet or better yet, you can use it as another " table " if

you'd like. The containers are out of site, but if you ever " need " them, you

know what is in there and you don't even have to open it.

Next is the " omg, why did I buy these " - believe me, we all have these

things... I am looking at some of them right now as I type this lol Sell 'em

all

off - REALLY, if you aren't going to use them or haven't in a long long

time, sell 'em off or better yet - give 'em away. They aren't making money for

you sitting on that pool table anyhow and maybe you can get a nice trade or a

little cash for them.

It's hard yes, but those $80.00 Guess jeans I bought when I was in high

school were hard to give away for $2.00 at my mother's garage sale....lol

I would say keep going around the room and do exactly the same thing for

everything else.

In my shop, it is very " user friendly " because we have all of the

ingredients for soap, candles, and other things that we need to heat up next to

the

stove, while all the things that are actually made after the fact are on the

other side of the room.

Are you going to be working in this space you made? If you are, think about

what you would want to do while making soap, candles, etc - do you really

want to go running across the room for colorant while your cool water for men is

seizing in the pot or would you rather have it at arm's reach? When making

candles, do you want to have everything right there by the stove or would you

rather run across the room for fragrance and coloring - KWIM?

I recommend keeping a nice corner all clean and unbusy for shipping -

preferably by the printer - especially if you do all of your labels online. If

you

ever get ahold of a big box - we actually have a 4 foot by 4 foot empty box

- keep it for peanuts, packing materials, etc. Anytime you get a package

that has these things in it, you can always dump it into the box and if you set

up a box inside the box, you can pack in there too without making a mess with

the packing materials. Our shipping area goes computer, printer, big box of

packing materials, two rolls of bubble and foam above the box on dowel rods

(like paper towels, all you have to do is tear off what you need), table and

above the table is all the items that we put inside our boxes (business

cards, samples, etc) - then the door is right there. It is a nice little

corner

and doesn't take up much space at all. Whenever we get boxes, the same goes

for when we get containers. I take out 25 (or so) boxes and store them under

the table and all the rest comes home with me into my storage closet.

When it comes to the computer, I don't know if I say this because I hate

getting up and down (especially now that I am as big as a house), but it also

can save you a lot of time by putting everything you need within arms reach.

Take a good look around your desk and what do you REALLY need next to you?

Printer paper - yeah... Labels - yeah... Windows XP starter kit with all the

discs that came with your computer? UM, no... So get it away from you.

Make piles of the things you NEED on a daily basis and things you NEED, but not

all the time. You can really clean your desk off this way really quick & if

you pay bills and do alot of the house stuff at your computer, it can really

help you get organized with THAT too! Killing two birds with one stone is

ALWAYS a good thing!

I think I may have covered more than you were looking for, but I am hoping

this helps others as well So...go pop yourself some popcorn and get a

drink - it's Saturday night and time to ORGANIZE everyone lol

Hoehn - Owner

_www.InesShower.com_ (http://www.inkristinesshower.com/)

815-667-FiZZ