10 Quick Things You Can Do To Organize Your Home Office This Weekend

We all dream of living a clutter-free existence.  When it comes to our home office, we dream of papers neatly filed, office supplies tucked in their little organizing compartments and being able to see every square inch of our desk.

Yeah right.

While that’s the ideal, the reality is that most of us make a mess throughout the day – sometimes cleaning it up at the end of the day, other times leaving it for a magic fairy to take care of the mess while we sleep.

The truth is, a chaotic desk isn’t always a personal failing—it’s often a sign that the space itself isn’t pulling its weight. Old-school offices were built with purpose: drawers where drawers belonged, surfaces that encouraged order, and layouts that made sense before “winging it” became a design philosophy. That’s where an office fit specialist earns their keep, stepping in with a sharp eye and a practical mindset to turn daily disorder into something far more manageable.

With the right planning and a thoughtful office fit out essex project, clutter stops being a constant battle and starts becoming an occasional skirmish you can actually win. Smart storage, sensible layouts, and furniture that knows its job can make even the busiest workday feel a little more civilized. No magic fairy required—just a well-fitted office that respects how people have always worked best.

It’s a new year, why not start with a clean slate and make it less cluttered year than the last.  While organizing your home office might seem daunting after 12 months of neglect, there are some quick and easy things you can do to get you started.

Start with a clean slate

If you are like most people, there are likely several piles of paper on your desk, perhaps so many that you can’t even see the desk. The first thing you should do is clear off the clutter from your desk. Take off all paper, desk supplies, etc., leaving only your computer and the phone on the desk.  Better yet, go paperless by using a cloud service like Google Drive or Evernote.

Get (or start using) a filing cabinet

If you don’t have a filing cabinet, invest in one with several drawers so you have plenty of room and won’t have to cram papers in there. Use labels to identify each drawer, such as one for personal documents, one for finances and one for work documents.

Label file folders for your cabinet

Purchase some hanging file folders and use a label maker to identify the documents that are going to belong in said folder (it can also help to get different colored folders for certain drawers). By properly labeling each folder you know where to quickly store and access any document in your house when you need it.

Throw out the clutter

As you sort through the papers that were on your desk and begin to allocate them into their new home in your filing cabinet, be sure to toss out things that you don’t need. Junk mail, old newspapers, outdated statements, etc. However, remember that you should shred any personal or professional documents before throwing them out.  If you feel you may need any old documents in the future, make a digital copy of them with a service like Evernote before shredding them.

Get a desktop calendar

While some people prefer to use their phone or tablet for their daily tracking, having a desktop calendar can also be a great help. Remembering important dates and deadlines that come up can be easy when you have a great big reminder on the desk in front of you. It’s also a great way to get rid of some of those reminder post-it notes that can gather around your PC or laptop.

Figure out the cable situation

A massive jumble of cables in your home office isn’t just an eye-sore, it can also be a fire hazard. Be sure to remove electronic equipment when you are done using it, such as a radio, and for those cables that you need, use a zip tie to keep them neatly rolled together or grouped together.

Get a desk drawer organizer

By purchasing a container to keep your paperclips, staples, post-its and other desk supplies organized it makes finding them a cinch. If you don’t really want to splurge, you can always use ice cube trays to house those smaller items that are all over your desk.

Use a mail organizer

Many of us are guilty of getting mail and simply throwing it on our desk to cause further clutter. This year, use a desktop mail organizer to have a designated place for incoming mail, outgoing mail and even one for things requiring your attention.

Create a space in your office for personal items

We all have places in our office where we keep pictures of our kids, favorite pet or even just an inspirational message, which is great. However, you shouldn’t take up valuable workspace with these items. Instead choose a place in your office, such as a shelf or above your filing cabinet, where you can house these items safely out of your workspace.

Get your computer organized

While you are starting off the New Year fresh, don’t forget to get your computer organized as well. This means creating proper folders for documents, pictures, home videos and a separate area for all your work items. Be sure to back up all your files to a jump drive in case your computer crashes.  A service like Dropbox will automatically backup your files to the cloud for safe keeping.

And while you’re tidying up the digital clutter, it’s worth thinking about the hardware that keeps everything humming along. A sudden outage can undo all that careful organizing faster than you can say “where’d my desktop go?”

That’s why having a reliable backup power setup — often anchored by something like an apc rack pdu 9000 switched unit — gives your system a fighting chance when the lights flicker or the grid decides to take a nap. It’s the quiet guardian that keeps your machine stable long enough to save your work, shut things down properly, or simply avoid a mini heart attack.

Starting the year with order isn’t just about neat folders; it’s about protecting the tools you rely on every day, the same way folks used to keep a sturdy lock on the family desk drawer. A little preparation now saves a heap of frustration later.

Ok, so it looks like a lot of work, but if you dedicate a few hours this weekend you’ll be surprised to see it really doesn’t take very long.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, same with organizing your office, but it’s a good start!

Have questions about organizing your home office?  Feel free to contact me here.