Home Office Organizing in NYC – 9 Essentials for a Productive Space

Setting up a truly functional home office in a NYC apartment can be quite the challenge especially since very few New York homeowners can devote an entire room to office space.   In the majority of cases, the home office is in a shared space which also serves as a bedroom, den/guestroom or living room.  In those cases where an entire room can be devoted to the office, the space is typically very small.  As this is the reality, it is especially important for those NYC residents who have a home office to work on establishing organizing solutions so that it functions effectively for both their business and personal lives.

It is imperative to determine how the home office will be used before tackling organizing the space.  Will it be purely for managing your home and personal life or running your business or a combination of both?  Once the objective for the use of the space has been clearly defined, coming up with organizing solutions will be easier to accomplish.

Here are some additional tips for home office organizing in NYC to implement for increased productivity:

Remove all non-essential items from the space to make room for the home office essentials like a desk, rack for the printer and reference books. This is especially important in multi-function rooms where space is even more limited.

Be sure that all essential office equipment and files occupy the prime real estate – the area that is most accessible when you are seated at your desk.

Create the foundation for a paperwork organizer by setting up an In Box, File Box and Out Box.

Set up a garbage pail, shredder and box/bin for papers to be recycled so that excess papers don’t clutter up the desk and surrounding areas.

Be creative in how the available storage space is used.  Use the cabinet in the wall unit for files, decorative bins placed on open shelves for books and newsletters or a shoe bag on the back of the room door to house small office supplies.

Divide your files into 3 categories: Action Files (current projects or daily/repetitive tasks), Reference files (client files, vendor files) and Archives (tax returns, completed projects).

Use both your calendar and task list when establishing each day’s objectives.

Lastly, be sure to brief others in your household who may use the home office on occasion concerning the organizing solutions that are in place and the location of key office supplies, equipment and files. An issue that often arises in and NYC home office organizing project is that things become misplaced when those who were not directly involved in the organizing process begin to use the space. Holding a “briefing” of sorts eliminates this issue and ensures that everyone is on the same page!