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Amber’s Home and Office Organizing Blog index

Taking the Mystery Out of Maintenance

How to Maintain Organization in Your Home Office

Why does it seem that just after you’ve gotten the office back under control, it falls apart so quickly? Surfaces accumulate paper again and the messy office cycle starts all over again. Of all the areas of the home I think an office or paper station/mail hub tends to relapse to disorganization the fastest. During a recent organizing appointment my client and I started discussing the simple question- Why? Why does it go right back to chaos? 

Our conversation got me thinking. After organizing countless offices during the last six years, I’ve concluded that the following five tasks must take precendence in order to maintain the organization.  I organize offices with many clients and we set up genuinely good systems but once I’m gone these steps are essential in keeping the order in place. 

1. File paper away. If you add to a file pile (to file later on) or if you leave paper lying around that needs to be filed away, start filing it regularly.

2. Shred. If you add to a shredding pile or again if you leave paper lying around that should be shredding, hop to it. I shred each and every day. Whatever comes in the mail that should be shredded I take the 15-30 seconds and shred. I prefer not to let it pile up because shredding for 30-60 minutes at a time doesn’t sound like fun to me. 

3.  Do your To Do pile. Many people have action files, to do piles, urgent/red hot folders. Start checking that file or pile each day and accomplish some of those tasks. I check my “to do” pile several times a day to remind myself what I have to do and I decide what takes precendence above other tasks. 

4. Clean out your briefcase. Take a quick glance at the end of each day or the end of each week to prevent lugging around paper or notebooks and books that your won’t need to access while away from the office. Your back and neck will that you, when there’s less weight.  

5. Clear off your Desk. Set your computer buzzer or your phone dinger to go off at the end of each day to remind you to clear off you desk. It’s things as simple as putting pencils back in the pencil cup, putting your coffee mug back in the kitchen, filing a stray paper away, clipping project papers together, throwing away old post its holding old messages, etc. 

The frequency you do these is up to you. I perform all of these daily in order to maintain my office. Filing is the only task I decided I’d do once a month. How will you change your office patterns? Which one of these new ideas has inspired you? 

 

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