Office Organizing Tips for Your Home Office
Office organizing can and should extend outside the workplace and into your home office. Whether you work from home full-time or you spend your evenings or weekends getting work done in your home office, keeping your space organized is imperative. Papers can pile up fast, clutter can creep in, and pretty soon you aren’t getting ANY work done at home. You can take back control of your home office space with these office organizing tips from your Professional Organizer in NYC.
Figure out what gets stored in your space. Many home offices serve multiple purposes, such as being used for storage or a guest bedroom, or perhaps they are used by multiple family members. This means that office organizing is even more important to keep everything clutter free and keep everyone on the same page. When determining your storage strategy, be sure to identify all items (whether business or personal) that will require space and plan to store all items in the general area in which they will be used. For example, if you store movies in your home office, store those items together in one location preferably close to your entertainment system. Make sure everyone who lives in your home understands where items get stored so there is no confusion.
Create a paperwork system. We all know that paperwork has a habit of piling up fast, and this is definitely true in a home office. Items like bills, junk mail, school paperwork, important client files….all of it has piled up in your space! Start by scheduling time to sort through the paperwork. From there, create a color-coded filing system to store necessary paperwork. The quickest and easiest way to code your files is by using different color file folder labels. Color coding makes it easier to find items at a quick glance, and will also help keep the home files separate from your business files. Throw away or recycle junk mail, old announcements, and scrap paper that you no longer need. Shred any paperwork that includes identifying information, such as account numbers or birthdates.
Labels, labels, labels. The key to organizing a home office is to be clear and label everything. Utilizing labels when organizing the contents of the bins and boxes will make it easy for everyone in your home to quickly locate the correct box or bin when needed. It is especially important to label those boxes or opaque bins that are placed on the top shelves of the closet. As this space is typically saved for less frequently used items or archives like your tax returns, you will still want to periodically review the contents on these shelves and discard those materials that are no longer needed.
Schedule time for upkeep. Once you have invested time organizing your office, do as I do and spend a few minutes at the end of each day clearing my desk. Start by scheduling time at the end of every day to walk through and organize your space. Give yourself 5 minutes to put items away, file papers, and make sure there is no clutter in your home office space. By maintaining your space, you’ll be able to sit at your desk every morning ready and get right to work.
Organizing a home office can be simple by implementing the above tips. For more office organizing strategies, reach out to your Professional Organizer in NYC.