20 Tips for Organizing Your Home Office

                                                                     

January is the start of a new year and the start of new beginnings.  One new start is getting organized. Some people need help with organizing in many areas of the lives such as their office.  Sometimes we get so busy with work, family and friends we forget about or are too tired to maintain our household.  

Organizing helps you easily find things, helps you evaluate what you have and prevents buying duplicate items.  Being organized is a sign of hard work, discipline, dedication and attention to detail.  These characteristics can carry over into others aspects of your life. Some people find it hard to start organizing.   The thoughts of trying to get organized can be overwhelming and frustrating because you don’t know where to start.  Here are 20 ways to organize your home office for less.

1. Clean.  Put similar items together in one location to help assess what you have. 
2. Small. Start with a small room or area.  Identify the steps you want to achieve, know what you want to do, when and how you will do it.
3. List. Make a list of what you have and the quantity, and make a list of what you need and the quantity needed.
4. Put it together.  Throw away worn out items that can no longer be used.  Donate items in good condition to charity. If you have not used an item in the past 6 months give it away.  Put Items you are going to keep in a storage container. 
5. Categorize. Categorize your items either in alphabetical, numerical, color-coded.  Put smaller items at the bottom, larger or heavier items at the top.
6. Assistance. Ask for help when organizing.  Show the person how you want tasks done.  Don’t get frustrated if the person doesn’t get it right the first time.
7. Time.  Save time by multi-tasking.
8. Space.   Efficiently utilize as much space as possible and leave extra space for future needs.
9. Usage. After you finish using an item put in back in its proper place to help keep clutter to a minimum. 
10. Storage.  Use items you already have as storage (crates, cardboard boxes, storage bins, Ziploc bags, etc.)
11. Schedule. Schedule a set time when you will organize and clean.
12. Folders. Use accordion folders or a storage box instead of a file cabinet to store important documents and files.
13. Hide. Conceal cables and wires to save space.
14. Stack office equipment and use separators to keep air flowing between equipment that has vents.
15. Supplies. Buy adjustable office organizers to allow expansion for additional space.
16. Label. Name computer files an easily identifiable name so you know the purpose of the file. Categorize files into subfolders.
17. Email. Categorize emails into subfolders. Delete read emails. Unsubscribe from lists that you no longer read or want.
18. To do. Make to-do lists and post in your office where you can readily see them on a daily basis.
19. Store. Store business cards in a shoe box and create dividers using cardboard or manila folders.
20. Reuse. Use CD/DVD cover (round cover for multi-package of CDs) to store paperclips, rubber bands, binder clips, etc.