Organize Your 2021 // Organize Your Home Office!
Organize Your 2021 // Organize Your Home Office!

Organize Your 2021 // Organize Your Home Office!

1.20.2021

Happy Wednesday and welcome to week four of our January Organization mini blog series! If you have been following along with me, you know that we have already gone through the organization process for your bedroom and kitchen! I even wrote a blog about kickstarting your organization journey for 2021. If you have missed any of these articles, you can find them on my blog page Christina’s Corner, or at the links above. 

This week’s blog is going to focus on the one area of the house that many of us never expected to need before 2020: The Home Office.

Work - Life Balance 

Even if you worked from home before you were forced to, the home office is a tricky thing to organize. We never want to bring work home with us if we can help it, but if your office is in your home, separating the two can be a very difficult process. Like I have mentioned in my previous blogs in this series, every room has a function and in order to keep the space best organized for your needs, you need to understand how that space functions for you. 

An organized space impacts the purpose of the room tremendously, and in this instance, an organized office leads to more productivity and less stress. It will also aid you in keeping your work separate from the rest of your life. 

Your Desk is a Blank Canvas

A clean desk is the key to a productive work environment. If you walk into your office and your desk is full of papers and clutter, your mind will begin to think of the clutter instead of your work. If possible, get a desk with drawer space in it. This way all of your desk supplies can be neatly tucked away.

Try to keep your desk space as open as possible so you can use what you need for the day (ex - laptop and notebook), but if there are a few items you use all the time such as paper clips or tape, it's ok to keep that on the desk. Every organizing project is going to be specific to your needs, personality, and life but for the most part the desk should be open. Think of it as a blank canvas every day as you begin your work day! 

Keep the Inside of Your Desk Organized

I like to keep the focus of the desk on the supplies that I use every day.

Everything else I suggest that you organize in a different spot then the desk such as a bookcase, cabinet, or closet in the office. 

The most important item to add to your home office is a drawer organizer. It is amazing how quickly that desk drawer transforms from a cluttered disaster to organized bliss! You can find a desk drawer organizer in any local home store or online. They create a home and system for items like: 

  • paper clips 
  • stapler
  • tape 
  • notepads
  • white out 
  • stamps 

My Favorite Office Products

As an organizer, there are just some tools that I feel work best in different areas of the house. My favorite office organizational products are easy to source and will help you maintain an uncluttered space. 

Magazine organizers are one of my favorite organizing tools for the office. These literally help you organize everything! Although they are designed to organize magazines, they are great for storing:

  • folders 
  • binders 
  • books 
  • planners 
  • files 

Magazine Organizers neatly keep everything standing tall, neat and filed. All you will see from your vantage point is the beautiful decorative side.

Another great product I love for the office are paper drawer organizers. The pull out drawer is a nice feature in the office so you have easy access to items you might not need every day, but use frequently. I use paper drawer organizers for: 

  • tape 
  • electrical cords
  • photo paper
  • post its 
  • computer paper
  • stickers 
  • extra supplies like white out

No Office? No Problem

The world changed before our eyes and we went from working in office spaces one day to turning our homes into office spaces the next day. If you are reading this blog and you do not have a home office, do not worry! You might be working from your kitchen table right now and that is ok. Everyone is doing the best that they can, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have a full office if your home layout doesn’t allow for it. You can still stay organized! 

If you do not have a designated office space, be intentional about where you are working and having a portable, organized station. Some great ideas to create this are:

  • Use a backpack to transport all your action items you are using. Think of this as your mini travel office. Your backpack can hold your planner, notebook, pens, hard drive, and folders that you use consistently.

  • If there is a room you are consistently using, you don’t have to transform the room into an office, but create a small organized station for your work items. For example if the best place in the house is to work at the dining table for you, use one bin and keep that in the corner of the table or better yet, the corner of the room and keep all your items in there. Every time you enter the dining room, you have your bin of work things and you are ready to go! This is great too because it allows you to leave your items in the room and walk away when the day is finished. It is very important that you relax and rest your mind. When you are finished with that last email of the day you can put everything in the bin, including your laptop, and walk away knowing tomorrow you can start anew. 

Create a Mini Home School Space for Your Kids!

These days, the house is used as both a home office and school. So, I encourage you to use this opportunity to not only organize a home office space for you, but also for your child. Invite them to join the process of creating either a stationary school area, just like your home office, OR to create a portable school station just like your portable work station. This is a fun and creative way to enjoy this process together and teach your child all about decluttering and organizing!

Anytime that I have worked with children, they have loved helping me organize! I have found that they always enjoy the process and they find it easy to remember this 4-step organizing process:

1.) Empty out everything in their backpack and desk. 

2.) Create piles of categories 

3.) Declutter what they no longer use or need for school 

4.) Then I would create the structure and system for them (such as a drawer organizer) and ask them to put the category back in its new home. 

Remember to keep the organizing fun so that they are encouraged to keep it up!

Still Struggling to Keep Your Office Organized?

I Highly suggest that if you have the space in your office, that you investigate designing a custom closet system. These organization systems aren’t just for closets, you can create a wall of shelves and cabinets providing ample storage for all of your office supplies. The beauty of these systems is that they are affordable and versatile. If you want to design a system for your home, visit their website here

Keep It Going

As we keep going into this new world of working from home, don’t let the stress of the uncertain times keep you from being productive. If you can maintain your office organization system, you are more likely to maintain your productivity levels and be a successful employer or employee from home! Just remember to set boundaries for yourself and stop working when it’s time to clock out! 

Next week I will be talking about how to keep up your organized home all year long! Until then, organize your home office and let me know how it turns out! 

Also, don’t forget to follow Modular Closets on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!  Subscribe to Modular Closets on YouTube and visit www.modularclosets.com to design your closet! 

Happy Organizing

-Christina Giaquinto

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