It’s no surprise that the workplace has experienced drastic shifts as more and more people choose to work from home. Makeshift desks and temporary workspaces have turned into more permanent home offices and needs have shifted away from short-term, quick accessibility to ongoing efficiency.

But having an established home office is just one part. How you organize that space can be key to how well you work at home – and how much you enjoy it. Although organizing your space may sound simple, it can quickly become daunting and be pushed off to a later date.

  1. Make a Plan – Before you begin any home project, it is important to start with a plan that helps you accomplish the goals you set out to achieve. Do you have enough space to perform the work that you need to do from home? Do you have ample storage for the items that you need to use while there? Do you transport a lot of materials back and forth between another office and your home office? Understanding what you need the space to do for you is the first step to creating an organized home office.
  2. Eliminate the Clutter – As more work is brought home, more work-related clutter begins to build up. Ask yourself what physical pieces you need to keep in your home office and what can be brought back to work or discarded entirely. With a lot of work being done electronically, the needs for extra paper and supplies should be minimal. Eliminate any clutter from your home office space that you can and identify the items that can be used digitally.
  3. Find a System that Works for You – Next, identify the best system for storing any items that need to remain in the space. Grouping like items together such as papers, office supplies, and other materials can be a good place to start. From there, you can organize by type, size, or color to achieve maximum results. Many on-trend systems such as The Home Edit or Marie Kondo have great tips and processes to follow to help people create and stick to an organization system that best suits their needs.
  4. Start Small & Build from There – Organizing any room in your home, particularly a workspace or office, often gets messier before it gets better. Start with small, simple steps and work through them one at time vs. trying to tackle the entire project at once. Starting small and creating something that is easy to maintain is more important than overhauling your entire space just for it to become a mess a week later. Implement simple changes in how you keep the space tidy and organized each week to find what sticks and then tackle the areas that frequently bog you down one by one.
  5. Use Custom Storage Solutions – Using custom storage solutions can be a great way to organize your work supplies and keep your office clean. Today’s systems are more than just shelves and drawers and can go a long way in giving every item you need in your home office a spot to live, eliminating messes and headaches over finding things – all of which can get in the way of how you work and how well you perform your job at home.
  6. Refine Your Workspace Overtime – Organizing your home office isn’t something you do in a day and forget to revisit. Continue to refine your space and reorganize materials as needed to tackle the areas that get in the way of doing your best work.
  7. Know When to Call in the Pros – Does tackling your home office organization still sound overwhelming? The good news is there are experts that can help you organize your space, find custom storage solutions, or even build your dream home office – and sometimes that can be a simpler path than trying to do it yourself. Working with a professional doesn’t have to be intimidating or even expensive. Viewing the options available and understanding what works best for your needs and home can be a great place to start.