How to organise a home office - Free Tips

Thank you for visiting the Paperwork Genie website. The free tips below will provide you with home office help to conquer those piles of paper once and for all, step by step, page by page.

Step One:

Gather all the piles of paper on your desk or workspace and perform a general sort and purge. Do not read all the paperwork: just get rid of newspapers, empty envelopes, old catalogues, magazines, etc.

Step Two:

Start dealing with the remaining genuine paperwork you have from this process. No matter how much of a backlog you have, begin by devising a sorting system.

Step Three:

Handle each paper ONCE! Read the paper and decide immediately what to do with it.

Step Four:

Act on your decision - sign it, post it, fax it, forward it, file it or trash it - but don't put it onto a pile. If you do, you will have to read it again and deal with it again!

Step Five:

Take control of your time - Do not get distracted from your task. If you think of something else you need to do, write it down on a 'To Do' list or a master list in your desk diary. Lists are effective tools for home office organising and accomplishing tasks. Do not rely on your memory.

Step Six:

Once you have cleared your visible paperwork in a systematic way, start on the older piles of paper that are filed away in cabinets or cupboards and process each piece of paper through your newly devised system.

Step Seven:

Take the time to purge all unnecessary paperwork and other materials BEFORE you consider purchasing extra storage. At this stage cardboard boxes will do the job.

Paperwork that you are keeping is either Active or archived for Reference.

Active paperwork will need to be in an easy to access location, such as:

Bills to pay - need to be clipped together in 'payment date' order
Outgoing mail - belongs in your purse or on your car seat for the next time you leave the house
'To do' list - should be written in your desk diary
Papers for other family members to sign and/or return need to be put in a location that is 'in their face'.

Reference paperwork (for example, last year's tax return records) can be stored away from your desk in an archival container that can be stored in another room or the garage, but the container needs to be labelled. Once the established 'shelf life' for a paperwork or container is reached, trash it or shred it because it is no longer relevant.

Step Eight:

Once you have conquered ALL the piles of paper, consider your storage solutions. During your home office organising, all the sorting and purging may have created space in your home office especially if you moved your archival paperwork to another location in the house.

Step Nine:

De-clutter your desktop of everything else that remains. Completely empty the work area and clean it. Now empty the drawers that are filled with office accessories. Only return necessary and functioning items. Use a drawer organiser for pens, highlighters, paperclips, etc. to keep them sorted for quick retrieval.

Step Ten:

Treat yourself to some home office help by putting things away each day. Do not create new piles of paper! You deserve a workspace that is comfortable, practical and well equipped for performing your paperwork tasks, so continue to keep your desk clean and ready for productive work. Only keep the items that relate to your current projects on your desk.

Step Eleven:

Sort the mail daily and immediately throw away what you do not need. Write down what you need to do and group similar tasks on your 'To Do' list, enabling you to be time efficient.

Step Twelve:

Congratulate yourself on your organising successes!

Consider if you are organised...

If you can...

locate everything you need, when you need it and
get everything done by the due date

...Then you are organised!!!!

If you have any questions or comments or would like to set up an appointment time, please click this link Contact Paperwork Genie. Fill in the form and press the Submit button.

Paperwork genie uses Howards Storage World for home office organising solutions

Paperwork Genie uses Officeworks for home office paperwork supplies