A home office

Hello All you Diva Darlings!

Are you ready to start the New Year including Chinese New Year?? I hope so. It’s going to be a very interesting one with all the political fencing that we are simply going to be bored to death with.

Frankly among the early republican hopefuls there is not a single good person among them at all. Where is Ronald Regan when you need him??!!

Alright Darlings, not everyone was enamored by Ronnie, I’ll concede that, but still……

Now Darlings, I have been a busy little bee writing up various posts and I have been during our cold, rainy days---although we do need the rain---writing a lot of posts. But I have broken them down as to what they should cover.

Some of my Diva’s in training have asked me how to set up a “home office”, even if it’s only for their personal use.

(Thank you Jennifer, Dianna, Nancy, Lynda, Becky) I didn’t post their comments because the questions were pretty much the same.

Well first Darlings, you need to set aside a space that you have to say is your “Office”, whether it’s a corner in the kitchen or you have a room to outfit. Second, this desk or office area is off-limits to other family members, no touching at all.

I know of one lady who simply raged that her husband and children would not keep their hands off of her desk, computer etc. while she went to take care of other things, only to come back and find everything including important bills and papers, completely dis-organized, so much so that she had to spend a considerable amount of time putting it back in order.

She was so angry about it that she threatened divorce and told her husband he could keep the kiddies and then he’d learn what it was like to deal with them.

Fortunately her hubby was not dense, after all he had his “man-cave” and the children (3 boys) could invade there especially during the games. But the children simply thought that anything that was Mom’s was theirs---not so when it comes to bill paying or anything, even Mom’s purse is off limits.

Her hubby realized she needed what in Victorian times would have been called “The Morning Room”, they had a good size garden and part of it was under underutilized (aka weedy), so instead of giving her diamonds, he had built for her “A Room of Her Own”, complete with electricity, phone, and computer connections, now the room was bare, no carpets, not painted, not furnished, but she envisioned what it should look like and where the connections and outlets should be and it was so.

Then he let her choose what she wanted in it, oh and did I forget, but he also made sure that it was properly done so she could run a space heater without blowing out anything.

And she has the key---kiddies not allowed, unless the house is burning down.

But lets say that you have in your home a spare room, maybe a room that is too small to be a bed room or a man-cave, or you have an over large kitchen with a convenient corner.

Asses the space to figure out what will fit, and that will require taking photos and measurements, and doing a grid.

Then you need to find a good desk that will fit the space that you have in mind, now some people will have an “L” shaped desk, one side to hold the computer and the other for a flat space to write out or sort things.

Then you need to have at least a 2 drawer file cabinet, it helps if it’s a locking file cabinet.

The cheapest way to create a desk is to get two 2 drawer file cabinets and put on top of them a standard hollow core door, with one cabinet for active files and the other for dead files.

I also suggest a fire proof safe to hold things like insurance papers, mortgage papers, social security cards, birth certificates and that is just for starters.

You need to assess the types of office supply materials you’ll need.

And for that you need these essentials:
Comfortable desk chair
Desk lamp (those with the movable head)
Holder to hold incoming mail,
Shredder,
Scissors
Waste basket
Calculator,
magnifying glass,
stapler/staples,
scotch tape and dispenser,
pens/pencils,
envelopes legal size,
letter size paper,
letter opener,
12 inch/18 inch ruler, 1 yard stick (36 inches),
cheap note pad to do calculations,
Stamps,
Rubber bands
File to hold seasonal or special occasion cards (birthdays, anniversaries etc.)
Files to hold paid bills, these will go into the file cabinet.

Cash book---now this is important---I use a cash book and write down monthly what bills need to come in and when, I check off if they have arrived, then check off if they have been paid

Large calendar, and have it so you can see three months ahead, write on it when and what bills should be paid and when it should be mailed, I also use the calendar to note when I will be getting deposits into my various accounts, then I call to check to see what has been deposited and note my balance. This calendar should include medical/dental appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, any upcoming events like when school lets out for the Summer, etc.

Special holder to hold outgoing bills/letters/cards that you are mailing,

You will need a magazine file holder to hold the current catalogues that you get, mark on them when received and rotate them out when the next one comes in,

File to hold menus for take out in case you don’t feel like cooking; rotate those once a year to update prices.

Rack to hold Labled spare keys (this to be mounted on the wall)

Printer for computer
Scanner for Computer
A table to hold both printer and scanner.

Now you may not need all of this but in time you will discover what is very handy.

I also have a check file to hold my duplicate carbons for my checks as well as the check registers and I keep clipped together all my receipts, especially when I use my debt card and credit card, I do not get rid of them until I have resolved my statements, some receipts you need to hold onto in case you have to return an item or gift, so mark those receipts as such and some maybe be needed for income tax purposes.

Now how often should you reconcile your checkbook, well Darlings I maybe paranoid but I do it every other day, I also list what is pending and what is outstanding, this is especially important during the holidays or if you are heavy into using your debt card to pay for everything, you don’t want to over draft your account.

Another reason is that of late thieves are very big into “skimming” cards at Grocery stores, gas stations, ATM’s etc. so by checking every other day you’d be quick to catch any unauthorized spending, also it does pay to use your debt card as a credit card or to use your credit card as you have a better chance of reversing unauthorized transactions.

Now a new list has come out on paperwork that you will need to keep, and one of the most important questions that is asked is----

"How long should I keep certain papers?"

It is imperative that you check with your accountant and/or lawyer before throwing out any financial or legal papers, because they know most about your individual situation.

Because each person’s situation is unique there are times when it is important to hold older files in a 4 drawer file cabinet. And if you have children that information will also be important to hold on to.

I will be posting what papers to keep and for how long, and when to shift things from an active file to a dead one.

Until Anon, Kisses Darlings