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Last updated on November 20th, 2023 at 10:27 am
When we first moved into our house, my home office became the dumping ground for all the random things in the house. Unfortunately, this happens in a lot of home offices. One of the top spaces I’m asked to help declutter and organize is a home office.
With so many people transitioning to work-from-home, I’ve been seeing more and more requests from clients and subscribers about home office organization. I understand the need for an organized, inspiring office space since I’ve been working from home for 7 years.
A couple of years ago, I redesigned my home office space. In doing so, I had to create a detailed plan and budget, the same as I do for my clients!
I’ve broken it down into an easy, 5-step process to declutter and organize your home office.
Note: I use the same framework every time I declutter and organize. While each space is different, the method stays the same.
Step 01. Set goals
Before starting any decluttering or organizing, gather some ideas for what you want the space to look like. (I like to use Pinterest.) Having a clear idea of what you want the space to look like will help you declutter and organize.
If you need/want to invest in organizing products, make a list of items you need to get with their prices to create a budget. If it’s not in the budget right now, create a savings plan for it (this is where I like to use EveryDollar).
Step 02. Inventory
Next, decide the purpose of your home office by taking inventory of what needs to be stored in it. For example:
- Paper hub storage
- Office supply storage
- Work supplies
- Craft supply storage
- Books
- Extra decor storage
- Gift wrap station
- Photo storage
You don’t have to store all of these items in your home office. You can move them out if it makes sense to store them elsewhere.
Step 03: Divide
Now that you have the big picture, divide your home office into smaller areas. This makes the project more doable because you’re only working on a small area at a time, enabling you to focus on that one thing.
For example, you can split it up by:
- Desktop
- Desk drawers
- Corners of the room
- Left shelf of the closet
- Left lower of the closet
- Etc
Step 04. Declutter!
Now that your office is broken into smaller areas, choose an area and start decluttering! (Remember, it always looks worse before it gets better with this step.)
Use this post, “The Simple Step-by-Step Framework to Declutter Any Room in Your Home,” to declutter each area of your home office.
For a list of items to purge from your office, use this post, “25 Things You Shouldn’t Have In Your Home Office.”
To declutter papers, which may be the bulk of your home office decluttering, browse the posts under the “paper organizing” tag and download the FREE Paper Organizing Cheatsheet.
Step 05. Organize and arrange your home office
Now for the fun part! Use what you planned from step 01 to pull your home office together. If you’re on a budget and saving for organizing products, use any boxes, trays, etc to keep your office organized in the interim.
Those are your 5 easy steps to declutter and organize your home office. This is a basic outline you can use to get started.
Does creating a plan to declutter and organize your home office seem overwhelming? Check out the done-for-you Home Organizing Action Plans here >>>
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