It’s the beginning of a new year; time to get off to a fresh start. One way you can get off to a great start is to get your home office organized. You may need to get rid of old papers or you might need a better filing system. You might want a mail station to organize your mail. You might even want to dedicate a whole binder to certain subjects. It might also be time to update your office décor. Here are some ideas to help you get well on your way to an organized office for the New Year.
Paper Purging and Color-Coded Filing
It is so incredibly easy for paper to pile up and get out of control in your office. You need to get a handle on the paper before it takes over your office space. Go over each of your papers and decide which of three piles it needs to go in: shred it, file it, or take action. The pile designated for filing can be put away in a color-coded file system. For example, you can use a different color folder for each category: red for personal papers, green for bank statements, yellow for medical papers, orange for insurance papers, and blue for house papers.
Dedicated Mail Station
Mail comes in every singe day. To keep it from getting out of control, why not designate a spot for a mail station? Create a folder or file tray for incoming and outgoing mail, mail that needs to be filed, and bills to be paid. Put the mail in the folder or tray it belongs to when it comes in and then take time out during the week and get it into the filing system.
A Station for Printing
If you have a home office, then you probably need to print on a daily basis. The best thing you can do for this is have a dedicated place for your printer, or a printing station. A wireless printer is ideal because it won’t have to be stored on your desk next to your computer. You can put it on a shelf in another part of your office and use the other shelves to store paper and ink cartridges. Then you will have more workspace on your desk.
Storage Space
Much like the printing station, you need a place to store your other office supplies. If there are more shelves at your printing station, you can use those. Otherwise, you will need to have another shelf or cabinet for storage of your office supplies. You can use baskets on your shelves and label them for each item you need to store such as staples, ink pens, paperclips, post-it notes, or whatever else you may need.
Get Yourself a Good Label Maker
To help keep your office neat and tidy, you should invest in a good label maker. You can use it to label your files and your storage bins or baskets. This way, whenever you need something you will know where it is at all times.
Organize With Binders
If there are papers you will need to reference frequently, and a file folder in the drawer isn’t going to cut it, you can organize those certain papers in a binder. Just label the binder with whatever subject it pertains to and use a three-hole punch to punch holes in the papers and store them in your designated binder. It’s a great way to keep your frequently referenced papers close at hand.
Use Your Wall Space
A lot of people don’t think of their walls as storage solutions. You can hang a calendar, a dry-erase board, or a shelf for storage items. When you go vertical, you will have so much more space available in other areas.
Office Décor
If your office is in need of a makeover, you’ve come to the right place. At Garage Décor and More, we offer a variety of office and storage solutions to fit your needs. Give us a call for a free consultation.
Having a clean and organized office will keep your stress to a minimum and your life organized.
CONTACT Garage Décor and More today for expert organizing advice and customized storage solutions for your home office. 618-789-7969