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Working from home allows you to customize and build your workspace, but it can also lead to a cluttered mess that’s easier to put off. Your office could be your kitchen, bedroom, or an unused space in the basement you converted. Regardless of where you work in your home, things pile up easily often without you noticing. Plus, personal items and decor can take up more space in your workspace than you anticipated. In this blog, we provide tips to declutter your workspace and keep it organized.
Tip 1: Decide What Items are Necessary
Separate your workspace into sections. Your desk, filing cabinet, and decorative shelves are their own sections. Take a top-down approach to each section, picking up items and determining how often you use them. Categorize items into keeping, discarding, storing, and donation piles. Also determine if items are more appropriate for personal rather than work use. Prioritizing items that are necessary creates a clean workspace.
Tip 2: Create a System to Sort Supplies and Files
Find the best place to display your kept and stored items - again, going section by section. It’s also worth investing in desk organizers, drawer dividers, and additional shelves for an organized workspace. You can organize your writing utensils, papers, and other supplies in creative ways based on their type, what you use them for, their color, etc. You know your workspace best, so create and stick to a system that makes sense to you. Also, don’t forget to order your files by date, type, and category.
Tip 3: Remember the Digital Workspace
Organize digital files similarly to physical files. Don’t underestimate this step. You never know when you’ll be asked to find a document or report by a client or leadership. A good habit is to create folders for client work, meeting notes, paystubs, and other content - so you can easily save digital files into their appropriate folders at the moment. Also, examine your desktop for digital items, such as images and spreadsheets, that missed being added to your company’s digital workspace (for instance, Google Drive). Repeat this process for project, content, and other types of management software where applicable.
Tip 4: Balance Personalization with Minimalism
Limit personal items to include only the most sentimental. While it’s nice to customize and have memorable items to look at every day, it can cause clutter. Prioritize and keep your favorites where you can see them while being away from work-related items. Scale the amount of personal items by the size of your desk and shelves. Minimalism is often the best approach.
Tip 5: Disinfect and Dust Your Workspace
Lastly, a decluttered and organized workspace is not complete without disinfecting. While you still have items arranged into piles, clean your surfaces with a non-harsh multipurpose cleaner. Avoid those with strong chemicals like bleach as it can be dangerous for your lungs with long-term exposure and damaging to wood and granite. Don’t forget the floor. It’s shocking how much dust, pet hair, and small items get lost behind and under desks, filing cabinets, chairs, and couches. Once everything has been sprayed and wiped down, ventilate your workspace by opening doors and windows. Consider an air freshener, candle, or humidifier for added freshness to keep your workspace smelling clean and your sinuses clear during this spring allergy season.
Conclusion
Working from home can make decluttering and organization an ongoing challenge, especially if your workspace and personal space are not clearly defined. If you currently work from home, you know how easy it is to let things pile up, negatively impacting your well-being. As work from home experts, we provided five tips for decluttering your workspace and keeping it organized in this blog. It all starts by evaluating each item as necessary, work, personal, or for donation / disposal.
Next, creating a system of organization helps you stay decluttered and organized for the long-term. The same applies for your digital workspace, such as file and task management. Then set the perfect balance for personal items in key areas of your workspace. Finally, wipe away dust and dirt to truly give your workspace a clean look, feel, and smell. Nothing beats a neat workspace.
We hope our blog helps you get started on decluttering and organization. Don’t forget to tell a friend by sharing this blog on social media.