My top ten home office organizing tips

Bet you didn’t know that March 10th was Home Office Organizing Day!  Just about everyone needs a little help organizing their home office, so here are my top ten tips to help you get that important part of your home functioning at full speed.

• Create a landing zone for all mail and other paper that comes into your home, and get rid of junk mail before it even has a chance to make it to your home office. Keep a recycling bin right there to make it as easy as possible.
• Take a hard look at the rest of the paper you have coming in and decide what is really worthy of your attention – use the ART system for deciding what to do with your paper – Action, Reference, Toss.
• Unsubscribe from magazines, catalogs and junk mail using the app PaperKarma or by going to http://www.optoutprescreen.com.
• Sort your Action items on top of your desk in a desktop file holder. Use basic filing categories like To Pay, To Call, To Do, Calendar and most importantly, check them at least once a week.
• Put an attractive recycling bin and shredder right under or next to your desk to get rid of unneeded/unwanted paper on a regular basis.
• Prune your files at least once a year – shred old credit card statements, health care reimbursement statements, personal bank statements and the like after one or two years if you still get them in paper. If you get them online, they are usually avaiable for a year or more. Check out this article at Bankrate.com for some specific guidance on financial records retention.
• Keep all your vital documents (birth certificates, marriage license, etc.) in one place – preferably a fire proof safe in your house or in a safe deposit box. Scan the originals and keep them in a secure cloud-based storage system like SafelyFiled.
• Keep things uncluttered by storing your office supplies in attractive bins or containers, or in desk drawers with shallow organizers for different items. Store like items with like and be realistic about how many desk or office supplies you actually need – don’t buy Costco-sized containers of things if you are just shopping for one or two!
• Use a label maker to label the outsides of bins or drawers so you can easily identify the contents.
• Use your wall space for organizing – put up a beautiful linen pin board to hold your invitations, favorite postcards, photos, or notes. Or for a more modern look, check out the new Urbio magnetic modular system from the Container Store which can organize everything from office supplies to cables and cords.

What part of your home office needs the most organizing? Let me know –  I’d love to help you come up with a solution!