Organizing the Home Office

It’s important that the home office is clutter-free, organized but even more important is that it be functional as a workspace. It’s harder to focus and get things done when your area is cluttered.

The best way to organize your desk is if it has a lot of drawer space. You’ll need a lot of space for your supplies and paperwork. It’s the little things like paperwork and supplies that take up the most space and if you don’t have drawer space to store these things you’ll end up with piles on the floor or on top of the desk. Try purchasing a desktop organizer and drawer dividers to help keep these things organized and out of your way.

One of the biggest issues can be something you wouldn’t think of as an issue – cords and cables under your desk. Truth is this can be a nightmare. A simple trick but highly effective one is to use bread ties. All you need to do is give the cord a gentle fold, leave some slack and secure it with the bread tie. You’ll just need to make sure that when doing this that you don’t secure the cords too tightly because other words if you didn’t leave enough slack you’ll be pulling things off the desk.

You will want to invest in a file cabinet and bookshelf. These two items are staple items that all home offices need. Not only will you be more productive because you are more focused when things are put away and not cluttered on your desk, it’s easier to keep everything organized if you file the papers away as soon as you are done with them or put a book back when you’re done with it. You can store all your odds and ends in decorative boxes that are usually pretty inexpensive to pick up.

Another great item for you home office is a whiteboard. Not only will a whiteboard be easier to see than sticky notes or pieces of paper all over here and there, it will help eliminate your notes. If you have family members that tend to ‘borrow’ your home office items such as your stapler, scissors, etc you can simply put a label on them so that the items find their way back home.

A great idea to keep all your items that will be needed at tax time is to purchase a collapsible hanging folder. Not only will this help keep all your receipts, etc all in one place, it will also help save space because you can hang it inside a closet or on the back of your office door. Then when tax time comes everything will be right there at your fingertips all in one place.