How to Organize Your Office

Image credit: gustavotoledo / 123RF Stock Photo

Welcome to our 35 Days to an Organized Home Challenge! Today we’re discussing how to organize your office!  In the video below, you will notice that my home office was formerly my dining room! We lived in under 1,000 square feet when we first bought our home.  A home office can be separate from living space, or completely part of your living space or part of another room.  Many times you have mismatched pieces, and So, I’ve always had to be super organized due to lack of space. However, organizing your office still relies on our main principles of sorting by deciding what needs shredded, trashed, filed, or mailed.

1. Purge, purge, purge.  You will want to get rid of all mail and paperwork you don’t need. Reorganize and empty as many items as you can out of your office.  This will help keep your desk clear and your files from becoming overstuffed.

2. Keep it Behind Closed Doors.  The more you can get behind closed doors (as in cabinets), you will see less clutter and the look will be streamlined.

3. Streamline your look. If you’re placing your office in another room (such as a living room), make sure that your furniture pieces match in color and style. Many people make the mistake of going to the store and purchasing office equipment and furniture because it looks good in the store, not because it will coordinate with the furniture they already have in their living space.

4. Ensure you have a filing system.  To have an office flow in any space, you must have a filing system.  Check out our earlier post on organizing your paperwork.

5. Keep frequently used items within reach.  Keeping your frequently used items as close to you as possible is a must. You don’t want to have to go searching for items that you use all the time.

6. Label, label, label. I have a small label machine that I LOVE, and I use it for files, checkbook boxes, catalogs, etc.  Labeling as much as you can keeps you from having to search through boxes, bins, and files.

7. Clear your desk everyday. Just as you maintain your mail organizing system on a daily basis, you should also clear your desk everyday as much as possible. This will keep clutter from building up over the course of a few days.

8. Keep like items organized. I keep all my receipts and bill paying paperwork together, because when you’re working on one of these areas, it will generally flow into the other areas.

9. Create Your Own Systems. Only you know your square footage and budget.  However, you need to create systems that work for you.

10. Maintain, maintain, maintain. It’s essential that you maintain your office systems once you have them in place. Otherwise you are wasting precious time.

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