Organizing Your Home Office
The Key Elements to Getting Organized and Maintaining Your Home Office
An organized home office can help support busy women who run a home-based business or busy moms with handling their family logistics. Many people have a dedicated office or a space they use for paperwork in their home already. But most people avoid this area because of the endless paper piles and clutter that tends to accumulate.
Here are the key elements to getting organized in your home office so you can easily maintain the space and increase productivity throughout your week:
To get started, spend a day clearing out the space. Decide to dedicate this office space to only paperwork, office supplies, and business-related items. If you don’t have a dedicated room, make your office area accessible enough that you are able to use & enjoy the space without having to tidy up too much to access it.
Sort out your office supplies and organize them into containers or separate drawer compartments. Check your stock on your most used items and make a list of items you may need from Staples, Amazon, or The Container Store.
Decide where you are going to store your important documents and other papers. A filing cabinet is the most common place for papers, but we recommend using binders to store paperwork that you need to access often, like insurance documents, banking information, and other financial papers.
Stack files vertically on top of your desk or shelf to hold actionable mail and current projects you are working on. Each file should be labeled clearly, and a color-coded system can be really helpful.
Set up your computer, laptop, or other devices in a place that won’t be blocked by other items. Create a clear boundary so papers and clutter do not get set down on top of your chair or keyboard. Set up your printer close by your computer or office space for easy access.
Designate a shelf for notebooks or paper. If you decide to keep scrap paper, limit it to a small stack and recycle the rest.
Have a shredder and trash can or a recycling can nearby to avoid piling papers that you no longer need.
The most important element to organizing your home office is maintaining the organization.
Create systems and rules for how you will use your dedicated home office space. Some things to consider:
Commit to a weekly planning session of at least 20 minutes. This is the most crucial piece that is often missed when trying to stay organized in a home office or home-based business.
Update your calendar with upcoming activities and schedule in time for the important tasks that need to be completed by the end of the week.
Create an inbox for any papers, mail, or tasks that can wait until your next planning session. This inbox should only be large enough to hold a week’s worth of papers. Anything too big will tempt you into waiting too long to go through it.
Process all of your mail every single week. Most incoming mail is junk and can be recycled on the spot. Getting rid of what you don’t need can reduce the overwhelming feeling week after week when you sit down to process through the paper piles.
Decide that only office and/or business related items and paperwork is allowed within this space.
Organizing your home office and home-based business can free up your time exponentially. Create systems and set aside time each week to work in your home office so you can manage your time, home, and business efficiently.
Own Your Space Professional Organizing offers home and business organizing to help you create a system to manage your papers and to-do lists so you can be more productive.
