We are almost at the end of “Select-an-Effort: Organizing Tasks for 2023.” This month has gone by so quickly. Have you tried any of the challenges? Which was your favorite? For the final project of the month, I’m suggesting you turn your attention to the display boards in your space.
There are a couple of places that people tend to tack items up on display, including bulletin boards, refrigerators, walls, and computer screens. Visual displays can be anything from inspirational to functional to humorous. Common items in these areas are:
- Photographs
- Invitations & Save-the-Dates
- Cartoons
- Children’s Artwork
- Passwords
- Schedules
- Quotes & Inspirational Images
- Reminders
The challenge is that most of us are better at adding to these surfaces than we are at removing from them. Today is the day to refresh these locations.
Ready to get started? Here are three options:
Low Effort
Select a display area to work on. Remove one or two pieces that are obviously out of date, torn, or otherwise no longer wanted. These items are probably made of paper, so you can recycle them. Remember that photographs cannot be recycled, so those should go in the trashcan. If you want to keep an item for sentimental reasons, either move it to a memorabilia bin, or take a photograph and then let the original go.
Medium Effort
For a better result, remove everything from the display. Go through the same process of removing things that are no longer wanted or needed. If you take everything off, you are likely to get rid of more.
Once you are finished sorting, reload the items you decided to keep. You can read my full tips for creating an attractive display board here.
High Effort
If you want to significantly improve your display board/area, after sorting everything, and before reloading, take a few minutes to reimagine the space. Ask yourself if there is anything new that you would like to add. Since this is the start of a new year, it is a great time to add some fresh photographs, new quotes, or inspiring thoughts. Perhaps there is some updated information that you would like to have more readily accessible.
If you are working in an area that primarily holds children’s artwork, think about how to improve the look of your “art gallery.” Is your current location sufficient, or would you like to relocate it? If you want to tape items up but don’t want to ruin a wall, consider using painter’s tape or washi tape.
If you board is looking tired or mismatched, consider jazzing it up with some attractive push pins. There are many options available to meet a variety of tastes.
If you have a computer monitor (or two) covered with sticky notes, ask yourself if there is a better approach for storing this information. After all, a password that is sitting in plain sight isn’t exactly secure.
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Do you have a bulletin board or other display area that has a couple of layers of contents? When was the last time you refreshed it?
I have loved this series! Thank you for sharing all these ways to make organizing happen!
Thanks for reading, Ellen! It was a lot of fun to put together. 🙂
This is a great reminder post! Everyone tends to forget to revisit this area. Thanks for sharing.
I have a large markerboard in my office space. In December, I revisit this area, clear out the year’s goals and reminders, and start from scratch in the new year. I subdivided the board with Washi tape to create sections. It works pretty well.
Sabrina Quairoli recently posted…How to Create a Well Organized Craft Zone Cabinet
Love that idea of using washi tape on a marker board. I never thought of that! Do you have a photo of that on Pinterest? Super tip!
Good advice, Seana.
The refrigerator is one of those places that can quickly become overloaded with notes and artwork. I love all your suggestions for tackling display boards.
Diane N Quintana recently posted…3 Reasons To Update Your Will Now
My current refrigerator has a panel, so I haven’t been able to use it for displays. Now that I am used to having it empty, I think it would feel cluttery to put stuff there again. Isn’t it funny how we get used to things?
We have a few items on the fridge, but they’re all current and I could tell you what’s there without even looking. But I’ve seen many fridges that were so covered in stuff you wouldn’t know what color they were!
Janet Barclay recently posted…2023, I’m ready for you!
And when they get to that point, you lose track of what is even hanging there because it gets covered up by the various pieces! My current refrigerator has a wooden panel, so that had me stop using that for display overnight. I do have a bulletin board over my desk, but that’s it.
We have one display board that features my husband’s collection of corkscrews. It is in serious need of cleaning. While he regularly does rearrange it, it is a dust collector. We need to attack it for sure. It is sizable and will take quite a while to really clean it all. I think we need to schedule several days on our calendar to accomplish this. Time to move forward.
That sounds like a big project! Maybe work on a few a day?
I’ve loved this whole series — it’s been a fresh air to see how each of these categories can be attacked with varying degrees of effort. I think my favorite was the one about decluttering your workstation, but they’ve all been thoughtful and insightful.
As for display boards, I was all set to say, “Great advice especially for my clients, but I don’t have any display boards or areas.” And that’s *mostly* true. No bulletin boards, and while I put decorative magnets on my fridge, there’s no real info posted there. But then you said the bit about our computer monitors.
I don’t post passwords, but I do have sticky notes with motivating sayings, and one has no horizontal space left on the bottom, because it’s filled with notes that say things like, “Bramjioia: Italian, meaning ‘yearning for joy'” or “Radical trust in the perfect unfolding of my life” or “Pre-emptive gratitude: feel gratitude in advance as if you already have what you want.” Neato, but am I really seeing these or are they blending into the background? Looks like I need to apply some medium effort, at least!
Julie Bestry recently posted…Paper Doll Sees Double: Body Doubling for Productivity
I know that I tend to stop seeing those kinds of notes. Or, sometimes they get faded or curled and end up not looking good enough to warrant being there.
Thanks for reading and affirming all month long, Julie! I really appreciate it. 🙂
At our home display boards are painted the same colour as the wall so they look like an intentional space for organizing information. Some people like to divide their display boards into sections, appointments, inspirations, and notes with information that is needed over and over. However you use it, there needs to be a system to keep the information up to date on the board.
Julie Stobbe recently posted…5 Clearing and organizing tips for your home office
That’s so true, Julie. Once a quarter works for me, but any schedule we set and keep would work!
What a fun series. This is a great area to make sure doesn’t get forgotten. Clearing it up can make such a huge visual impact on the home.
Janet Schiesl recently posted…How Many Books is Too Many?
I completely agree. It’s funny what a big impact a refreshed display space can make. 🙂