Home Office Organization. Welcome to 2013! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. The last couple of weeks I’ve been on a “staycation”, getting caught up on a lot of things that seriously needed catching up on. I’m all rested and ready to start the new year with you! Each January I begin the year by getting everything in my house organized. It’s like starting out with a clean slate. One of the first places I tackle is my home office. I’m much more efficient and effective if that room is organized. Especially since it’s where I spend a lot of time. I’ve had a few people ask me about tips on organizing their home offices. So, I thought it would be a great way to kick off the new year. Here are 30 simple tips and tricks I’ve found to help you with your home office organization!
Home Office Organization
1. Give yourself a clear area to work. The space doesn’t need to be huge, it just needs to be large enough for you to work comfortably and have a place for what you need.
2. Besides the main work area, designate an area for office supplies, files, books, and reference materials.
3. Make a colorful bulletin board out of carpet squares. Carpet Square Bulletin Board Tutorial
4. Create a magnetic bulletin board out of a cookie sheet. Just paint the bottom or add craft paper and it’s ready to go!
5. If you can’t spread your office out, then go up! Take advantage of vertical space with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
6. Keep things where they’re convenient. Especially things you use on a regular basis. An office space isn’t very efficient if you have to jump through hoops just to reach a file or throw something in the wastebasket.
7. Position equipment according to how often it’s used. If you use your printer everyday, put it where you’ll have easy access to it. Items you don’t use that often can be placed a little farther out of reach or stored in a cabinet.
8. Keep business cards organized with binder clips, a tackboard, decorative paper and some push-pins.
9. Use decorative paper or wallpaper scraps to brighten up plain clipboards. Covered Clipboard Tutorial
10. Old cupcake tins are great for organizing small items in a desk drawer.
11. Establish a system for processing papers. For example, make an Action folder for papers that need immediate attention, a folder for bills to paid and one for items to be filed.
12. Create a filing system not a “piling” system. It’s a lot easier to find what you need if everything is filed properly and not sitting in the middle of a pile of papers. Try to set one day a week for filing. That way it won’t get out of hand.
13. Cover a plain bulletin board with a pretty fabric and add a frame. Paint the frame in a coordinating color. Framed Bulletin Board Tutorial
14. A dish drainer outfitted with cute files and assorted office supplies makes a great portable office. Keep it stored in a cabinet when not in use.
15. Turn a regular dresser drawer into a slide-out printer drawer. When not in use, hide the printer away by closing the drawer. Hideaway Printer Drawer Tutorial
16. On the same day each year, buy all the birthday cards you’ll need for family and friends. File them by month and you won’t miss anyone’s special day.
17. Use decorative baskets or bins to keep office supplies organized and out of the way.
18. A leftover mint tin is the perfect size for organizing business cards.
19. A rolling cart makes a great portable office. You can store necessary items on the lower shelves. Here a vintage suitcase adds style and storage.
20. Keep electronics cords untangled. Feed them through a hole in the desktop, so you can plug them into a surge protector mounted to the underside of the desk. Keep the cords in a wire basket that’s suspended under the desk with wire hooks. Use tags to identify each wire.
21. It’s important to have a good office chair. If yours doesn’t offer lumbar support, use a pillow.
22. Take a few minutes to straighten your desk at the end of each day, so that you can start fresh with an orderly desk the next morning.
23. Create a unified look in your office by using binders, boxes, files and accessories all in the same color.
24. Inexpensive, unused paint cans make stylish cubbies for organizing small paperwork and such. Paint Can Cubbies Tutorial
25. Keep your desktop organized by repurposing a toothbrush holder and soap dish to hold writing utensils and other essentials.
26. Make sure you have a place for everything in your office. And when you’re done using something, put it back where it belongs.
27. Label folders or trays with your five most common action steps such as to-do, to-call, to-read, to-fax, to-file, etc. Then each time you pick up a new piece of paper ask yourself, “What’s the next action step required for this paper?” Then place it in the proper folder or tray so that you can act upon it. If no action is required, you can toss it.
28. Corral all those power cords with inexpensive pipe insulation.
29. Recycle soup cans to store writing utensils. Decorate them with paint, fabric or decorative paper. Then mount them to the wall or set them on your desk.
30. Here’s another way to take advantage of vertical space. A wall becomes storage when you hang clipboards and magnetic boards over your desk.
Do you have any favorite home office organization ideas or tips you’d like to share?
Love those clipboards!!!! Timely post, I was thinking this morning about how I need to do something to ours!! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks, Melanie! You’re very welcome.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! I am in the midst of cleaning out / organizing my office and these great ideas couldn’t have come at a better time! I have a feeling I might be using several of these ideas!
So glad this post will help you with your office organization, Michelle!
I am in desperate need of organizing my office. I am a pastor and the office is in the parsonage where I live. 3 of the walls have built in bookcases and the 4th wall has 2 windows. I have so much stuff and no where to put it because of the layout of the office. . I love your ideas, but have to where to put clipboards, tackboards, etc. because of layout. Any suggestions? Any help would be appreciated, Thank you.
I’d love to help you out, Tina. I’m going to send you an email so we can talk about this some more.
Good ideas. Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome, Tina!
Great ideas here! I think I will use the cupcake pan in the drawer if you don’t mind!
Feel free to use whatever you like, Nikki!