Whether you’re a business owner looking to organize an entire office space or a remote worker aiming to sort your home office set-up, the task can feel extremely daunting. You might not be sure about the best place to start, and you may struggle to conquer the process as you dread all the steps ahead of you. Luckily, organizing your office — whether it’s at home or in a shared space — doesn’t need to be an impossible feat. In fact, when divided into simple steps, the task can be easy to accomplish through digestible chunks. Interested in discovering the best ways to transform your office space from cluttered to tidy? Keep reading to find out just how uncomplicated it can be!

1. Start with a clean slate

One of the best ways to get your organizing started on a positive note is to begin with a clean slate. How can you do this? Before you even begin to sort and organize anything, you should declutter the entire office space you plan to clean, whether it’s just your personal area or an entire office. What does decluttering entail? Decluttering is when you sort through your belongings and determine which items you no longer want or need. Ideally, the best way to do this is to split your items into the following categories: donate, sell, trash, and keep. For items you no longer need but are still in good condition, donating or selling is a great way to rehome them to a new owner that will get proper use out of them. However, if the items aren’t in great shape, trashing them is probably easiest.

Having trouble determining what items to get rid of? Unfortunately, this is the issue for plenty of people when they attempt to declutter a space. A good rule of thumb is to determine a frame of time — ideally somewhere between 6 months and a year — and get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past year and won’t use in the coming year. This is a great way to tell what belongings you actually get proper usage from and which ones you’re simply holding onto for no reason. Being honest with yourself about what you really need will go a long way in helping to simplify the organizational process as a whole.

2. Create zones

When you create zones, you segment the areas of your office according to what you do in each space. For instance, if you want to designate a certain zone to filing paperwork, it can definitely be helpful to establish that ahead of organizing. Giving assigned tasks to different parts of your office allows you to create a better structured space that you can keep tidier for longer stretches of time.

3. Prioritize organizational supplies

As you sort your office space, don’t underestimate the value of investing in some quality organizational items. It doesn’t take too many of these tools to successfully sort your office space into a cleaner, better space to work. In fact, doing this can also increase your efficiency and productivity. First, if you have space for shelves or cubbies, this is a great addition to your space. Even a small set of shelves or a floating wall shelf can be useful in giving you more room for your necessary office items. Another great addition to your office is a paper holder to keep all your loose papers properly organized, rather than scattered haphazardly. This can also make it easier to find exactly what you need quickly and efficiently. Filing cabinets can similarly help if you have a large volume of paperwork to keep track of. Depending on how much you have in your office, you may need larger units, such as cabinets, shelves, or cubbies, to properly organize your belongings. Small containers also work well for keeping track of tinier office supplies that would otherwise be floating around in a large drawer or cluttering your desktop.

4. Label everything

Expanding upon your organizational items and systems, one of the best ways you can keep your office supplies and other belongings properly is to label everything thoroughly. When you have everything in its designated place with clear, bold labeling, you can more easily find what you need and rest assured that what you need is exactly in the right place. This can drastically improve efficiency in your office and allow you to work at a more productive pace. Plus, you can easily place things where they need to go once you’re done with them. This is a great way to keep your items organized long term.

5. Big picture first, little details later

As you work, you should start the process with more big picture items, rather than focusing on smaller areas that you want to organize. Getting everything properly cleaned and decluttered and putting your items in the general areas that they need to go into is a much more effective task to tackle than putting your energy into, for instance, sorting small office supplies into their own containers. Once you have everything organized in a general sense, you can start creating a list of smaller tasks to check off your to-do list. Until then, focus on the larger elements of your office clean-up, and get your office feeling more organized before anything else.

6. Try to keep your desk space clear

Once everything has been properly organized and placed where it belongs, it doesn’t mean your work is officially over. The part that many people forget is that maintenance is key to keeping your office space tidy. Establish organizational practices that you can sustain, and be sure to carry them out daily or weekly. An excellent tip to stay organized is to keep your desk space clear. Although there might be busy days where your desk accumulates clutter, always try to reset at the end of the workday. This is a crucial element of avoiding becoming disorganized again.

Your office, organized and simplified

Now that you have the proper steps to establish and maintain an organized, tidy office space, you can start the process of keeping your office in a neat state for better productivity. But improving your office doesn’t need to stop at the way you organize it. When your business is in need of improved technology, it might be time to consider a managed IT system. Where can you find this? Look no further than GoodSuite. Our team of IT professionals can provide your business with exactly what you need to enhance your technology for improved stability, security, and scalability through high-quality, well-maintained IT systems. Interested in learning more? Submit a form for a consultation today!