CEO of Organized Jane and life-biz organizer passionate about helping leaders cut through the clutter to get their businesses organized.

We are all faced with clutter, and now as many of us work from home, we are faced directly with our clutter all day every day.

I would argue that physical, mental and digital clutter have taken over many of our lives. If the first thing you do every morning is check your phone, you’re likely waking up bombarded with cluttered inboxes and messages. And once you are out of bed, you might find yourself walking through what I call “clutter traps” — from the bathroom to the kitchen to your home office and laptop. And I have not even talked about the possible cluttered to-do tasks that you are faced with.

As an organization expert, I believe decluttering is important for business professionals today, especially when it comes to our mental well-being. To be clear, I don’t have a medical degree, but I’ve devoted the past 10 years to researching this topic to help my clients and me get motivated about decluttering in all aspects of our lives. According to The New York Times, clutter can negatively affect your mental well-being and cause feelings of stress. There is also a close connection between clutter and procrastination.

Personally, I know the peace and satisfaction I experience from being in a decluttered space, both physically and mentally. I also want you to think about your workspace and how the clutter makes you feel. Do you feel overwhelmed, stressed out or defeated by your surroundings?

I want to empathize with the idea of feeling defeated and overwhelmed by the amount of clutter that exists. When clutter exists, I believe your energy is affected physically, mentally and emotionally. With this in mind, I consider it especially important for leaders, entrepreneurs and employees to do a simple daily routine of decluttering.

Patience Is Still An Entrepreneurial Virtue

Artificial Intelligence (AI): What’s In Store For 2021?

The 3 Basics Of Startup Branding

Here are few quick tips to get you to start decluttering physically, mentally and digitally:

1. Improve focus to limit ‘mental clutter.’ Finding a way to eliminate distractions when you are working on priority tasks can help you declutter mentally. I use a time-tracking cube to do this. Especially in our digital world, I consider it extremely important to take steps to improve your focus. As soon as we open our phones and computers, we are bombarded, and distractions need to be eliminated if you want to focus on the work that is important.

Turn off all notifications during your working hours. Close unnecessary internet browsers, and move your phone to another room. Then set a timer and get to work. When setting a timer to help you stay on task, I suggest setting it for less time than you might think you need because you might be surprised by how quickly you can get things done when you’re focused.

2. Schedule decluttering daily. Take 10 minutes a day to declutter. Even if you start by spending some time tidying up your desk at the end of each day, you can begin going through the rest of your workspace or home. From my perspective, even if you spend a few seconds thinking about the clutter around you, that could affect your productivity.

And by making decluttering part of your daily routine, soon you will not even feel like you are decluttering; it will become a natural part of your day. Focusing on decluttering just a few minutes a day can also help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

3. Clean up your computer. I believe keeping a decluttered computer is more important than traditional filing cabinets, especially for professionals. Spend time setting up files to help you keep things organized on your computer. Ensure this sorting system is based on your needs. For example, you might set up client files, monthly files and project files, and then you can create subfiles from there.

This will take time, but as you’re moving files to their new folders, you can delete what you don’t need. Additionally, don’t save things you will never look at again. Digital decluttering can become be part of your 10-minute daily desk declutter.

4. Organize your digital photos. You might dread the thought of this, but from my perspective, it is not worth saving new photos if your old photos are not decluttered, especially if your business relies on this type of content.

If you cannot find the impactful photos you want to share with your audience, what is the point of even having them? My biggest advice to get started is to get an app to help you remove duplicates and blurry photos.

5. Go through your paper files. When going through paper clutter, keep only the essentials. Better yet, scan those paper files, and make them digital. Similar to what I’ve mentioned above, you need to be able to quickly find things as a business professional. I am a fan of going digital and then following the rules above for sorting.

6. Deal with physical clutter immediately. Manage what comes into your workspace and home, and deal with it before it becomes clutter. I consider this especially for people working from home right now and those of us who are relying on online shopping because both of these can bring in clutter. Shop intentionally, rather than randomly, and follow the steps above to help you prevent physical clutter.

7. Manage your inbox. Unsubscribe to emails daily. Create folders and familiarize yourself with your email inbox and organization tabs. Most importantly, I recommend only checking your email twice a day, and letting your customers and team know what times during the day you’ll be checking messages so an expectation is set.

As you can see, there are many steps you can — and should — take to help declutter your workspace, especially if you’re working from home right now. By keeping these tips in mind, you can help improve your mental well-being — and you might even see a boost in productivity.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Are there piles of papers and storage boxes visible in your office?

Do you feel proud when you look out across your workplace?

Do your employees take pride in their workplace?

What do customers see when they walk into your business?

Is clutter costing you customers?

Do customers and employees see shiny, fresh, and sleek that says, “We’re successful here and you want to join us!”
Or do they see tired, cluttered, and disorganized that says, “We’re inefficient and probably don’t have the highest quality standards.”
The way your workplace looks is a direct reflection of the quality of work and service delivery. It doesn’t matter whether customers see your workplace or only your employees. It’s a proven fact that when surrounded by a clean, aesthetically-pleasing environment, overall attitude and work quality increase.

Decluttering your workspace

Here’s a list of 13 Ways to Declutter Your Workplace. You can give this to your management team for dissemination to each employee. Schedule a cleaning day, or a cleaning hour, or a “cleaning 15 minutes each day” until everyone has worked their way through the list:

13 Ways to Declutter Your Workspace

Please complete by ________

1. Throw away anything that can be considered trash but that hasn’t made it to the trash can: old notes, food wrappers, paper coffee cups, papers from a completed project…
2. Attack those paper piles. If you haven’t already, set up a filing system by project, subject, or date. There’s no getting around it—look at each piece of paper and decide which file it goes into. Some people like to set up a smaller primary file in a nearby drawer or desktop file holder containing current projects and a larger secondary file in a separate drawer or file cabinet containing long term, don’t-have-to-access-it-daily-or-weekly files.
3. Organize your desk. Keep frequently used items on top like stapler, tape dispenser, pen and pencil holder, and notepad. Pput less frequently used items like paper clips, rubber bands, hand lotion, and scissors in the drawer.
4. Clean your electronics and organize them, including keyboards, chargers, phones, and calculators.
5. Organize messy, tangled cables and get them out of sight as much as possible.
6. Clear flat surfaces on desks, file cabinets, and countertops. Wipe them with a damp cloth. Reserve the space on flat surfaces to sparingly display tasteful décor items—a plant, statue, lamp, or nice pen set—or personal items like books, framed photos or awards.
7. Don’t hang too many notes, post-its, pics, charts, awards and photos. Sure it’s nice to hang children’s art work; putting them in frames makes them look so much neater.
8. Plants are great for décor but make sure they look fresh and healthy: wipe dust from the leaves, trim brown tips, remove dead foliage, and clean and shine the pot.
9. Hang up coats, jackets, purses, backpacks, and gym bag vs hanging them over the back of the chair.
10. Keep one drawer empty and use it to place all of today’s work in so that it’s ready to go the next morning.
11. Every time you add, take away. If you add new documents to the front of a file, pull out some old ones from the back. Add a book or binder to the shelf; take one away.
12. As on ongoing habit, put everything in its final resting place. Whether it be a filing cabinet, trash can, or cabinet in the storage room, handle papers only once.
13. At the end of each shift, stop working 2 minutes early to clean—throw paper cups away, clear flat surfaces, dust or polish a thing or two, trim the brown leaves from the plant, tidy the breakroom, or even toss a few old documents from a file.

As the business leader, provide your team with the resources they need to clean and declutter.

• Install hooks or coat racks for coats and backpacks.
• Provide team members with individual cleaning kits containing things like canned air keyboard spray, dust cloth or pre-moistened wipes, glass cleaner
• Consider a cleaning service, even it’s just monthly for the major cleaning and for the dirt you don’t notice accumulating over time.

As always, get your staff on board by involving them in the solution. Start by explaining WHY you want to do this, what the benefits are, and what’s in it for them. Then get their input.

Whether you’re trudging into the office each morning or you’re still working at home, that single stack of papers you planned to get rid of later may have started turning into the leaning tower of paperwork instead of the few pieces that started it all.

Isn’t it crazy how fast your office can go from seemingly organized to a cluttered mess? A week of focus and hard work can leave your office a total mess. With a proper organization system and a good decluttering, you can make your space a comfortable, functional, productivity powerhouse.

Why you should declutter

Clutter everywhere may not seem like a big deal at first, but it can take a significant toll on your productivity and mental well-being. Surprising? Well, being organized is more beneficial than just having a pretty workspace. Here’s why you should cut the clutter:

Messy offices are overwhelming. You might be surprised that a cluttered space doesn’t just change the aesthetics; it also affects your mindset. When working in a messy office, you may find it more difficult to concentrate or focus on your work. You’ll be easily distracted by the chaos you’re working in.

Increase your productivity. We are always trying to get more done with less time, but if you’re spending your time searching for important items, your productivity levels will take a hit. When everything has a spot, you’ll spend less time looking and more time focusing.

Get more space. If you feel like you’re trapped in an elevator while sitting at your desk, you have too much stuff. When you start organizing and clearing away the things you don’t need, you’ll take a deep breath and feel more relaxed with your open space.

Improved immunity. If you suffer from the clutter bug, your desk probably hasn’t been cleaned and disinfected for awhile. Did you know that germs from sick coworkers could be lingering on your desk? Clearing off your desk and giving it a good wipe down with disinfectant could help minimize your chances of getting sick.

Confidence boost. When you lack organization, you also have an increased chance of misplacing or losing things. Or worse, when a coworker needs a document for something they are working on, you may spend more time hunting for it than necessary. When you can easily produce documents or other items, you’ll be surprised how much it will boost your confidence. You’ll stop feeling like you’re struggling to get through the day.

Simple ways to declutter your office space

Now that you know the why and have jumped on board with getting your clutter under control, you might feel overwhelmed with actually getting started. We understand that feeling, but we promise organizing won’t be as bad as you think. That’s why we are sharing some simple tips to get your office organized:

Remove and recycle. The first big step to be clutter-free is to remove everything off of your desk. As you start to remove the items, toss the garbage and recycling items. Those old Post-It note reminders, the receipt for your lunch, a seminar pamphlet from a year ago, can all go into the recycling bin. Even though this step may seem like common sense, it’s easy to get distracted by the next phone call and forget to throw something simple away.

Wipe that desk down. After you remove all of your items, grab some disinfectant, and get cleaning. You’ll feel better knowing that all of the dust and lingering germs are a thing of the past. Don’t forget to clean your keyboard, mouse, and computer screen too.

Return what isn’t yours. Whether your coworker let you borrow a stapler or your pet left their favorite toy by your chair in your home office, it’s time to get rid of what isn’t yours. Create a pile of items to return, and give them back as soon as possible.

Give everything a home. To get your desk looking its best, all of your items will need a home. This means all of the items you leave sitting on top of your desk, the items in your drawers, to the paperwork in your filing cabinet. Use a variety of items like desk organizers, clear acrylic containers, hanging folders, bankers boxes, and more to make sure every item you keep has its own place.

Get digital. Odds are, the clutter that is taking over your desk is mostly paper items. Don’t let your filing cabinet reach its max, instead start scanning and converting some of that paper to digital. Gone are the days of the Filofax and using books to store business cards. Using apps like business card scanners, project management apps, Cloud storage, and more can help you get rid of physical objects and get you more room in your drawers and filing cabinets. But as you digitize, make sure you are setting up an organization system as you go.

Replace with purpose. When you start to put the items back on your desk and in your drawers, make sure you organize with purpose. Create a proper workflow by keeping the items you regularly use the easiest to access. For example, your notebook that you use every single day should be in the front of your drawer as opposed to the training guide you only touch when you need to look up a reference.

Take a picture. When it comes to our own clutter, we often have on blinders. How many times have you gone into another office, building, or store and noticed clutter that others seem to be unaware of? Well, even if you have never seen it, others have done that same thing with your space. Since you can’t just turn those blinders off, take a step back to your door and snap a few photos on your phone. The photos will give you a different perspective and help you spot your trouble spots.

Commit to regular decluttering. You’ve done great getting this far, but this isn’t where your journey ends. In fact, it is just the beginning. You’ve got a great thing going, and you can keep it that way. Clutter has a way of creeping in on you, and before you know it, you’ll be back to that trapped feeling if you don’t take action. Fight back by committing to decluttering either 5 minutes a day or an hour every week. We recommend you don’t leave your decluttering for Mondays, instead strive to have it done by Friday. Why? Because you want to start your week off fresh.

Working from home has become an everyday reality for many of us. The homeworking lifestyle can take some adjusting to and it’s important your home office is an environment where you can thrive. A cluttered workspace can hinder your productivity and the problem can be even more real if you’ve got limited space to begin with. With this in mind, we’ve come up with some home office ideas so you can declutter and get the best from your working from home setup.

1. Go vertical

A great way of maximising the space in any small home office is to think about what vertical options you have. These can range from hanging shelves above your desk or popping a bulletin board on the wall to display notes, reminders and other important actions or inspiration for the week ahead. Both of these options can allow you to clear important space on your desk for a clutter-free productive zone, whilst also giving you the opportunity to add personality to your space. This can include choosing decorative or fun post-it notes and pins for your bulletin board that complement your room or introducing some house plants to your shelf display.

2. Create a clutter drawer

Another great option where space is limited is to make the best use of storage. Designate up to one drawer in your room for your office odds and ends like cables, old notebooks, newspapers, stationary or any other items that don’t have an obvious home. Putting them in a drawer means they remain accessible, but don’t take up valuable space or take away from the aesthetic of your home office set-up by adding clutter when you’re working. And don’t worry, your ‘clutter’ doesn’t need to be cluttered! Pick up some drawer organisers and give items a designated section to ensure everything is kept in order!

3. Space-saving furniture

You don’t need a dedicated room in order to have your own office space at home. This is where space-saving furniture comes in – a savvy design choice which can support you when space is limited, or when multiple uses are needed. Selecting the right space-saving furniture for you is key, making sure it complements the style of your home, whilst providing you with the functionality you need, including storage. The right choice can make a world of difference in a small room and is definitely worth the investment.

Check out our Buzz Hive range of space-saving solutions. Both the ‘Office in a Box’ and ‘School in a Box’ solutions are fully customisable based on your style and come pre-assembled, enabling you to work all day then simply fold it away!

4. Less is more

Don’t ignore the old adage that less is more. Do you really need all the stuff you’ve accumulated? Or can you afford to re-home a few things? Decluttering guru Marie Kondo suggests you should ask if an item ‘sparks joy’ and although this might not be the case for all items of office stationery it is something you can apply to other furnishings and accessories in order to ensure your home office space is somewhere you want to spend your time.

Another consideration is if the item is doing the job you need it to do. Perhaps that old pair of scissors are no longer working so well, or there’s a pen that’s run out of ink sitting in your desk tidy? When it comes to decluttering, you need to focus on what is going to improve your space and productivity. Too much clutter can make things hard to find and can even increase your stress levels. You need to assess which items are giving you value and which ones are there for no real reason – then dedicate time to take action!

5. Make use of dead space

It’s possible you’ve got ‘dead space’ in your small home office. ‘Dead space’ refers to the little nooks and crannies between walls or pieces of furniture that you aren’t using to their full potential when working from home. These spaces are often overlooked when trying to get set-up quickly, but using them can really optimise the space you have available and make your space feel bigger. Solutions can include; putting open shelving in the corner of your room, fitting cupboards that go as high as you can reach or suspending storage from the ceiling.

At Buzz Home Office we’ve created the ‘Beespoke’ range, which offers a tailored approach to making the most of those nooks and crannies, so you can get the most out of your home. Explore the range for some inspiration.

We hope you’ve found some home office tips and inspiration in order to make your working from home lifestyle more productive and clutter-free. Check out our other blogs for more home office inspiration.

Related

5 Tips to Boost Your Productivity when Working from Home

The coronavirus epidemic has meant many of us have had to become accustomed to working from home. Instead of commuting to an office, you’re suddenly starting your working day in your own home by yourself (possibly in your pyjamas!) Finding the routine that’s best for your productivity can be a challenge, but we’ve got some tips lined up so you …

A Unique Alcove Office for Kris’ Edinburgh Apartment

When renovating his new flat and preparing to move in, Kristofor Banks reached out to Buzz Home Office in need of an area where he could comfortably work from home, but also one that would not get in the way of him enjoying an equally comfortable evening. Kristofor’s Design Consultation Our designers worked with Kris to understand his vision for .

• Login