For a lot of people, the month of January means more than just the beginning of the year. It represents a clean slate, a fresh start, a chance to form some good habits, most often expressed in the form of New Year’s resolutions. While the most common resolutions involve weight loss or exercise, home organization is high on the list. Thanks to an increase in remote workers, the home office is a hot spot in need of help.Since the beginning of the pandemic, many people have transitioned to working at home. Their home office is now a spare bedroom or a corner of the living room. And now that they’ve been working in that space for a while, clutter has begun to pile up.
How Clutter Affects Your Health
Many recent studies have shown how our surroundings affect both our mental attitude and our physical health. This applies to the home office environment, too.
- Clutter Can Increase Stress
Researchers at the Los Angeles-based Center on Everyday Lives of Families found that women who described their home as cluttered had higher levels of cortisol throughout the day. Often called the “stress hormone,” an increase in cortisol means an increase in your stress level. A high stress level can make people more anxious and disrupt their sleep.
- Clutter Can Decrease Focus
Scientists at Princeton University used MRIs to show how our brains like order and how disorganization reduces our ability to focus. When participants cleared away clutter from their home office work areas, they were better able to process information and focus on the job at hand.
- Clutter Can Decrease Productivity
If the desk in your home office is so cluttered with papers that you can’t find the one you need, you’ll waste time searching for it. If it’s cluttered with personal items, you might find yourself distracted from the work at hand.
- How to Rid Your Home Office of Clutter
Getting organized is a great way to start the new year with positive energy, but it takes more than a resolution to make that happen. Here’s how to get started decluttering your home office.
- Maintain a Designated Work Area
If you are working from home, make sure to establish a boundary between the things you need to do your job and the things you need for your personal life.
- Eliminate Unnecessary Papers
Go through the papers cluttering the surface and drawers of your desk, and either throw them away or file them. You’ll need to set up a filing system, either in a file cabinet, a drawer, or in binders on a shelf.
- Put Away Office Supplies
Do you really need the tape dispenser, scissors, or even a pencil holder, on your desk?Keep them handy but out of sight, in a desk drawer or bin on the bookshelf.
- Label Everything
It’s no good putting things away if you can’t remember where you put them. Invest in a label maker for a neat, professional look.
- Utilize Wall Space
A shelf over your desk or a bulletin board where you keep important papers are both good ways to keep the things you need handy.
How Closets by Design Can Help
Even the best home organization attempts can fall short if you don’t have the proper systems set up. Closets by Design can help you create a home office that helps keep clutter at bay, so you can get more work done. Whether you have an entire room to work with — or just a corner of the house, we’ll create something to fit your space. Our custom designs can include desks, cabinets, pull-out shelves, mail sorting stations, file drawers, even cubbyholes. We can design something for you no matter your style, or your budget.
Get Started Today
If you’d like to see how Closets by Design can help you transform your home office to best meet your needs, schedule a free consultation today.
