Working from home can be fantastic. But working in a cluttered workspace isn’t so great. A cluttered workspace can be a huge headache, clutter is distracting and research has shown that it can raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol which can increase your anxiety levels. So, working in a space filled with stuff you don’t necessarily use or need can have an impact on your ability to focus and your productivity.
While the idea of decluttering your workspace may seem overwhelming, it really doesn’t take much time or effort and the reward is worth it. Not only will you be able to focus and get more done, you’ll reduce your stress levels, sleep better because you’re not worrying about the clutter, or the work you didn’t get done and be much happier in your work.
Follow these steps and start decluttering your workspace today.
Think About Your Goal
Whether you have a dedicated room in your home, work from the kitchen table or a corner in the living room or bedroom, take a few minutes to think about your goal. Decide what you want your workspace to look like once you’ve organized and decluttered it.
Take a Before Photo
While this isn’t essential, there’s nothing better than looking back at a pic of your overly cluttered space and seeing how much better it looks once you’ve finished. Also, during the process, if you find motivation lacking, looking at the pic and seeing how much progress you’ve made can be a great motivator.
Throw Away Anything That’s Trash
Grab a trash bag or two and start throwing away anything that’s garbage. Obviously, get rid of the obvious trash first such as empty wrappers, drink containers and junk mail, but also throw away things like:
- Electronics or office furniture that’s not working, damaged and cannot be repaired
- Magazines you’ve read and won’t read again
- Empty bags or boxes
- Old notebooks, to-do lists or post-it notes that you no longer need
- Any cords and cables that you aren’t using. Especially ones you don’t remember what they go to
- Pens and other types of stationary that no longer work
If you can recycle, do so, but toss anything that can’t be recycled in the bin.
Start Small
Once you’ve gotten rid of the trash, it’s time to start the decluttering process. But, figuring out where to begin can be tough.
It doesn’t matter where you start, what matters is that you do start. But start small. Begin with something like a filing cabinet, your desk or a specific corner of your space. Take a look at what’s in that area and decide what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. Then, once that area is done, move on to the next, and the next until the entire space is decluttered.
Group Similar Items Together
Part of decluttering a space is organizing that space. As you’re working on decluttering you will likely find things that may be better suited or more useful elsewhere.
When this happens, put those items into a pile. By doing so, you can evaluate the stuff you’re keeping and make better decisions. For example: If you have a bunch of books scattered around the space, put them all together in a stack or on a shelf.
If you find that you have an abundance of anything, for example a stack of 25 notebooks, think about donating some to cut down the amount of stuff you have.
Get Rid of the Clutter
Clutter means different things to different people. What you consider clutter, someone else might consider a prized possession. A good thing to do is consider clutter anything that’s messy, untidy and doesn’t serve a purpose (even if that purpose is that you love looking at it).
Typical home office clutter may include things like:
- Work related books that you’ve already read, or don’t plan to read
- A huge amount of things like pens, pencils and stationary
- Random free gifts and things you may have picked up at events, meetings and conferences
- Knick-knacks and other decorative items (only keep those that mean something to you)
- Furniture that doesn’t really need to be in the space
Throw away anything you don’t need or use or that can’t be repurposed into something you do need or use. Remember to recycle whenever possible.
Take an After Photo and Enjoy Your New, Decluttered Space
Now that your home office or work area is decluttered and organized. Snap an ‘after’ photo so you can see how much you’ve transformed the space. Place the before and after pics side by side as a reminder of how much nicer your space is.
If you ever find yourself slipping and the clutter creeping back in take a quick look at those pictures and declutter again.
Enjoy working in your nice, tidy, decluttered and organized space.