tips on how to organize a home office 5 simple tips

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Tips on How To Organize A Home Office: 5 Simple Tips When you know how to organize a home office, you can save a 100 hours a year in driving time alone. You're also the one who gets to set your work schedule, client base, particular office style and decor. But if your office is a bit of a mess, surveys show that the clutter will take the 100 hours back fast, and maybe a lot of your production and peace of mind, too. Tangled wires, piles of papers, loose pens and lost scissors can all add up to a workplace under considerable stress. Even if you think you can keep track of all the scattered items, surveys show that it takes a lot of wasted brain power to keep track of where everything is. The loss robs your creativity and production. Thankfully, it's not difficult to set up and organize an office in your house. Here are a few practical ideas for setting up a space that is easy to maintain. 1. Home Office Nibblers When you are busy figuring out how to organize your space watch out for the beloved nibblers who may consume your time, concentration and production. Put family members on alert that this is solely an office and not a combination office-den-playroom. Otherwise, if your office should double as a space for other things, you will have a much harder time keeping the clutter at bay. Somehow, and I speak from experience, alert your spouse and friends that though you work at home, you're not home from work,

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Page 1: Tips on How to Organize a Home Office 5 Simple Tips

Tips on How To Organize A Home Office: 5 Simple Tips

When you know how to organize a home office, you can save a 100 hours a year in driving time alone. You're also the one who gets to set your work schedule, client base, particular office style and decor. But if your office is a bit of a mess, surveys show that the clutter will take the 100 hours back fast, and maybe a lot of your production and peace of mind, too. Tangled wires, piles of papers, loose pens and lost scissors can all add up to a workplace under considerable stress.

Even if you think you can keep track of all the scattered items, surveys show that it takes a lot of wasted brain power to keep track of where everything is. The loss robs your creativity and production. Thankfully, it's not difficult to set up and organize an office in your house. Here are a few practical ideas for setting up a space that is easy to maintain.

1. Home Office Nibblers

When you are busy figuring out how to organize your space watch out for the beloved nibblers who may consume your time, concentration and production.

Put family members on alert that this is solely an office and not a combination office-den-playroom. Otherwise, if your office should double as a space for other things, you will have a much harder time keeping the clutter at bay.

Somehow, and I speak from experience, alert your spouse and friends that though you work at home, you're not home from work, i.e., free to socialize by telephone or fix bicycles, for example.

Put your telephone on 'message center' so that you can (a) concentrate without interruption and (b) time the calls you wish to return.

2. Waste Basket and Shredder

No matter what type of business you run, you need a waste management system. In some offices a larger receptacle and paper shredder will be required. Consider the type of work you do, will you have

Page 2: Tips on How to Organize a Home Office 5 Simple Tips

large volumes of paper? Do you print out sensitive customer information? If either of these is true, a shredder will cut down on paper clutter and provide an added safety measure.

3. An Organizer for Wires

The bane of all offices, home and otherwise, are the wires. Computers, telephones, printers, routers and other necessary pieces of equipment are generally all connected with a jungle of wires.

But until all products come without wires, it's up to us to manage the chaos!

Luckily, there's a variety of specially made cable managers and 'raceways' that will either roll up excess wiring or direct and hide the mess via a conduit. They're designed for under the desk, behind the desk and on top of the desk.

However, I've found that a few electrical ties normally work just as well!

4. Furniture and Equipment Arrangement

As a general rule, arrange furniture and equipment along the walls to keep the middle of the office clear so that (a) there's always a positive feeling of space and (b) so that your visitors won't have to walk around the furniture or even bump into it!

The exception to the rule is that equipment that you regularly use such as your printer or computer, or file cabinet should be within comfortable range of you and your desk. After all, that's where you spend most of your time.

5. Shelving for Storage

Page 3: Tips on How to Organize a Home Office 5 Simple Tips

"Show me how to position shelving for storage" is one of the top 4 requests professional consultants regularly hear. If you're looking for space and convenience, adding shelving to a closet or above a desk is a winning solution.

A desk with shelves stacked on a wall above it saves space, helps keep the work area below organized and keep things you're working on hand. It should store the things you're currently working on and need: for example, a few books, magazines, project files, CD's and sticky notes.

Some take the closet door off for convenience and stack shelving from floor to ceiling to create storage space for supplies. This is a great strategy for smaller offices, say 11 x 15. If you need more space for books, you can set aside a portion of the closet shelving.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to organize a home office saves a lot of time and increases your creativity and production. These are a few basic ideas and tips that will help you disentangle your space and enjoy your work.

Sherry Borsheim is the founder of Simply Productive. She’s also the creator of Calm Your Office Chaos and Calm Your Home Chaos online programs and her strategies have transformed offices, homes and lives around the globe. If you want to know more tips on how to organize office space visit http://www.simplyproductive.com today.