If you’re a full-time remote worker or on a hybrid schedule, you likely spend a lot of time — up to 40 hours a week, in fact — in your home office. Unlike the rest of your home, where comfort is key, this space needs to prioritize productivity and professionalism. To do so, it needs to be organized, and using these 10 home office organization ideas and storage tips, it can be.
The Importance of Home Office Organization
The state of your workspace can significantly affect your ability to focus, your productivity, and your stress level, and that’s especially true if you work from home full-time. Left alone, a messy and unorganized space can start to impact your overall job performance. On the other hand, working in a clean and well-organized space offers several benefits over time:
- Improved concentration. A cluttered desk is a distraction for many, and constantly moving things around or searching for items affects your ability to concentrate on your work fully. Organizing your desk and home office can help you focus on the tasks at hand.
- Increased productivity. Constantly working around clutter can also impede your productivity. You’ll struggle to locate important documents, to find the pen you just put down, and to stay focused. When every item has a designated place, you’re guaranteed to waste less time and easily switch between projects or tasks.
- Reduced stress. Stress is inevitable when you work in a chaotic space. If you’re already stressed about an upcoming project, working in a messy home office can make you feel even more overwhelmed. Having an organized space will help you stay focused and efficient, ensuring you’re getting work done on time.
Take These Steps Before You Start Organizing Your Home Office
While you may feel empowered to start organizing your home office right away, take these three steps to ensure you start on the right foot:
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Assess how you use your space.
Do you print a lot of documents? Do you take handwritten notes? Do you wear a headset when participating in virtual meetings or taking calls? Do you manage your time using a physical calendar? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you likely have a variety of items that you use throughout your workday cluttering your space. It’s important to sort through them before buying any organization tools or storage items. -
Group similar items together.
Group together books, paper documents, office supplies, and more into separate piles. This makes it easier to put things away when you’re ready and can help you organize your desk in a way that makes sense for your day-to-day — for example, if you’re a handwritten note taker, you can keep pens and your notebook on your desktop within reach. -
Throw unnecessary items in the trash.
As you’re sorting through items to group together, throw away anything that isn’t necessary for your job or doesn’t work anymore. This includes outdated files, finished to-do lists, and empty pens.
Simple Home Office Organization Ideas and Storage Tips for Any Size Room
When those three steps are completed, you’re ready to start implementing new organizational systems and storage tools to bring order to chaos in your home office. Consider using these 10 home office organization ideas and storage tips for offices both big and small:
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Sort office supplies into a desktop organizer.
Desktop organizers are designed to help you keep common office supplies like pens, markers, paper clips, sticky notes, and smaller, miscellaneous items all in one place. Instead of being scattered around your desk, the items you need daily are always accessible with backups, if necessary. -
Keep important paper documents in a file organizer.
If you’ve ever sorted through an endless stack of unrelated files trying to find the one you need, you know firsthand that it’s a frustrating experience. File organizers or paper sorters can help you keep active files, mail, memos, and reports organized. They can also be labeled so you can sort related files into groups, making it easier (and faster) to find them when they’re needed. -
Don’t forget to use drawer inserts, too.
If you have more office supplies and files than can reasonably fit on your desktop — or have some you want to keep hidden — you’ll likely store them in a desk drawer. To prevent your drawers from becoming cluttered and disorganized, invest in drawer organizers or inserts. These handy tools function the same way desktop and file organizers do, giving you a segmented space to store all your extra items. -
Opt for desks with closed cabinets.
No matter how organized your space is, constantly seeing an endless amount of office supplies and paper can feel overwhelming. To keep your home office looking its best and to prevent your desk from becoming an eyesore, opt for desks with closed drawers and closed cabinets. -
Keep items you only need occasionally in rolling carts.
Rolling carts are a great way to keep books, files, folders, and other items that you only need occasionally organized and within reach. Rolling carts often have three to five storage bins, offering you lots of extra space, and can be moved around as needed. -
Elevate your desk monitor.
Desk monitor stands are primarily designed to help your posture by putting your monitor at eye level, but they’re also a great organizational tool. Some stands come with built-in drawers to be used in place of file and desktop organizers, while others provide you with extra space to tuck your keyboard, mouse, and notebook away at the end of a long workday. -
Use open shelves for décor that doesn’t fit on your desk.
While decluttering your desk is important, you still want your home office space to look good and feel like it’s lived in. If you have plants, knickknacks, and other decorative items you’d like to display in your office, consider installing open shelving above your desk for a ton more space to show off your decor. -
Illuminate your space with floor lamps.
Desk lamps are staples in most home offices, but they take up unnecessary room on an already limited working space. To free up space for organization tools like paper sorters or desktop organizers, swap out your desk lamp for a floor lamp. -
Adopt the “one in, one out” rule.
To keep your office from becoming cluttered again, the “one in, one out” rule can help: every time a new item comes into your home, a similar item must leave. When you buy a new notebook after running out of space in your old one or a new calendar for a new year, throw out the previous item (unless you truly need it). -
Consider installing a vertical organization system on your office wall.
On-the-wall organization systems like Trusscore SlatWall or alternatives like MDF pegboard are a great way to maximize your storage space beyond your desk and on-the-ground cabinets. These systems can be accessorized with hooks, holders, baskets, and shelves that snap or are pushed into place.
If your home office is particularly small, you may have to get more creative with your storage solutions. Check out these 10 storage ideas for small spaces to help you put your thinking cap on.
Top Office Wall Organization Ideas and Accessories
Trusscore SlatWall can be installed as a track, section, half wall, or full wall to meet your unique storage and design needs. If you’re installing it in your home office (or in any other room in your home that needs some extra organization), Trusscore offers a range of compatible accessories that snap into place and can be re-arranged as needed, including:
- Hooks. Trusscore offers a range of hooks to hang items from the wall, including single and double hooks. For example, if you work in a creative job, you likely have a pair of scissors nearby that can be hung from the wall for easy access. Hooks can also be multi-purpose: a Trusscore bike hook is a great way to display your over-ear headphones when you’re not using them.
- Baskets. You can store miscellaneous cables, disinfectant wipes for your desk, books, and more in an 18” wire basket.
- Shelves. The 24” shelf is the perfect place to display plants, pictures, awards, and other decorative items. Since SlatWall offers high-strength storage and can support up to 75 pounds per square foot, you don’t have to worry about how many items you put on it.
Trusscore SlatWall has a non-proprietary design, which means it works with any standard 3” slatwall accessories on the market, including options from HandiSOLUTIONS, Econoco, MasterCraft, and Uline. This gives you even more flexibility to mix and match accessories to meet your specific storage needs.
