Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees transitioned into working from home rather than in the office. In fact, many workers are working from home full time and would even prefer to continue working from home after the pandemic.
However, when you are working from home you need to learn how to organize your home office. Do you want to learn more about home office organization? This article will help you learn more about desk organization and how to be organized at home!
Declutter Paper
The most important thing is starting fresh! This step is important because it can help you get rid of things that you don't need and will help you declutter. Whether you are working from home or starting a side hustle, make sure your home office is prepared.
To start fresh, it is important that you begin by decluttering paper. Paper is something that piles up quickly and can make your desk seem messier than it really is.
To start with this paper purge, make sure you go through each piece of paper in your office. Often, we hold onto papers that we don't even need and save them "just in case."
Choosing the Right Space
When you are creating an office at home, you want to make sure you choose the right space! A home office should be easily accessible but not in an area where it is easy to get distracted.
Make sure you are in a separate room or an area that can be closed off from others! This will allow you to be more productive.
You also want to make sure you have plenty of space in your home office. Make sure it isn't too cramped for you to accomplish your work!
How to Organize Your Desk
To begin organizing your desk, you will want to sort everything in your office into piles. Your first pile should be items that you want to throw away or donate. Next, you want to create a pile of things you need to file or put in their rightful place.
Finally, your last pile will be things that you need to take action on. For example, you may need to send an invoice to a client. Or, you may have office items that need to be returned.
Regardless of the item in your office, you need to sort it into one of these three piles! As was mentioned above, you can first start by sorting each of your papers! Throw away or shred any unimportant documents that you don't need to keep.
When you file or take care of the rest, it will be much easier to find them when you need them.
It is also important to sort other items in your office. For example, you may have books laying around that you have never even read! If you want to read them, find a place on your bookshelf to store it!
Otherwise, donate your book or give it to a friend.
Create a Filing System For Desk Organization
Next, you want to create a filing system for each of your important documents! When you have a big pile of documents, it is almost impossible to find the things you need when you need them. Having a filing system gives every kind of document a place to belong.
There are many different categories you can include in your filing system. Not all of these have to be work-related. For example, you can have a file for financial information, medical records, and personal information.
You can also have separate files for different work projects and other important information that you can keep track of. Having a label maker can make this filing project much easier!
Home Office Organization: Get Organization Containers
Something that can keep your organized home office clean is getting organization containers! Whether you use these on shelves, on your desk, or in other cabinets, it will help keep things sorted correctly.
These organization containers will also make your office look more aesthetically pleasing!
Utilize Wall Space For Home Office Organization
Even if you have a small office space, you can still find ways to increase your storage options! For example, you may need to utilize your wall space. This is a space that is often left unused and blank.
Not only do blank walls look plain and boring, but you are also missing out on tons of functionality!
If you want to find ways to use your wall space for your home office organization, here are a few things you can hang on your walls. First, you can change your filing systems, calendars, and even whiteboards.
You can also use shelves to store bigger and bulkier items!
Give Everything a Place in an Organized Home Office
To make sure your office doesn't keep getting cluttered, you need to make sure everything in your home office has a place. Whether they are books, papers, or even your computer, everything needs a specific place.
Not only will this keep you more organized and make it easier to find things in your office, but it will make it faster to tidy and organize your office in the future.
When you know where everything goes, it makes it easy to do a quick cleaning every day to put things back in their place.
Create a New Layout When Necessary
Sometimes, you may need to create a new layout of your home office. Whether this is to save space, keep you from getting distracted, or even to improve your office feng shui, changing the layout can make a big difference!
Feng Shui is a great way to improve the energy of your home office. If you notice that you have been feeling more stagnant and less motivated, see if you can change the layout.
Consider Shelving
As was mentioned before, it is important to utilize your wall space when you are organizing your home office! One easy way to do this is through shelving. Whether you have shelves to organize books, binders, or other storage bins, it will make your office items more easily accessible.
You can also try finding storage cubes or baskets to make the shelves look more aesthetically pleasing and less messy!
Organize Cables
In your home office, it is easy for your cables to get knotted and twisted together. Whether you have a monitor that is plugged in, a laptop or phone charger, or even a lamp, it can be difficult to move them around when the cables are disorganized.
If you have noticed issues with your cables, it may be helpful to find ways to organize them!
Rather than having your powerstrip and cables down by your feet under your desk, you can mount the power strip to the back of the desk with velcro or command strips. Then, unplug each cord so you can separate and untangle each of the cords.
Then, wrap up the excess cord that you don't need to use. This will keep them from getting knotted up in the future! You can also buy cable separators that use adhesive to stick to the back of your desk.
If you use these, it will be much easier to separate and use your individual cables.
Create a Cleaning Checklist
Finally, there is no point in cleaning your home office if you do not find ways to keep it clean! Maintenance is vital and makes it much easier to have a clean office space.
One way to make office cleaning and maintenance much easier is by creating a cleaning checklist. In this checklist, you should have a few different categories. First, include things that you want to clean and organize every day.
This can include clearing off your desk, sending over any important paperwork, and filing the things that are on your desk. Make sure you put everything back into its proper place!
Next, you want to create a weekly checklist. This can help you wrap up things that you have been working on during the week. File important documents and shred those that you don't need. Doing a weekly paper purge will keep your papers from piling up too quickly.
Finally, you should create a monthly cleaning checklist. This can include deep cleaning your office, reorganizing shelves, and getting rid of anything that you do not use in our office.
Making Sure You Get Enough Light and Exercise
Regardless of how your home office is organized, you can still be productive while you are working at home! One of the best tips to follow is to get enough light and exercise while you are working at home.
If possible, choose a room for your home office that has plenty of windows and natural light. If this is not an option, you may need to get out and go for a walk during your work breaks.
It is also important to consider what types of lightbulbs are in your home office. Some types of light bulbs may not be good for your health, so you can easily switch these out for some that are better.
Exercise is also a great way to improve productivity and clear your head. Even by getting up and walking around or stretching, you will improve your productivity and may even help improve your mental health!
How to Be Organized at Home: Simple Is Best
When you are learning how to organize your home office, it is important to realize that simple is best! You don't have to have a Pinterest-worthy office to make it functional and organized.
Rather than cluttering up your office space with useless decor, make sure you find things that are simple and functional. Keeping your office simple and minimalistic will keep things from piling up and can help you maintain your organization.
