5 Steps to an Organized Home Office
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Buy a few good pieces of furniture. If you have lots of paperwork, countless books and piles of files, you need adequate storing space. A plain glass desk may sound appealing, but it will do you no good when it comes to organizing your office. Instead, buy a good desk with lots of drawers, shelving units with deep-set divisions and a filing cabinet that will accept thick files of all sizes.
Establish work zones. Make your desk a work center and store supplies and books in a different corner. If there are items, such as files and books, that need to be moved from place to place every day, get a few “transition” baskets and make sure things eventually return to their rightful place.
Keep frequently-used items handy. If you only use your scanner once a month, there’s no much sense in having take space on the desk. Instead, store it away on a drawer or cabinet. Printers, fax or other items that are used everyday should be near the computer and easily accessible.
Create a mail-processing area. A basket for incoming mail and a different one for mail that needs to be sent out is the bare minimum you’ll need. Keep envelopes, stamps and labels in a box or drawer nearby.
Do not allow non-office stuff to make its way into the room. It’s easy to let toys, magazines and empty coffee cups to linger around. You probably can’t expect to keep junk out of the room all the time, but make it a goal to get things out by the end of the day so they don’t accumulate.
