Home Office Organization

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Organizing your home workspace - for business

Get the most out of your home office space, large or small, with the help of these tips and information.

If you're looking for a new business idea, Home Business Ideas Made Easy is for you.

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Getting Started with Organizing

So, you've started a business out of your home. You've carved out a workspace, whether it's a corner of the dining room or a spare bedroom. However large or small it is, the key to getting the most out of it is organization.

The most basic factor in organizing your workspace - or anything else - is that there is a system, and that you can trust the system. There is no one-size-fits-all system, because it has to fit what you're doing, and the way you work and think.

The first question is: what are you going to be doing there? Computer work, packing items to mail, making craft items? Messy work or clean? What needs to be stored? What equipment and table or bench space do you need to do your work? How many people will be working there?

Your Working Style

Once you know what needs to happen in the space and what physical items are needed to do the work, consider your personal style - are you an "Everything Out" or "Everything Away" person?

An "Everything Out" person likes to have all the projects they are working on out where they can see them, and often works on lots of things in turn. They worry that if something is out of sight it will be forgotten. Useful tools for this style are labeled trays for projects, clear drawers or boxes, bulletin boards, and open shelves.

An "Everything Away" person likes to have everything except the current project put away out of sight, and often prefers to focus on one thing at a time. Lots of stuff "out" feels stressful. If this is you, concentrate on closed storage -drawers and filing cabinets, cupboards with doors, a desk organizer to corral small items, decorative storage boxes on shelves.

Taming the paper monster

A major office-organizing bugbear is paper. Many people are "pilers" rather than "filers" - and the piles can get mountainous! Have a system for what happens to paper as it's incoming (garbage and recycling bins): waiting to be dealt with (an inbox): part of a project (project files or trays): reference material (files or binders): to be archived (boxes in the attic). Even an "Everything Out" person works better if only useful stuff is "out", and clutter is put away.

Lastly, include something beautiful or inspiring. You'll be spending a good deal of time here, so make it a space you want to be in!

If you're looking for a new business idea, Home Business Ideas Made Easy is for you.

For more information about home business, especially business and marketing ideas, visit Business Ideas at Home.