10 Tips to a Clutter Free Home Office
Do you feel productive and motivated when you’re sitting in your home office?
If your answer is anything but a firm Yes, you are in the right place. Most importantly, there are ways (and not just one, but 10) ways to create a clutter-free home office that can help you feel more productive.
*This is a guest post. You can read more about the author at the end of the post.
If you are lucky enough to be working from home, you are probably already aware that there are some flaws to that lifestyle despite the popular opinion; you get distracted more easily for example. However, if you create a good working space where you’ll feel inspired and driven, both your life and business will benefit. Unfortunately, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get anything done (and done right), if you constantly work in a messy and cluttered environment. Luckily, you can start changing the odds in your favor with these 10 tips to a clutter-free work space.
Organize and plan your home office
It doesn’t matter where you set up your home office or how big it is, the key is to plan it out. Which computer do you need? Where should you put your printer? How many drawers, shelves and cabinets do you want? If you are not sure how to organize the room, try to think of one normal day at work and how it looks like – the furniture placement should benefit your daily work routine. If you use the scanner more than 10 times per day, go ahead and set it up right next to your desk.
An organized space will help you save time and energy as well as make decluttering less frequent and a lot easier.
Get rid of unnecessary things
The essential part of every decluttering process is to get rid of things that are in the wrong place or are not needed at all. When you have your office at home, sometimes it happens that you misplace a cushion, a glass or a book. However, you should always aim to put it back in its place to avoid office clutter.
On the other hand, if there is anything at all you haven’t used in the last 6 months to 1 year (office supplies and your other belongings) it’s likely you will not use it ever again, so don’t hesitate to get rid of it. Another method that you can use to decide which items should be thrown away is the 5 second rule to decluttering which is a great technique to discover your hidden wishes.
Pick a day for home office cleaning
It’s a known fact that we spend the majority of our week working, so weekly office cleaning should be a must. Not only for health issues, but also productivity, as skipping cleaning days leads to clutter and clutter leads to less efficiency. You have a higher chance of sticking to this routine, if you choose one day that’s going to be your office cleaning day. Saturday or Sunday are great because you get to start your working week fresh on Monday. Bonus tip: Use your phone app to receive weekly reminders so that you can tick that box once done and get that satisfying feeling of seeing it disappear on your screen.
Aim to clean up after yourself
Of course, you don’t have to get too obsessed and commit to dusting every day, but there’s no harm in cleaning up after you’re done for the day. The first place to get cluttered up and dirty is your desk, so make sure you throw away or pack up all papers, documents or clips after you’re done with them.
Place a recycling bin next to your desk
This is a great investment, because without a bin nearby, you risk leaving your trash on your desk or, even worse, around your desk. It is completely normal that in the middle of a hectic day you forget about your trash or you don’t want to get up and throw out that little piece of paper. Well, that’s just one more reason to get that office bin close to you – you can dispose of trash anytime. Just make sure to throw out your garbage from the office regularly, once the bin gets filled up.
The less paper the better
Depending on your profession, you could try to go digital all the way. If there’s no need for paper, try to have everything on your computer or on your cloud. Not only it is good for the environment, but it is also much safer to store important documents and information in digital format. It goes without saying that digitalization gets you closer to that clutter-free office space.
How to Create a Paperless Home
Invest in good storage cabinets
The key to a clutter-free home office is investing in quality storage cabinets. Nowadays, you can choose between so many different sizes of cabinets and various designs. They are tailored to different professional needs, whether you need rolling file cabinets that you can move around your office or fireproof file cabinets made for special security reasons.
Keeping office supplies out of sight can greatly increase your productivity. Without distractions, you can be more focused on your work. Storage cabinets are a great way to file papers, to store supplies and be more organized in general. Choose a system that works for you and stick to it – this will get you closer to your ideal office environment.
Make a special storage place for old documents
In order to avoid clutter, choose a special drawer or filing cabinet where you’ll keep your old documents. Once you do, aim to keep them tidy. Don’t forget your initial intention, because if you do, you will most certainly end up having to deal with more clutter. Bonus tip: if you are running low on space in your home office, the best cabinets for you are vertical file cabinets. They take the least space and are very practical for document storage.
Manage your cables and cords
Over the past decade, we have gone mostly wireless with our devices. However, it’s still hard to avoid all those messy cables, wires and cords. Luckily, nowadays you can purchase many different cable organizers such as special bags, boxes, sleeves and clips. If you are not able to go fully wireless, think about investing in some cable organizers; they can greatly help prevent accidents like coffee spills and you won’t have to deal with even bigger messes and problems.
Don’t give up!
The most important tip to stay away from clutter: keep it up and make it a routine! Your home office has a lot of potential, because you are in charge of it, you’re the boss, you and nobody else. Who else can say that?
Give yourself the office you deserve where you will be the best version of yourself. Whenever you get discouraged, just remember the level of productivity you had that first time you achieved a clutter-free space. Remember it and keep up the good work.
About the author: Tess Cain is a hardworking woman who is into cleaning, decluttering, decorating and organizing. When she’s not working at office.eco she is volunteering in her community to take care of elderly people. Tess loves fitness and having a healthy mind, body
Pin this!
