Organize + Energize: 8 Steps For Organizing Your Home Office

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalProv Organizing Expert

Many people are working out of their homes these days. Get your home office organized so you can be efficient and productive while you are working. Have filing systems, procedures, and processes in place.

Set up an area in your home for your office.

Maybe you have a spare room, an area in the basement, or maybe you have a walk-in closet that isn’t being utilized. The key is to set up your office in an area in your home where you can focus and not be easily distracted.

Seas of paper

Most disorganized home offices all have the same issue: people are drowning in paper. Their filing cabinets are exploding because they haven’t re-visited their files in quite some time. Some businesses do not have working systems and processes in place.  Most keep too much on their desk and are not housing their files in an efficient way. 

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Be prepared.

Time management is imperative when working out of your home. There is always something going on in the house. Map out your days the week before. Write a daily to-do list of everything you need to get done so you stay on track with your tasks.

Compartmentalize.

Try not to let your office paperwork spill into other areas in your home. You have an office; keep the information contained to that office.

Purge all old files.

At one time you may have saved something because you thought it might be of importance, but now a couple of years may have passed and you realize you really don’t need that information. Now is a great time to get rid of it and make room for new files.

Bare necessities

Try not to overload the top of your desk. Keep only what you are working on that day or week on your desk. If you don’t need it on a daily basis, get it off your desk. Do you really need 20 pens on the top of your desk? Downsize the top of your desk and find a system to house the items you don’t need on a daily basis.

Stay organized

You will save time and money by keeping your office supplies organized. Keep them contained to one area and organized in that area.

You probably have tons of business cards. Find a home for your business cards. Either purchase a system to scan them into your computer or develop a filing system. The key is to keep them off your desk if you don’t refer to them on a regular basis.

Think clearly.

When clients get ready to start an organizing project they want to go out and purchase filing cabinets, containers, book shelves, filing trays. Wait, stop! Go through your home office first and figure out what you actually have. Think about how you want to efficiently store those items so that you can be productive. Purchase according to what you have and the systems you want to create.  There are so many great office supplies on the market. Find ones that best suit your needs in the most efficient and productive way.  Office furniture should be comfortable and the office décor should reflect your personality.

Follow these tips above and you will thrive in your home office, be more efficient and productive and have a great spot in your home that is dedicated to doing what you love.

 

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. Kristin has appeared on air on www.talkstreamradio.com and Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio. Her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Her CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start and is available at these locations. She is also available for organizing workshops.

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