If there is one thing that we have all discovered about working from a home office, it's the tendency for clutter. Without the obligation to keep a workstation clean in the public space, it's all too easy to let your personal items and work debris pile up. Not to mention the clutter that comes just from being a room in your everyone-at-home house! Having a clutter-free home office can feel impossible. In addition to papers, pens, USB drives, headsets, and desk cacti, you also have to contend with things like toys and dishes that make their way into the office seemingly on their own.
Fortunately, you're not alone. You are among a community of millions who are all tackling the same problems at the same time — and we're sharing ideas. Are you looking for a quick fix or a renovation project that will help you make a clutter-free home office once and for all? These ideas can get you started.
Designate Your Space
First things first, make sure your home office is marked as fully separate from the rest of the house. Whether you have a spare bedroom you can close off or a corner of the living room staked out, mark your office territory. Declare that no clutter shall prevail past that line. Ruthlessly tidy at least once a day, ideally at the beginning and end of your workday, to keep the clutter at bay.
Use Organizers for Your Desk and Shelves
Modern work needs a lot of little things — headphones, USB devices, charging cables, and even traditional pens and notepads. All this stuff can make a desk look cluttered pretty fast, even if you need it at-hand during the day. The solution? Organizers.
A collection of square and rectangular shallow boxes can make a world of difference in preserving your clutter-free home office. Keep your desk, drawers, and nearby shelves stocked with organizer boxes. Then you can keep your items either sorted or at least coiled and tucked out of sight. Label your boxes for added organization, making sure your daily clutter gets back into the right organizer each time.
Turn a Door Into a Bookshelf
You can even turn the office door itself into handy nearby storage inside your home office. Replace your office door with a bookcase door. If you include the same space occupied by the door, this adds up to 40 cubic feet of usable storage. Combined with organizers or cube storage, your bookcase door can be an extremely tidy solution.
Close the Office When It's Not in Use
Another useful way to keep clutter out of your office is to simply close the door — or close off the space. Visually and physically block off the home office space when work time is done. This keeps the clutter of family time (and the temptation to use your clean surfaces) out of the office. Then your next work shift will start as tidily as your last shift ended.
Use Cube Storage for Clutter-Free Stacking
Check out cube storage, the trend of containing household items in cubes made of fabric-wrapped lightweight boxes. Cube storage fits inside standard shelving heights. Just as importantly, it makes your storage look uniform no matter what is inside the cubes. Do you have bins of spare USB and HDMI cables, or do you have stacks of paper notebooks and files? Cube storage can make your shelves tidy even when your office supplies are not easy to visually neaten.
Here at Murphy Door, Inc., we embrace the home office trend by looking for new ways for our Flush Mount Hidden Doors to make your home office more effective. From closet storage solutions to bookcase doors, you can keep your home office tidy, organized, and fully contained. Contact us today to explore your Murphy Door installation options.
