By Alyssa Gregory
This post is sponsored by Staples Brand Products, but is based entirely on my own experiences getting my home office organized for spring.
Spring is a season that comes with a fresh start. The sun shines a little longer and a little brighter, signifying that it’s time to get refreshed, refocused and reenergized. In our personal lives, many of us spring clean our homes and get our outdoor living areas ready for fun and entertaining during the warmer months. I carry this spring refresh into my business every year by spending some time getting organized with the help of Staples Brand Products (great quality products at low prices that fit my budget!). Here are a few home office spring refresh tactics that work for me.
Wipe Off the Whiteboard
A whiteboard or a bulletin board is a great tool to have in any home office. It takes up no surface space and helps keep important things on the top of your mind. But if you’re busy, and have a lot of different things going on at one time, your board probably gets a little bit cluttered from time to time. I often stick things on my bulletin board then forget about them as they get buried behind more recent reminders. When this happens, my board that is meant to keep me focused, just ends up distracting me. Part of my getting organized process includes cleaning off all of the “stuff” that has accumulated and starting fresh.
Clean Out Storage Areas
Storage areas can be clutter magnets. Whether you have a closet, a file cabinet or wall shelving where you keep your files and supplies, it probably gets cluttered and messy sometimes. I am very fortunate to have an office with a closet in my home, but when I’m busy, I tend to throw things in there to get them out of the way. Once a year, I clean out the closet and reorganize the Staples Brand Products Medium Plastic Storage Drawer Cart ($29.99) that I keep in there. The cart is on wheels; so it’s easy to roll it out, file all of my misplaced stuff, and roll it right back in.
Rearrange or Replace the Furniture
Have you ever rearranged the furniture in a room in your home to give it a fresh feeling? It makes everything feel new and can give you a new perspective, too. This also works wonders for getting your home office refreshed. You don’t have to do a massive overhaul; even a small change like moving your desk to a different wall, changing up your curtains and lighting or getting a new office chair, like this Staples Bonely Mesh chair ($99.99), can help you refocus. In fact, I love to add a new piece of furniture or decoration of some sort every spring — and the brighter the color, the more I love it!
Clean Off Your Workspace (and Computer Desktop)
This is one tactic that I do every single week, not only during my spring cleanup. I go through all of the piles of papers and mail that have accumulated on my desk and I do one of four things: take action, set a reminder to take action later, file it or throw it away. I go through the same process on my computer, filing or deleting all of the files I saved to my desktop during the week. I wrote a blog post recently with tips for organizing files on your computer that can give you some ideas for keeping your computer spring organized all year long.
Refresh Your Supplies
There’s something very motivating for me about starting my workday with a clean page in a new notebook and a pen full of fresh ink. In fact, I like to use new notebooks and pens often (check out these Staples OptiFlow Rollerball Pens, $9.99) so stocking up on supplies is a must for me so I am never without. Spring is a great time to do this and get a fresh start across the board.
Home office organization can be a very individual process based on the type of work you do and your workflow. The key is to pick spring organization tactics that help you feel the most reenergized, focused and ready to tackle the day. What are some of the ways you spring clean and organize your home office?
