If you’re like most people, your home office is likely a pile of papers and scribbled notes strewn about your desk.
You might have piles of books on your floor, or stacks of clothes that need to be folded piling up at the end of the day. A clean desk is an organized desk; which in turn leads to an organized life.
Before panic sets in, there is a way to get your home office organized. This will take some time and effort on your part, but it can be accomplished. The following tips can help you get your home office organized.
#1 Keep the Things You Use Everyday
No one likes clutter or chaos; we all need a clean and clear environment to be productive with our work. Keeping these standard things around will help keep your space organized and make everything easier to find when you need it.
If you need these things on a daily basis, have them readily available. If not, consider storing them in another room, closet, or other area.
#2 Toss the Junk
Get rid of any junk you don’t need to keep. This includes clutter and useless items. Every time you get a piece of junk mail, delete it immediately or toss it in the trash without reading it.
If you want to keep things like this for future reference, file them away in an orderly fashion in your filing cabinet.
#3 Organize Your Drawer System
Good organization starts with drawer organization. The way you organize your desk is important, so take time to do it right.
Take the time to create an orderly working system from top to bottom. This will keep you organized because everything will be in its place and easy to find when you need it.
#4 Organize Your Files
You should also organize your files. You should always know where to find important documents like mortgage records and tax paperwork. You’ll want to keep these documents in a safe place and keep them organized for easy retrieval when you need them.
Putting them in a file cabinet will help you do this; just make sure that all of your files have current dates on them so it’s easy to find what you need when you are looking for it.
#5 Use a Professional Organizer
If you don’t have the time or inclination to organize your home office, a professional organizer can really help. This person will take on all of the tasks that we just mentioned and can use their expertise to make everything in your home office easy to find when you need it.
This organization consultant will also be able to help you clean up your desk so that everything is in its place at the end of each day. Find a professional organizer near you here.
#6 Schedule Time for Organizing
If you’re serious about organizing your home office, make sure to schedule time each day to keep it cleaned up.
Give yourself an hour each day (or whatever you can manage) to do this. This will help keep work from piling up and make it easier for you to find things when you need them.
It also gives the illusion that you have an organized home office when, in fact, you have been working diligently all week long to get it that way.
#7 Keep Everything You Use Regularly
Just like the things you use every day, the things you use regularly (but maybe not every day) need to be kept somewhere handy in easy to reach spaces. This includes pens, paper clips, staplers, and other such items.
Your desk drawers can be a great place for these things if they won’t clutter up your workspace. Be sure to also keep an ample stock of paper on hand at all times; the last thing you want is to run out of paper when you are in the midst of writing a proposal or report.
#8 Designate a Place for Every Item
Designate a place for every item in your home office, and then follow it. You should have a place for everything so you know exactly where to find it when you need it.
This also makes an organized and clean home office, which just makes life easier.
#9 Keep Your Supplies Ordered and Up-to-Date
The last thing you want is to have paper clips running out or not enough paper to print your report. Check supplies regularly and order more before you need it – it’s better to store a spare box of staples in the drawer than have them run out just when you need them.
#10 Do a Weekly Audit
Auditing the home office can help you keep it organized on a regular basis. Just pick one day each week and look at what you have. Run down the list of things that are supposed to be in your office and make sure they are there.
This way, you’ll always have up-to-date information on hand that is accessible and easy to find when you need it. A weekly audit will also help keep clutter under control, which is important if your office is starting to get messy.
#11 De-Clutter as the Need Arises
If clutter is starting to build up in your home office, you may need to de-clutter as you go. This means that when you get to a point where the clutter is starting to build up, throw things out.
If they’re not important, junk or recycle them. You can also give things away that aren’t used anymore and just keep a few of your favorites on hand.
#12 Be Organized
This is the most important thing you can do to keep your home office organized. When you are organized, everything around it will be, too.
Keep a designated place for everything that goes on in this room and use an organizer for desk drawers and any other important areas that you need to organize. Keep things in order if you want your home office to stay organized.
#13 Leave a Note for Yourself
If there is something you need to do but you don’t have time to do it right away – write it down. This way, you will never forget the chore or what needs to be done. These notes can also help if you ever forget something and get caught up in the moment.
Putting things into writing can also be a way of keeping them organized, so it’s not uncommon for these notes to become your To-Do list later on.
#14 Keep it De-Cluttered
De-cluttering and cleanliness are important to keep your home office looking neat and organized. This is especially true if you have a messy home or you are messy at heart. If you need to get rid of clutter, then do so.
You may also want to consider having a cleaning service come in every now and again. They may be able to get things under control if there is clutter that needs collecting.
#15 Install Storage
We’ve gone on and on about finding a place for everything so that you always know where everything is, and you can’t do this without adequate storage! Storage can help keep things organized as well as keep your belongings safe and secure.
Think bookcases, shelving units, filing cabinets and drawers, whatever you need to keep your home office organized is definitely a good investment.
Things You Might Need To Help Organize Your Home Office
Here are some products that we think it’s worth investing in in your quest for a well organized home office. You won’t need all of them – you might not even need any of them, but if you’re looking for products to help you get organized, here are some we can suggest:
If you don’t have a filing cabinet (or maybe yours is just overflowing) some of these file organizing boxes can really help to get those papers sorted and filed.
While more and more we’re all going paperless these days, you still need somewhere to store important documents even if it’s family related bits and pieces like birth certificates and passports.
A desk organizer is a must so you’ve got somewhere to keep pens, paperclips and whatever other little bits and pieces you might need, in an easy to reach place. There are heaps to choose from, just pick one that fits your needs and design aesthetic.
Create extra storage space by keeping printers and similar apparatus on shelving units like this one. It just gives you more places to keep all of your things and make sure that everything you need has a place.
Similarly, if your desk is large enough, consider adding a small shelving unit to it – more places to keep things!
Consider raising the height of your computer monitor. Your neck will thank you and you get an added bonus of extra storage space!
If your home office has the space for it, consider adding a couple of cabinets of drawers. Drawers are a great way to file your projects and keep them all together or even just for storing extra office supplies like paper, pens and staples.
And there you have it, by using all or some of the tips above and maybe one or two of the products we’ve suggested, you can keep your home office nice and organized in no time at all. Working from home just got easier!
