home office organization it’s something we take for granted, and yet over time, items accumulate and we don’t know where to start clearing out the pile of files, unopened mail, bills, magazines, and pile of receipts. The small home office needs just as much planning, organizing, and the occasional reorganization as the large corporate offices. Experts and common sense tell us that organizing our office smartly and efficiently, and developing filing rules and habits, will create a productive office. Here are some tips to put you on autopilot for an organized office and better work results.
- To start your home office organization, plan out your space and move furniture around to make it work best. Change the position of your desk first. A U- or L-shaped desk is best, but you can create the same setup with smaller end tables. Use one or multiple desk lamps as task lights instead of relying on a single ceiling lamp that produces glare on a monitor screen. If possible, mount your computer monitor on a swing arm to save space on a small desk.
- Make your desk chair comfortable and ergonomically sound. Use supportive cushions and a footrest if necessary to relieve back strain, or invest in a new chair.
- Track your workflow and move your furniture to suit it. The highest usage is the best determinant for location. Move things you use often to or near your desk. The equipment you use less often can be on a nearby table, dresser, or shelf. In particular, don’t dedicate your main desk space to a printer, fax machine, or copier that you only need occasionally. Use a small table next to the desk for these items. A multi-level roll-out unit is ideal and a combined printer-copier-scanner-fax makes it even better.
- If space allows, add a side table to your desk. It will be incredibly useful for planning or organizing large ongoing projects. Folding tables are cheap, portable, and storable, and long sofa tables or entryway tables can do the same and be stylish. Use an area at that table or a small table or a single hanging shelf right next to the door to store outgoing mail. Now you will never leave the room without the letters and packages that need to go with you.
- Most home offices are in an additional bedroom with closet space that can be converted to shelving for stationery and supply storage. If you lack that extra space for supplies or need more, a hallway just outside the office door might make a good place for a narrow bookcase to store supplies or reference materials. Add storage space on the cheap by mounting kitchen cabinets from a junk store to the wall above your desk. Reasonable storage can be made with cabinets designed to go under the kitchen counter, which are roomier than standard upper cabinets.
- Add a second comfortable chair and ottoman, along with a space-saving floor lamp, to the room. There are some jobs you can do from here, such as reading reports or writing texts on your laptop. It’s exhilarating to have a relaxing, change-of-pace workspace to take a break from time to time. Another comfort item is the headset. If you need to keep your hands free for tasks or tend to cradle the telephone receiver against your shoulder, you can avoid neck and shoulder pain with a headset. When not in use, hang the handset on a small hook on the side of your desk.
- Now that the furniture is in place, it’s time to remodel the office! Separate the bad stuff from the good stuff and throw that trash away!
- First, clean up your desk. You can start slowly by throwing a few things away. Better yet, get everything off your desk and into a cardboard box except for the computer, lamp, and phone. Place the box somewhere close and within reach. Work for a week and when you need something in the box, find it, use it, and return it to a logical place on or around your desk. By the end of the week, you’ll have what you need on or near your desk. Now go back to the cardboard box and shake it on the floor or on a table. Organize the remaining things to file, store, or throw away, then file, store, and throw away.
- Second, move to a desk drawer. If it’s easy to do, pull out the entire drawer and empty it into that now empty cardboard box. You can take out the useful things and put them aside to put them back in the drawer. Discard the unnecessary and remove some things to better and more logical locations. Then buy and insert a sectional tray into the drawer. Organize the useful things and put them back in the drawer with the most frequently used items in the front and accessible sections.
- Third, it’s time to shake out a file drawer. Since we “file and forget,” our files tend to contain things that we no longer need at all. So start slow. Open a drawer and, one file after another, see if the files are relevant or if they need to be reduced. Crush and stir. Also, keeping in mind that business records need to be kept for six years, please delete relevant old files to an “archive” file box that you can file in a storage space, saving your office file for current items.
- Repeat steps two and three above (reorganizing drawers and files) until you’re done!
- Now, delete that bulletin board if you have one. At first these look so sleek and efficient. They are then transformed into messy layers of papers, photos, and business cards. How relevant are the items to the efficiency of your home office? Just like you did with your desk drawer and file, zero it out, analyze it, and organize it. Keep relevant items in their logical locations, throw out a lot of irrelevant stuff, and put the most appropriate items back on the bulletin board. Be creative! Design a well-organized board and even include an inspiring image or photo!
Don’t stop there! Maybe every six months or every year, move the furniture around a bit. It gives you a whole new perspective on your office, not to mention finding that piece of paper or coffee cup that’s been missing for all those months. See how well you can keep up the practice and habit of organizing your supplies and files. Even if you have to drop everything during a few busy work periods, see if you can get back to “office rules” quickly. Periodically remind yourself of what the experts have told you and your common sense that organizing your home office will bring you greater productivity and improve your profitable results.
(c) 2012 Elizabeth McMillian